Sesame Street is very Educational

[spark]

The South African version of Sesame Street will introduce as a cast member an HIV-positive orphan girl Muppet. This will be done to help educate children about AIDS in a country where AIDS is epidemic; one in nine South Africans are HIV-positive. Think about that if you are ever so lucky as to sleep with a South African. Since South African adults won't listen about AIDS prevention, they thought maybe the kids would listen. They didn't have to introduce a new character to get the message across; they could have used some of the existing Muppets. For all the years Bert and Ernie have been a team it seems pretty likely that one of them could have become HIV-positive. You can't tell me there isn't something funny going on there, as Jerry Seinfeld would say, "Not that there is anything wrong with it." Ernie and Bert have more than just a buddy-ol'-pal relationship. If Bert and Ernie are into it so is Elmo because he will do whatever they do. He is very impressionable.
Oscar lives in a garbage can. He hates everything and constantly tells everyone to, "Scram!" Sounds like a needle-using junkie to me. For that matter so does Cookie Monster. He is always eating cookies. Potheads always have the munchies and the government will tell you that marijuana leads to hard drugs. Telly's bio says he, "Worries in all kinds of weather. He worries that it will rain. He worries that it won't rain. He worries that the rain won't stop. As a worrier, Telly often gets confused and frustrated." Telly sounds a little paranoid and may also be a drug user. There are plenty of Sesame Street characters that could be HIV-positive.
Maybe they will start introducing new characters for other versions around the world. In Israel they could have a suicide bomber Muppet that blows up other Muppets. In Zimbabwe they could have a white farmer Muppet who has had his land stolen by the Zimbabwean government. In Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Somalia or some other African nation they could have a girl Muppet who has had a female circumcision forced upon her, to help educate against mutilation of the clitoris.
There are a lot of tragedies around the world and adults cause all of them. Maybe Sesame Street is on to something. You can't change the adults; so educate the children so they don't become like the adults. If Sesame Street did have a Muppet for every country's problem, they would add a lot of new characters.

http://www.comedyzine.com/tirade283.html

[dergheist]

I know I sure learned a lot from that show. :lol:  On a more serious note, you are right that they should educate the kids in all the countries about those issues. (minus of course the circumsion one unless they can manage to do it in a proper manner?)