About Big Bird

[BellaKos]

We're all having a big laugh about Big Bird, but the fact that this particular issue resonated among so many people speaks to something in the collective unconscious of the population.
Big Bird, as a symbol, represents the progressive ideal of free access to education for all and connects with a level of awareness beyond words. Romney's callous and casual dismissal of that beloved symbol demonstrated that he really is willing to put Wall Street above the interests of everyone else -- even the nation's children. Fortunately, the American public intuited that immediately the night of the debate.
The explosion on Twitter that night reveals that Romney made a huge mistake when he threw some "red meat" to his base by dismissing Big Bird. I doubt that most people were very attentive to the wonkish details that followed. Contrary to the opinions of pundits, the threat to Big Bird was the most significant element of this debate, because it touched people deeply in the collective unconscious that connects with childhood, children, and the mists of fond memories.
In this symbolic realm, Romney is forever the "Grinch," "Scrooge," and, of course, Thurston Howell III.

[Xipe Totec]

1. Nailed it!

And welcome to DU!

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. Mr. Potter looks like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny compared to Romney.

Mitt is in deep trouble with this bonehead move.

[Honeycombe8]

3. Don't say that about Thurston Howell III! Mr. Howell came to be a loveable curmudgeon...

who did his best to be one of the regular castaways (although he couldn't be, really). Mr. Howell would NEVER have put his dog for a 12 hour ride on the top of his car!

There, now. Mr. HOwell's reputation has been saved.

[DevonRex]

4. And as teens we

got annoyed at our moms watching Masterpiece Theater yet not many years later we were watching it ourselves, religiously.

PBS is almost a cradle to grave learning and entertainment channel for us all.

Big Bird Rules!

[Cha]

9. Right Devon.. I didn't appreciate

Masterpiece Theater and now I'm all over it..especially Downton Abbey on their website.

I didn't grow up with Sesame Street but had kids by the time Sesame Street/AKA/The Children's Workshop Network was started in 1969 so they were able to be a part of it.

Wisely.."Big Bird is flying above Romney fray"..

A day after the Twitterverse exploded in reaction to Mitt Romney's vow to fire Big Bird by cutting federal funding to PBS, "Sesame Street" declined to enter the political fray, turning down requests from TV talk shows for an appearance by the giant yellow avian.

"People are certainly talking about it," says PBS spokeswoman Anne Bentley. "Moms, parents, teachers and educators have been vocal in their support today."

http://www.freep.com/article/20121005/ENT03/121005008/Big-Bird-tries-to-fly-above-Romney-fray

[pinboy3niner]

5. Expecially absurd that the only specific detail of his deficit/debt reduction plan he'll share...

...is cutting Big Bird.

[alcibiades_mystery]

6. Just as a note, Thurston Howell was a thoughtless old patrician, not a vulture capitalist

It's an important point: the kind of insane abuser class that Romney is both part of and represents really emerged with neoliberalism, post-Gilligan era. It was an invention of the 50's, to be sure, but really didn't develop a coherent philosophy and form of action until the 1970's. What is being parodied by Thurston Howell is a wholly different animal, and one far less dangerous.

[MichiganVote]

7. Fuck Rmoney. Big Bird R Us.

[flamingdem]

8. We are all Big Bird

sqwak

Hey I even changed my avatar for the first time so this is a big f*cking deal

[yardwork]

14. Hey, I want that avatar too!

[flamingdem]

18. If you click right you should be able to download it? nt

[yardwork]

41. Done! Thank you.

[flamingdem]

42. sqwakk!1! nt

[marions ghost]

43. "We are all Big Bird"

[flamingdem]

44. sqwwwak!! nt

[rgbecker]

10. Big Bird is BIG!

Romney, out of touch, pokes at America's uniting icon. Idiot. Do not let this guy into a position of power talking to other leaders of the world.

[josh3693]

11. Not just Romney...

But Republicans in general have been railing against the National Endowment for the Arts for as long as I can remember. This seems like a great opportunity to take some wind out of a lot of down ballot Republican candidates. Maybe an ad that begins with Romney's comment, followed by Obama's and then proceeds to rail against whichever local candidate has voted for or proposed cuts to the NEA.

It's like people here keep saying, the Big Bird thing went viral because it touches a lot of people on an emotional level. So many of us have very fond memories of PBS programming and would hate to see it taken away from the next generation.

[Blue Belle]

12. GO TEAM BIG BIRD!!

[Jennicut]

13. Big Bird is huge to those of us of in Gen X.

And Gen Y too.

Suzi Parker at the Washington Post put it better then I could:

A collective stab pierced the heart of Generation X who grew up with Big Bird, Bert and Ernie and Oscar the Grouch as their best friends. I immediately thought, “Oh no, Big Bird will be unemployed if Romney wins.” I wasn't alone.
As is normal these days, Big Bird started trending on Twitter. Memes magically appeared on Facebook showing Big Bird sitting on a stoop holding a sign “Will Work For Food." http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2012/10/04/big-bird-will-haunt-mitt-romney/

A collective stab to the heart of a generation that has turned around and let their own children enjoy Sesame Street. I know my girls loved Elmo, Count, Cookie Monster and of course, Big Bird himself. They have grown out of it a bit at 7 and 8 but still watch a Halloween Elmo video every year. Screw you Mitt. You are nearly as bad as Hollywood at trying to destroy every sacred memory of our childhoods (don't let me get into the Smurfs remake!). That last part was sarcasm.

[reformist2]

17. Yep. Sesame Street is the first show I can remember.... and Mitt wants to kill it.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

15. Big Bird, bah, humbug

... but don't mess with Cookie Monster!

[AsahinaKimi]

39. Too late...

[DisabledAmerican]

16. this video says it all

[freshwest]

20. $450M funding =1 year of PBS or 6 hours of Pentagon spending... Good catch.

This is why we can't have nice things...

[Spitfire of ATJ]

32. I couldn't believe they brought up Pentagon spending.

[freshwest]

33. I was both amazed and pleased myself by that factoid.

[cr8tvlde]

19. Sometimes we laugh when we want to cry. I've done both listening to the old Doo Wop song "The Bird"

performed by Big Bird, himself. That covers memories back to the 60's ... 50-some years and covers at least 3 generations of the collective unconscious. I remember they said that the genius of Sesame Street was that it was really an adult program produced as a children's program. Moms and Dads loved it, too. Great assessment.

[NCarolinawoman]

21. Very well said. n/t

[James48]

22. Fozzie Bear agrees!

[bluemarkers]

23. Even the rich like Big Bird and Elmo

but you know what if mr smarty pants hadn't mentioned big bird by name and simply kept his threats leveled to Lerher, this wouldn't be a talking point.

[Liberalynn]

26. Loved Lawrence O'donnell clip last night

of Elmo leaning against Kermit and saying Elmo is very sad. Got to love the Elmo. Who can be mean to Elmo?

[bluemarkers]

38. missed it

thanks for the heads up will look for it.

My 23 year old will not let me throw away his Elmo

[BellaKos]

34. Well, your comment bolsters my point.

Romney blurted out Big Bird much the same as when he told the Brits that they weren't ready for the Olympics. Even when prepped (and possibly drugged?), he still can't refrain from steppin' in it. I suspect that he *thought* that he was merely checking "red meat to the base" off his list when he attacked PBS, but he has made another grave mistake. This issue will follow him for the duration of our collective ordeal as we watch the man contort himself until election day.

[bluemarkers]

37. You wrote a great post!

The Big Bird comment came across as callous - who knew that "firing a puppet" would raise such a firestorm? I mean the gop has convinced some folks to starve the hungry, and reject medical care for the sick, but take away "my" Big Bird? Take away from "them" but not "me".

I have several gop friends who appear to be suffering from a dissociation in politics syndrome. One actually wrote on FB that she thought Obama had a bigger heart, but that Rmoney was smarter and the debates proved it. huh?

I feel this will follow him as well, I agree with you 100%.

[marions ghost]

45. See, with Republicons

Big hearts and smarts don't go together...

"Nice guys finish last" -- the slogan you have to live by in order to amass a large fortune by stepping on people & pushing them aside...

[James48]

24. Oooooo!

Join us- !
https://www.facebook.com/MuppetsForObama

[Rosa Luxemburg]

25. Romney - enemy of public televiosn

[Up2Late]

27. I learned to count in Spanish thanks to Big Bird...

...and the rest of Sesame Street! His throwing Big Bird under the bus was very offensive to me.

[wakemewhenitsover]

28. Good call!

[SaveAmerica]

29. I was disgusted at the fuss over big bird when R lied so badly about other stuff

Then i realized it was the best thing ever because people who didn't watch the debate and even people who haven't been paying attention to the election at all were talking about Romney taking out Big Bird to fix the US. WINNING!!!

[marions ghost]

46. Sometimes one image, one symbol

can carry a LOT of weight...

It says volumes about what Mitt stands for.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

30. Actually, this is about values.

Big Bird is about kindness.

This is something Republicans not only don't value but they think is a weakness. They look at everything with aggression. If it can be defeated. Conquered. Put in it's place, and utterly humiliated.

[BellaKos]

35. Exactly.

Romney's attack on PBS reveals layers upon layers about what he and his ilk value. Fortunately for all of mankind, this distortion of values and priorities is now symbolized as the beloved Big Bird that even the lowest of the low-information voter can fully understand.
After all, as Steven Colbert says: it's not about facts; it's about feelings. That's actually more true than people realize. And Romney has served up *feelings* on a silver platter that will nourish the Obama campaign for weeks.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

31. Everyone knows BigBird--he's a gentle friend to children

and Inner Children.

Knocking off gentle friends is pretty fucking uncool!

(Welcome to DU, btw. Gooooood post!)

[lindysalsagal]

36. Very simple: Romney's heartless. Period.

He's a fool, a very, very rich fool.

[IdaBriggs]

40. I am not laughing.

Welcome to DU! Nice post!

[lunatica]

47. Big Bird is symbolic of acceptance, education, and all things Democrats love

When one of his son's started questioning things based on what he was learning from Big Bird I'm sure Sesame Street was banned in the Romney household.