Barney backers are rightfully outraged over mistreatment of their not-so-rugged reptile by the infamous San Diego Chicken.
The cruel cluck should pay dearly for his misdeeds.Owners of America's beloved purple dinosaur have filed a law
suit against The Chicken for battering and humiliating a Barneylike character at baseball and basketball games nationwide.
Sure, that had people chuckling around office water coolers at the end of the week. Only in America could one fictional character sue another. But stop and think about what's going on here.
We're not saying the ramifications of this violence, inflicted before traumatized children and their protective parents, will ruin the
proper socialization of the entire toddler generation. All we're saying is to lighten up on the big purple guy.
Imagine how today's adults would have felt if Captain Kangaroo had been thrashed on screen by Mr. Green Jeans between morning cartoons? Or in Utah, if Fireman Frank or Miss Julie would have
been mugged before young and innocent eyes?
It wouldn't have been pretty. Psychiatrists no doubt would be uncovering a new host of childhood-related disorders. Fortunately, kids back then lived in a more innocent world.
If a big, furry teddy bear had started singing about how he loved us and we loved him, no one would have clubbed him to within an inch of his life. Or, at least, if this did happen thousands of people wouldn't have howled in delight.
Today's children deserve nothing less.
The lawsuit contends the fowl one would "punch, flip, stand on and otherwise assault the putative `Barney'." It noted that children are not likely to know the difference between the real purple dinosaur and the one being bounced around.
Frankly, that kind of violence from poultry is shocking. Fryers are traditionally lovers, not fighters. If Barney was being busted by something big and fierce, say, a costumed Janet Reno, it would be easier to accept.
But not from a chicken - even a famous one from San Diego.