What do you consider "indoctrination"? Teaching kids that there are people in the world that aren't exactly like them? And that those people are good people too?

Seriously, it's posts like this that are the reason that people get turned off to this hobby.

Sir, that is the responsibility of a parent, not a TV show.



Actually, it's statements like that and the inability to have a respectable dialog without a self-righteous, over-reaction that are the sole reason people get turned off to this forum. The hobby is the unfortunate victim of such.

DC

It should be but, more often than not, it's not. But if the parents aren't going to then at least somebody is trying.

You're only half right there.

People consume entertainment. Shows are part of that. The parenting comes in from deciding what type of entertainment they consume. I'd say that choosing to have their kids watching stuff that adequately prepares them for success in the modern world where they have to interact with people of different cultures, backgrounds, and persuasions, IS good parenting.

You are correct about this, and the reason why I decided it was better not to say that.

Wasn't part of an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer filmed there? I believe a train arrived in Sunnydale and all of the passengers were dead from blood loss.

From everything I have heard and seen locally, the Polar Express trips from Thanksgiving to just before Christmas are clearly the single biggest revenue generator for the CVSR, and have been for over 20 years, with around 38,000 passengers/year.

So, how about all the older people who proudly proclaim they were raised on John Wayne movies and those made them the people they are today?

Either an indictment of Westerns, or mental illness.

Emmo213, Sorry maybe my post lacked context. Please read this terrible condescending article written about Thomas that was posted over in another thread and tell me if the article doesn't somehow piss you off? https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/22/health/t ... index.html

I too agree with you the Thomas of my childhood was full of colorful male and female characters of different nationalities, but somehow that wasn't good enough for our condescending liberal media.

From reading the piece over on CNN it seems like the liberal thought police put Thomas in their cross hairs, pressured PBS to drop the show and now the folks over at HIT seem to be in full blown crisis containment and pandering all the way up to the UN to obtain forgiveness!

Read this quote from CNN!


Tell me was that really the Thomas those of us who are in our 30's or younger grew up with? Do you agree with this quote, from a once respected media outlet?

In my day Thomas was simple British steam culture written by people who loved steam locomotives. The rules of the show were simple for us young kids to understand steam locomotives were beautiful, happy, colorful, romantic, lively and energetic characters, and Diesel locomotives were mean nasty, grumpy, black creatures who should be avoided at all costs!!! Oh my god looking back at it I guess Thomas was racist too!!!!! (Too bad sarcasm won't really transpire well across the web)

Baring the whole black being bad thing the message about steam locomotives vs. Diesel is a value as an avid steam fan that I am working hard to teach my little daughter. Fortunately thanks to the help of youtube that is pretty easy to do but who knows maybe they too will come for Thomas there!

Emmo212;

Here's another article to read https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... en-parents, you honestly can't make this stuff up! If these stories appeared on the Onion I would find them hilarious but this is actually on reputable news sites, and actually seems to be part of the attacks HIT/Mattel is now facing.

Here's some hand picked quotes from this article;


Here's another quote;



Sorry I found one more quote I can't resist posting over here from the New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/culture/rabbi ... nd-friends



I am not trying to get too deep into politics here but it really looks like Thomas is up against a seriously twisted liberal crap storm and is in full blown pander and repent mode!

I am thinking in the 2019 season get ready for Thomas to head to the works to convert to solar or plugin hybrid while getting a gender reassignment! Maybe that will finally get the folks who are writing these crazy articles to love Thomas again!

I am not in any way trying to make this about politics but sadly the other side seems to have already opened that can of worms.

The saddest part about all of this that should really concern all of us on this site though is for kids who grew up in my generation early 1980's-1990's and all the way up to those born today Thomas is probably our first exposure to a steam locomotive when our minds are just starting to develop. I really think it is in all of our interests to see that Thomas continues to fulfill the key role that the Rev. Awdry must have had in mind for him and that was to promote foster a love of steam engines for kids at an early age. I realize a form like this isn't really for politics but I sure hope we can all a agree on this form to stand up and speak out when one group coming for our beloved steam locomotives!

adammil1,

1) For better or worse, I proudly consider myself a liberal.
2) I don't view Thomas going on vacation or being nice to girls as a bad thing.
3) I'll agree your quotes are crap. I don't believe, or at least I hope, that's not how most people view Thomas. There are indeed good life lessons a child can learn about misbehaving, being inclusive to others, etc, but the extent those articles go is beyond me.

You keep throwing around this term "liberal" like it's some sort of epithet. It's not.

There are no "thought police" but there are people trying to point out some things that you might not have thought of before.

Just because you might disagree or don't see their points doesn't mean that they're "coming for you".

In this case, it sounds like there are a good number of people (especially ones who get to make decisions about it) who find some merit in their arguments.

This attitude is why I have learned to just nod and smile when at the local barbershop.

Is the museum you work at gaining or losing volunteers and visitors?

Brian

Let's look a little more closely at the article on CNN cited by "adammil1":


Again, this is something that was brilliantly and repeatedly satirized in The Simpsons: the kids LOOOOOVE the ultra-gory "The Itchy and Scratchy Show" segments of the "Krusty the Clown" show. You want to kill off a show like that (or "Thomas" or any other show)? Recast it into something the parents like. (And that's exactly what was depicted in a second-season episode of The Simpsons.)


You see, this is why I have to keep buying irony meters in bulk.
Here the media is, prattling on about parents having to make decisions about what their children should watch or not watch. Yet here we also have the news media, or at least a certain segment of it, attempting to pass judgement over those parents by acting as the authority to which those parents should listen. In other words, they're attempting to parent the parents, in what comes off as a sanctimonious fashion.
There are large segments of the population that don't react well to people telling them how to parent their children no matter how much the advice may be needed, be it from their own parents, a teacher, the First Lady, or whomever. And the ones that do seemingly uncritically accept all this preaching and obsess over whether they're parenting correctly until it consumes their every waking moment........ well, let's not go there today.


So, to recap for the moment:
We forcibly retire a couple of main characters on the show, and replace them with characters that will no doubt be attacked by the followers of "political correctness" for depicting women in a "negative" fashion (bossy, negative, condescending, etc.). And the writer concludes this screed with an explicit anti-white-guy statement.
And some people wonder why large segments of white males seem alienated or "under attack" of late? Why commentators like Rush Limbaugh can make such pronouncements that Caucasian-American males are "under attack" and it rings true to so much of America?

Just this mere discussion and prattle would be enough for me, if I were a parent of somewhat conservative/libertarian philosophy, to just turn off "Thomas" and walk away from it forever, no matter what the show's producers actually do. And, somewhere in the back of the collective mind-set, that should be weighed the next time a "Thomas" event or gift shop merchandise is considered.

Or "Thomas the Train". That's a big one here that gets on my nerves.