Here’s a funny (though perhaps more of a tragic funny than a “ha-ha” funny) take on Arizona’s new immigration law: protesters have been using doctored photos of beloved bilingual children’s character “Dora the Explorer” as a way of driving home their concerns for how the legislation may encourage racial profiling and unfair treatment of Latinos.

Check out the Associated Press article for more on this trend, and Faith in Public Life for a round-up of news stories about how religious leaders and groups have been pushing for immigration reform.

My $.02? Hmmm. Well, when it comes to referencing children’s television programs to make political points, at least Dora’s ethnicity is more relevant to her character — a Latina who teaches Spanish as well as English — than speculating about her sexuality, right? I’d rather hear debates about Dora’s immigration status than any more ridiculous theories about the sexual orientations of Sesame Street’s Bert and Ernie, the Teletubbies’ Tinky Winky, etc. Of course, even better would be to just leave the kids’ cartoons, muppets and puppets where they belong: in the Land of Make Believe, safely beyond the realm of silly grown-up arguments about politics and religion. (Though, I have been known to draw comparisons between Satan and a certain little furry red monster…)

What do you think?

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