Not approving of gay marriage is not the same as pretending it doesn’t exist.
Maybe because no kids have been murdered at school with a same-sex marriage certificate?
Just to be clear, for many of use born before it’s unremarkable as well.
And I say, Hey! What a wonderful kind of day to learn to work and play and get along with each other.
i dislike the new animation these cartoons I watched as a kid are getting (spongebob, fairly odd parents, arthur). Neat episode though
Fun to hear Jane Lynch as Mr. Ratburn’s sister.
So the heck what? That means anything goes because certain college kids want “safe spaces”? The fact that you are equating a reference to gay marriage as “an upsetting idea” is interesting. The PARENTS can decide how they want to handle a cartoon episode that makes a reference to a gay wedding. The network deciding to deny people the right to make the choice for the viewers is the problem here. People who don’t want their children to be traumatized by the mere mention of gay marriage had every right to change the channel, avoid it in the first place, or make sure their kids know that they would never have approved of this episode because “gay marriage or homosexuality in general means x, y, z to our family.” The network deciding for viewers that this show was inappropriate-deciding what values are acceptable-is extremely patronizing.
Those people had the CHOICE to not watch the show or frame the scene however they wanted in conversations with their children. Deciding for everyone else that their values should be imposed on the population of the entire state who may feel very differently is offensive. “I don’t like this-I think this is wrong, so everyone will have to live with MY beliefs. Not only will I not watch this, I will make darn sure NO ONE ELSE has the choice.”
Heh. I just watched the episode – thanks for the link! – and the only part that was remotely provoking was Mr. Ratburn’s use of his cell phone during class. 
The only thing that disturbed the kids about Mr. Ratburn’s wedding was watching their teacher dance.
I think that’s exactly the problem. Because if we make it seem normal or unremarkable, our kids might decide to turn gay on us!
It WAS disturbing ?
Turning the channel is fine, IF your adequately informed. I doubt they ran any kind of notification to the parents. I hate censorship. I like notice. But we should respect both sides views, shouldn’t we? Or are all Alabamans toothless backwards dolts?
Are Alabama parents going to be able to prevent their children from running into gay people? Are they going to have advance notice when the children are confronted in some manner with the fact that there are same sex marriages in this country and planet? Probably not. Once the kid is presented with this particular fact of life, the parent is then free to explain it to them in any way they please. And I’m very willing to bet that mom or Dad explaining to them that people sometimes marry others of their same sex will not upset them.
Not nearly as disturbing as Elaine’s dancing on Seinfeld. 
If parents are so worried about their children being exposed to the realities of living in this country in the present century, they shouldn’t be putting their kids in front of a TV unsupervised at all.
Maybe a better word would have been “damage,” unless the children are instructed to treat gay people badly.
I see no reason to do so whatsoever. Some views really are not worthy of “respect”.
@Nrdsb4 : never saw that. Must have been traumatizing. (Truth be told, I’m roughly the same dancer as Mr. Ratburn).
I’m not sure what “both sides” are. Gay people exist and get married, that’s just reality.
Is the two side thing that “it’s okay to recognize gay people exist by including them in cartoons” v. “it’s not okay to recognize gay people exist so they should not be depicted in cartoons”?
Or is it “Alabama tv should have let parents decide whether their children should watch and/or how to discuss the cartoon” v. “Alabama tv made the right call by not broadcasting the episode”?
@maya54 and @momtogkc in posts 58 and 59, you have misinterpreted my earlier posts. Thanks other members for catching that. This is a fast moving thread and I was not online. Agreed that being gay is not something you believe in or are taught. It just is. I FULLY support those who are gay and FULLY support same-sex relationships. Like I mentioned, my own daughter is married to a woman!
When I used the words “believe in”…I wasn’t simply referring to gay people. I had mentioned other examples such as religion. I was saying that exposing children to different types of people doesn’t indoctrinate them to adapt a religion or a lifestyle or anything else. It seemed as if there were a few people worried that kids watching a TV show depicting gay marriage (or could be a different religious belief or some such) celebrates or teaches or sways the viewer toward things the family does not value (or some went so far as to call a “sin”). I was saying that children should be exposed to all types of people to learn inclusion and acceptance, which is not the same as inculcating them. This wasn’t just about sexual orientation when I stated that point. But as far as sexual orientation, it is not taught…it is part of somebody’s being. In fact, I feel sorry for gay people born to families who will not accept them for who they are or think they are living in sin.
I hope that clarifies things because I was taken aback by posts 58 and 59 because I am a huge supporter of gay rights and acceptance, support, and tolerance of gay relationships. I love my daughter-in-law and am delighted by the marriage of my daughter who will celebrate their third anniversary in a couple of days.