IMHO the SpongeBob thing isn't about being "gay"

[underpants]

One of the main themes that I have picked up from the few SpongeBob cartoons I have seen is.......Your boss is trying to use you and rip you off.

THAT, I think, is why Dobson took up a fight that he had to know was going to make him the laughingstock of every water cooler discussion about this. Everyone knows he is just a political operative hiding behind religion and well funded by the right wing machine. They are trying to stop parents from sitting their kid down in front of the TV (and them watching too) and seeing this message repeated over and over and over. I can think of three specific shows that deal almost completely with that theme-including the hilarious employee training film episode.

The modern conservative movement has at its core two main tenants:
1.Work Work Work-you are defined by your work and it makes you complete.
2.Respect the powers that be-this is a clever way off trying to re-establish the male dominated world (how they saw pre-60's America)that they feel has been taken from them.

I think they are scared of a whole generation of kids being taught to demand more of a share of what they earn and to not thank their boss for allowing them the pleasure of being employed. There is a link there to their real goal of privatizing Social Security: make people expect to work longer should something terrible happen AND to be in greater fear of losing their jobs (read:the opposite of the 90's).

I just wanted to put that out there.

[MichaelHarris]

1. spongebob reaches out across party lines and stuff

[Ian David]

2. Spongebob lives for his job

He enjoys being abused by Mr. Crabs.

He was excited the day Mr. Crabs decided to stay open 24 hours.

Bob loves being at work more than anything.

It is Squidward that hates his job.

Then again, Squidward has a major depressive disorder and obsessive-compulsive urges.

[robbedvoter]

5. His voice sounds like Nixon's too

[moggie12]

6. perhaps Squidward is a metaphor for oppressed proletariat

But what about Patty, the female squirrel with the Texas twang who has to live in a glass bubble underwater? Is her character emblematic of something??

[moggie12]

3. We may have to deconstruct the Sponge Bob lyrics

Ever hear the theme song? (my daughter loves the show)


"Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
SpongeBob Squarepants!
Absorbent and yellow and porous is he,
SpongeBob Squarepants!
If nautical nonsence be something you wish,
SpongeBob Squarepants!
Then drop on the deck and flop like a fish,
Spongebob Squarepants!


Hmmm, hidden meanings???????

[underpants]

4. Hmmmmmmmm

:think:

[moggie12]

7. Hmmmmmm? Is that the best you can do?

C'mon, your screen name is "underpants". Tell us, please: Is there something we don't know about our little yellow friend??? Does "pineapple" have some connotation I don't know about???

[atommom]

13. Well, there is that line from the B-52s song, "Strobelite":

"I'm gonna kiss your PINEAPPLE!"

Not saying I understand, just passing that on for your consideration.

[TrogL]

8. drop on the deck and flop like a fish

Kinky!

[kentuck]

9. We should underhandedly promote the idea.....

Yes, censor SpongeBob into oblivion. He is a bad influence. It's best if we destroy that part of our culture. Too bad if anyone disagrees. The neocons and right-wingers know what is best. Yes, go ahead. Get rid of SpongeBob. I will not fight it. However, I could not guarantee that this might not open the eyes of many of the blind in that Party.

[DrGonzoLives]

10. Dilbert does the same thing...

Although that's not really kid-oriented.

No, Dobson really is this insane, he really does think that SpongeBob is turning kids gay. Trust me.

[atommom]

11. Evil, insidious populism!

I'm sure that is part of it. And he's just so joyful and innocent ... fundies hate that. Mr. Krabs is presented as a money-grubbing laughing-stock, not the revered authority figure he should be. Mr. Krabs probably even has to pay taxes and pay minimum wage to his employees, which is an outrage.</sarcasm>

SpongeBob does live for his job, but it's not hard to spot the cynicism in the way the working world is depicted.

OTOH, there is Plankton, the evildoer who likes to remind everyone that HE WENT TO COLLEGE! You would think they would be happy to have a liberal elite scapegoat like that. :shrug:

[msgadget]

12. Interesting theory

And, instead of explaining he doesn't want young lemmings to defy their bosses, he gives Sponge Bob the official "HE'S GAY" stamp of disapproval. Anything's possible these days...

Edit: I've never watched an entire Sponge Bob episode but he seems to have a following here at DU. Could that be his real undoing?? :)