Fraters Libertas

Make the Yuletide Gay

Ross from Burnsville has been watching public television and writes in with these observations:

On Monday, December 5, my wife turned to TPT (Twin Cities Public Television) and started watching a special regarding the singer Andy Williams and his Christmas shows. I had never heard of him or his shows before as I was young at the time they were originally on the air. It was very enjoyable listening to Williams and his brothers.

The show seemed very pro-family and pro-Christmas which was nice but out of character for public television and TPT. Of course, this was one of their pledge drives so I had to sit through the boring speakers as they tried to make me feel guilty that I wasn't donating to them.

Then, something caught my eye. It was the people answering the phones in the background. Most of them were men and they were wearing the same T-shirt. The T-shirts were black with blue lettering. The top part of the letting was very easy to read. It said "Twin Cities". It was harder to read what was underneath. I expected to see something like "Public Television" but it didn't look like that's what it said. As I stared at the screen trying to make it out, it looked like the first word underneath "Twin Cities" was "Gay".

TPT was making this difficult by keeping the shirts of these men slightly out of focus (probably to keep the speaker in front of the camera in focus) or by making sure that computer monitors or other obstacles were blocking the rest of their shirts. I was determined to figure out what was going on so I did a search on the Internet and came across a group called Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus. Their website has a merchandise section that includes clothing. And there it was.

It was the same shirt as these men were wearing on TPT. On the T-shirt, the line underneath "Twin Cities" was "Gay Men's Chorus". Interestingly, on the Website for the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus, there is a section for corporate sponsors. TPT was listed as one of the "Media Partners" whatever that means (my wife noted the use of the word "partner" which the gay groups love to use).

Here are some questions: Did TPT disclose to its audience during the Andy Williams special that their phones were being answered by the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus? It seems inappropriate that such a group would be answering the phones during this kind of programming. What exactly is the relationship between TPT and the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus? Is TPT funding this group? If so, how much is TPT giving them? Would these men really be volunteers if TPT is funding them?

Let me add a couple more questions that cry out for answers. Since the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus was on the premises, was RT Rybak in the building? And, if so, did he dive off any desks or camera equipment in solidarity with the cause? If so, is he scheduled for any reconstructive surgery in the coming weeks?

For those with answers to any or all of these questions, Fraters Libertas volunteer operators are standing by.