Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 11, 1993 TAG: 9304090160
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
AMONG CHUCKLES IS OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS A TOUGH ISSUE
A couple of decades ago, a small newspaper in eastern North Carolina faced a dilemma. There was a shortage of newsprint - the paper a newspaper is printed on.The owners didn't know what to do. As stocks dwindled, it began to look as if they would completely run out before new supplies came in. So they decided they would just have to cut back the size of the newspaper by a few pages each day to try to conserve paper.
At a small newspaper that only had a couple of dozen pages on weekdays, it was a tough call. What do you ask readers to do without?
Management came to a decision. Cut out the comics.
Even after explaining the predicament on the front page, readers called in by the hundreds to complain. "Didn't the editors realize the comics were at least as valuable as the front page or the editorials?" they asked.
Comic strips reappeared after only two days' absence.
Readers - and a lot of journalists - do love their comics. They make us laugh, they make us think in a way that a news story or an editorial doesn't.
One of the best in recent years is "For Better or For Worse."
Anyone who has reared children could appreciate artist/writer Lynn Johnston's uncanny ability to find the humor in those everyday situations we have all faced.
She taught us lessons about getting along, the love underneath sibling rivalries, the honest struggles of parents to discipline their children. She has pulled off one of the toughest jobs for any parent - remembering what it was like to be a teen-ager.
In just a few years, the strip has become one of the best-loved in newspapers across North America.
But last week, a lot of readers were calling here to complain that they were getting the "worse" part of "For Better or For Worse."
One character - a teen-age boy - learns that one of his friends is gay. He is confused, shocked, unbelieving. He comes to realize, however, that his friendship was not based on sexuality - that friendship and love can transcend differences in sexual orientation.
Callers objected on a couple of levels. There were those who simply believe that homosexuality is always wrong - that it is sin. They believe that any portrayal of homosexuals that doesn't address that belief is a thinly disguised attempt to make homosexuality more widely acceptable.
Then there were parents who specifically objected to having their children exposed to the issue. Presumably, in a section of the paper targeted at an exclusively adult audience, their objection would have been less intense.
As a parent, I sympathize with others who struggle to bring up their children in what sometimes seems to be a hostile sea. Our children are influenced by the newspaper, by television, by movies, by their classmates, by teachers. It seems that there is more than we can control - so much we have to explain or just plain refute.
I'd rather not have to spend much time explaining the difference between heterosexuality and homosexuality to my 9-year-old. Good grief, don't we get tangled up in sexuality soon enough by our own hormones?
Yet, I know I can't wait for puberty to start talking to her about the subject. She came home from school a couple of years ago talking about "gays" in a way that made me realize she didn't understand what she was talking about.
I could blame the public schools for exposing her to a moral and emotional debate before she was ready, but that wouldn't have been fair. She would have heard about it somewhere.
So, my wife and I had to address the issue.
We've tried to do it thoughtfully, adding details only when she seems ready.
It seems to me that Lynn Johnston has been a good model for that, too. The strip doesn't sensationalize the issue, doesn't glamorize it, doesn't promote the lifestyle.
It does recognize the reality of kids and parents having to deal with what is - whether we like it or not - a potent, high-profile issue. It is not going to go away - not in the newspaper, not on television, not on the playground, not in the church or synagogue or mosque.
I'm glad the issue was raised in "For Better or For Worse." My 9-year-old hardly noticed what was going on in the strip. She's a lot more interested in Garfield. My 15-year-old daughter and I have used it as a springboard for more discussions on a topic we've already covered many times.
My guess is that some other parents need to do some talking - whether they oppose homosexuality or whether they want their children to tolerate and accept homosexuality.
Every parent who called this newspaper to complain about the strip had a perfect right to do that. In fact, they had an obligation to call if they believe this institution or any other is undercutting the moral foundation they are trying to lay for their children.
It just seems to me that parents couldn't have asked for a better opportunity to address this issue with children. Tell them what you think. Tell them what you believe.
And remember to tell them not to hate those with whom they disagree.
Cody Lowe reports on issues of religion and ethics for this newspaper.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***