I will be the first to admit, when I first saw this video, my response was laughter. It had been sent to be as a link a friend had tweeted.
Only after I had caught my breath from my hearty chuckle that I realized it wasn’t all that funny. I mean, yes, penguin relationships of an kind are funny in that “aww…look at the penguins looking awkward in their tuxedos” kind of way, but soon it hit me: this was CNN breaking news! We are at war, the economy is worse than its been in decades, the potential first Latin American Supreme Court Justice is in her confirmation hearings, and what we call one of our most dependable and reputable news outlets is putting in the time, energy and money to put out video packages on penguins, with the only actual news part of it being their sexuality?
I thought it was a joke. It had to be a joke…or at least I thought so until it was followed by a story of a family who was almost killed as their minivan burst into flames in the middle of the roadway, leaving one disabled relative stuck between the flames and a dividing wall. I’ve seen a lot of cruel jokes, but that was too far, even for CNN. It had to be real, which made me question a few things: Do we really want to discuss sexuality issues and pull them to the forefront enough for the homosexual relationships between penguins in a zoo becomes news? Is that really publicity to help “the cause”? Because quite honestly, I felt it was more of a mockery, a grab for ratings and attention, and the creation of a mental bond between the ridiculousness of the situation, and the reality that affects millions.
Sexuality, in one way or another, rips apart families everyday, and more than you realize. So, if it makes you feel its less serious because there are cute penguins on your screen, good for you. If not, then you and I are of a similar frame of mind. And for those who think that it just isn’t that serious, or that it’s a cute story to break the monotony of disaster and bad news, keep in mind that everything you see in the media is put there for a certain reason by someone with an agenda. I may not know what their intentions were, but then again, neither do you. And when we are all ignorant of them, intentions mean very little in comparison to interpretations of the meanings in the final product.
There are a lot of people for whom such a story is interpreted as the light side of gays, and their ability to “go straight” when the right person of the opposite sex comes along. And it is such an ideology that forces thousands into the closet, drives countless young people to suicide and even more to deep, dark, depressing places they just can’t seem to get out of. I would now, for a while, I was there.
