Friday, June 12, 2020

Spiders? Oh, HELL No!

As the snob that I am, I'd like to think that if I was a cartoon-watching toddler today, I'd watch Peppa Pig. Until I realized it had an episode that taught kids to NOT be scared of spiders. I mean, wtf? The episode was wisely pulled in Australia:
A controversial episode of Peppa Pig has been pulled off the air in Australia for a second time, after complaints it told children to pick up and play with dangerous spiders.
Mister Skinny Legs, a 2004 episode of the popular children’s show, was removed from online publication by the national public broadcaster, the ABC, in 2012 for sending the “inappropriate” message that spiders were friendly and not to be feared. 
The article pointed out that Australia for one has some big-ass spiders not to be trifled with (including one that was videotaped carrying a goddam mouse!) 

I am on board with them doing this, kids shouldn't be going up to spiders and messing with them, as I wrote the same thing about snakes in my "78 fans can't be wrong!" least-seller, Williamsburg Rats:
He was pushing me to sit down, so I flopped back into the easy chair and he scooted up into The Nook.  I opened the book and voila, first page: a humungous, smiling snake.  Every one of these books, there's a fucking snake with fangs the size of hammers that's supposed to be cute and friendly.  Hey look, a fluffy, happy puppy looking for a hug.  There’s a sweet baby duck splashing around with a beach ball.  Oh, and sliding down a tree?  A copperhead that looks like it just swallowed a fucking golf cart.  “Oh, but it’s so cute and cuddly!”
I didn’t want Chuck to be scared of snakes.  I didn’t want him to be scared of anything.  But I also didn’t want him thinking it was okay to go up and hug a snake.  Why not have ‘happy, jolly drug dealers’ in these books too?
I mean, for fuck's sake people...

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