Wow. Monday’s column on homosexuality in “Sesame Street” really blew my mind. I think you missed a few key points though, some of which Dave Chappelle commented on in his “Killin’ Them Softly” DVD. I mean, what about the Count? He wears a cape and a monocle. That’s pretty gay. Obviously, there’s a vast conspiracy on the part of the Children’s Television Workshop to subvert the minds of our youth.

Never mind the attempt by “Sesame Street” to teach children how to live with tolerance in a diverse environment. I think you said it best in your article: “Homosexuality has been attributed to both genetics and environmental factors” (suggesting it is part nature and part choice) and “Regardless of whether the Children’s Television Workshop admits it, Bert and Ernie [teach] children that it’s OK to be gay.” It’s clearly not OK to be gay (as you stated, it is “immoral,” even if it is partially inherited.) It is also not OK, for that matter, to accept gay people as an equally meaningful part of society (doesn’t Sesame Street have a hidden agenda in regards to racism, too?). As for the HIV-positive character, I think your reference to the Rev. Jerry Falwell was telling, since he is such an authority on the issue of AIDS. After all, it was Falwell who famously said, “AIDS is not just God’s punishment for homosexuals; it is God’s punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals.”

Billy River

DeKalb resident