It's a wonder we survived preschool

I'm curious. What did you make of this news? They produced the first seasons of Sesame Street on DVD, but the NYT is "warning" the parents who have the purchasing power that these pilot episodes aren't for children's consumption.

The slightly tongue-in-cheek article cites these non-PC violations, among others: Big Bird is delusional because only he can see Snuffleupagus; Oscar is such a grouch he seems rabid; Cookie Monster smokes a pipe; little kids have milk and cookies with strangers.

There wasn't anything perverse about Sesame Street's early years, was there? This is all just a carefully-written gimmick to get us intrigued enough to buy some random children's show DVD right before Christmas, wouldn't you say? Surely what we survived back then won't scar the children of today. I mean, I watched the first years of this show with my little brother and a roomful of preschoolers, and we all understood that Sesame Street was fiction. We knew better than to accept favors from strangers in the real world. None of us grew up to smoke pipes or be mortally afraid of garbage cans.

(I do eat way too many cookies, but I hardly think I can blame Cookie Monster for that. Even back in the day, we kids could all tell that Cookie Monster chewed but never swallowed.)

"Me eating fruit now. Keep Cookie Monster regular."

Comments

[maya]

Sesame Street and the Muppets were clever in ways that I never see in today's children's programming. And in ways I don't think I really understood until I was a little older. This makes me appreciate those old episodes even more.

Alistair Cookie. That shit is inspired.

[Anthony]

Does the new DVDs "bare" the truth about Bert and Ernie? Do we see them avidly watching "Queer Eye" and "Spongebob" before the tapings and candidly discussing their "super" brunches at the Four Seasons and their "winter retreats" at the Pines in Fire Island?
PS--you all "know" about "Spongebob" I presume. Despite liberal media's attempts to hide the facts from us.

[your mother]

Perhaps you were raised by parents who were more competent than...

o, never mind.

[CmdrSue]

Well, you know, Mississippi DID ban the show when it first came out. You inspired me to post about it. :)