GAY TRUTH

Sesame Workshop , the company that produces the kid’s show “ Sesame Street ,” announced last week the Bert and Ernie will not be getting married. Bert and Ernie, two of the show’s Muppets , are best buddies. They live in the same house and sleep in the same room — in separate twin beds. They bicker, they share, they enjoy a bedtime cookie together every night. Bert & Ernie from Sesame Street They’re such good friends that some assume they must be gay. And one group used an online petition to ask “Sesame Street” to let the truth be known. Bert and Ernie, they say, should come out of the closet and get married.  This would presumably teach tolerance and respect for differences — something, the petitioners note, “Sesame Street” has tried to do for years. But “Sesame Street” has made it clear that Bert and Ernie are puppets and as such, “Do not have a sexual orientation.” Good point: but that’s not the only reason that t Image by See-ming Lee 李思明 SML via Flickr heir getting married

Image via Wikipedia When I was 4, our  local  PBS  station  gave away stuffed Ernie dolls as part of its pledge drive. As soon as I saw the announcement, I did exactly as  WTTW   hoped I would: I ran to the other room and begged my dad to send money. Six weeks later, I got my very own Ernie doll.  Of all the  Sesame Street characters I loved, Ernie was my favorite. The way he wore his hair. The way he snickered. The way he bothered Bert. I was crazy about him.  And once I had my own sweater-striped Ernie, he became my favorite nighttime snuggle buddy. Unlike Bert, who had to sleep in the bed next to him, I got to hold Ernie right up in the crook of my elbow. I loved it. Maybe it’s because I have these fond memories of bedtime with Ernie that I reacted so weirdly to a recent online  petition  at Change.org urging the folks at Sesame Workshop (the creators of Sesame Street) to marry Bert and Ernie , as well as to introduce a transgender character.  While, of course, the rumo