Team NoNo

So I haven't been watching Conan much since he moved to TBS, as I'm pretty sure he has new writers and just isn't what he used to be. But every once in a while I'll watch my hour block of The Office and just leave it on TBS to see who his guests are. Unfortunately, this did mean sitting through his cold open, which is pretty weak nowadays. In the midst of his banter, however, I did get to see a sketch making fun of Bob Morris, a legislator in the Indian House of Representatives, who would not sign a resolution to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Girl Scouts. According to the Washington Post, Morris stated that, "he had conducted some research on the Internet and discovered that the scouts are a 'tactical arm' of Planned Parenthood," and that the "organization promotes homosexuality." You can read the Washington Post article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/ind-lawmaker-says-girl-scouts-promote-abortion-homosexuality-is-ridiculed-by-gop-colleagues/2012/02/22/gIQAGdBGTR_story.html

Conan took these comments and went an interesting route in criticizing the representative, by creating fake boxes of Girl Scout cookies that were to represent the "radical direction" that Girl Scouts have taken recently.

The first couple of examples seem harmless, as he reveals new flavors such as "Roe v. Wafers" and "Heather has Two Mallomars," and then the sketch gets a little "racy," some might say, as Conan describes the last box of cookies as "Sodimints." As I said, some might call this a little "racy," but I would definitely label this as offensive to at least some others. 

I appreciate the fact that he is calling out this ludicrous representative, but jokes about sodomy can really affect people in the Queer community negatively. I understand it's "just a joke," but when society only connects gay and lesbians with the way they have sex, and label it with such a negatively connotated word such as sodomy, ignorance is likely to run it's course. Again, I like that Conan made light of these ridiculous claims against Girl Scouts, but I wish he had done it in a way that wasn't also pulling the Queer community down as well. 

On another note, why is it that it seems the only time the media makes news of Queer-oriented slurs, remarks or jokes made by public figures, its when a comedian is making fun of how ridiculous the statements are? Politicians and other citizens in the public spotlight make offensive remarks about the Queer community all the time, and yet, the only time we talk about it is when the people saying things are so extreme its funny. Statements such as these are not funny to people in the Queer community, and should be brought out in the open in order to address why such things are even still said in this day and age, so that we may eradicate such language for the future.

P. S. Sorry for the super cheesy title.