Teletubbies

UPDATED AT BOTTOM

Now, I am no fan of Teletubbies. I find it very creepy...surreal even. Maybe this is partly du to the fact that the first time I saw it was in Tel Aviv, in Hebrew, mere days after barely missing the big Turkish quake of 1999. At one point it was either braving the intense, humid heat outside, watching more depressing footage of the rescue efforts in Istanbul (a city we had just fallen in love with) or...Teletubbies in Hebrew. Well, we had also seen Rugrats in Turkish, so it was part of a theme.

Very strange.

But babies love it. That and Boo-bah are incomprehensible to adults but suck babies and toddlers into a wonderful world of smiles and colors. I admit I have a gut-level fear of these shows. There is something just disturbing about them. But I am willing to overcome my fear for the sake of a few peaceful moments as my baby grocks with people in giant, brightly colored costumes. Let's face it. These are just kid's shows!

But some have a Teletubby fear so irrational it borders on the patholgical. We all know about perhaps the most embarassing moment in the life of the recently departed Jerry Fallwell when he decided Tinky-Winky was an evil plot to turn our children gay. The absurdity of this completely dumb claim masked his deadly serious craziness as he turned his mighty media money-making empire to encouraging fear of Tinky-Winky. Somehow, Boo-Bah escaped his twisted mind's wrath. But he tried to smite Tinky-Winky, and from what I can tell, Falwell's sick, sadistic vision of the divinity lost its power struggle with the vapid purple alien...or whatever the hell it is.