Because they are NOT gay! Why 'forcing' Bert and Ernie to get married would be a terrible blow for gay rights, and what it teaches us about homophobia.

There is at least one petition out right now with 5,000 signatures requesting that Sesame Street puppets Bert and Ernie get married.  You've probably read about it and maybe it seems like harmless amusement from people whose heart is in the right place in the realm of gay-marriage rights.  There is just one problem.  Bert and Ernie are not gay.  The producers of Sesame Street has said as much.  Since Bert and Ernie are fictional characters, said producers are the final word on such a subject.  Want to know how I know Dumbledore is gay, even though not one reference to his sexuality is made during all seven Harry Potter books?  Because JK Rowling told me as much.  She created the character and if she says he's gay, then he's gay.  And if the producers of Sesame Street say that Bert and Ernie are merely platonic friends living asexually in the same apartment, then one must accept them at their word.  Bert and Ernie are not gay, therefore there is little-to-no chance that they are in the kind of romantic relationship that brings about marriage, thus they should not be getting married.

Equal rights means equal responsibility. Why Glee's 'breakthrough gay scene' succeeds as drama but fails as a teachable moment.

It may be a doozy of a stand-alone dramatic scene, but last week's verbal tongue-lashing on Glee from Kurt's father to Finn was not the proud moment in gay/straight relations that it has been sold as. The scene in question has been heralded elsewhere as some kind of wonderful teaching moment about the hidden prejudice in all of us. Frankly, the scene is more about how a relatively reasonable person lashes out at the stunning manipulations of a sexually-aggressive asshole. Yes Finn (Cory Monteith) lost his temper and lashed out (he uses the term 'faggy' to describe the decorations purchased by Kurt for their new living quarters), but Kurt (Chris Colfer) bears responsibility as well. The clip below (after the jump... blame formatting issues) ironically removes much of the context that explains the outbursts in question.