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Let's jump right in shall we...
For those of you who haven't heard, David Caton; Executive Director of the Florida Family Association declared war on the gay community after his boycott began last week against LOGO channel's "Sordid Lives: The Series".
The show depicts the Ingram family and their friends who live in a small-town in Texas, whom each have a great deal of issues they need to resolve within themselves in order to truly live their own happy life. What you see on screen are how the obstacles these characters go through and their differences to one another actually forces them all to see each other for who and what they are and that it's not about what anyone else wishes them to be.
Simply put, this show is all about accepting people for who they are and loving oneself for what you are inside. "Sordid Lives" sends out a message of love and hope to all people that we are all the same and want to live our lives as happily as we can without fear of being judged by others.
Why David Caton has an issue with such a beautiful message, I don't understand. I mean after all, isn't he supposedly all about preaching love and protection of American families? What makes this show any less accurate in depicting a version of an American family, can anyone truly answer this for me? You've got a woman addicted to pain killers, another who doesn't ever get to live her own life because she's too busy picking up the pieces of her friends and family's 'sordid' escapades (LOL), to another who is in a mental institution. Hmmm yeah nothing about that wreaks American to me. How about you, what do you think? ;) The list goes on, but seriously what is Caton trying to say by speaking out against this specific program?
You can be sure if this was a program on a different network with all heterosexual characters and storylines, there would never have been any action taken against "Sordid Lives: The Series."
However, even more disturbing to me was the personal attacks made from David Caton to "Sordid" star Jason Dottley and show creator Del Shores. The two are married and have been a couple for many years now, however Caton made claims stating that Shores had left his wife and children for Dottley. Apparently, Caton doesn't take the time to get his facts together before spewing forth his immense hate onto everyone else. The fact remains that Del and his wife were divorced for just about a decade prior to him ever meeting Dottley and they were not married until 2003. Caton would like you all to believe that there was some sort of scandal surrounding the fallout of Del's marriage and responsibilities to his family, thereby insinuating that Jason Dottley is some kind of home wrecker who "recruited Del to the homosexual way of life". I seriously am laughing as I write this, because it is so unbelievably stupid to me that people who claim to want to protect the "American Family" are doing exactly the opposite by causing unnecessary drama and making false accusations to a loving couple and their family.
In response to Caton's false statements and boycott of the show, Jason Dottley followed up with a video he posted on youtube in which he called David Caton personally to clarify the situation that had been developing. Apparently Caton has a great deal to learn about manners and human decency, because he simply hung up the phone without speaking to Jason. In the end Jason left a voicemail that has yet to be responded to with an apology or anything.
David Caton has spent the last week encouraging anyone who will listen to boycott the show, send emails expressing their disappointment to the companies that support it, and also not to invest in any of their products. He has been against the LOGO channel for some time now, and he claims that any child with a remote can simply watch the GLBT programming that airs on such a channel. Hey David NEWSFLASH it's called parental control settings, USE THEM!
I have actually been in touch with Dottley and Shores via email recently and while I prefer more interpersonal forms of communications than that, being on opposite ends of the country it's difficult to meet face to face... but you do what you can. So I am speaking out on their behalf and for myself in support of "Sordid Lives: The Series" in saying that OUR TIME IS NOW! The David Caton's of this world must not and will not silence us. We are just as American as everyone else, and deserve television programs and films that depict the variety of hardships members of the gay community go through. I will post a variety of links at the bottom of this entry including Jason Dottley's youtube video link for all of you who would like to follow through and support our right to be heard and recognized in television and film.
:::In support and honor of Jason and Del:::
LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!
http://www.logoonline.com/shows/dyn/sordid_lives/series.jhtml
http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/movies/prayers-bobby
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu1Tz8ITJBw&feature=channel_page
BREAK THE SILENCE!
Stay Tuned,
DishThis!
