Hi there! You might’ve read recently that ToughPigs has recently decided to endorse Kamala Harris in her campaign for President of the United States. And most of you have been cool with our decision to endorse her, even if you don’t necessarily plan to vote for her yourselves. If you fall under this category, thank you for respecting our autonomy! You probably don’t even need to read this. Feel free to revisit “My Weeks with Muppets Tonight” instead. We really liked Stu!
But now I’d like to address the folks who haven’t been so cool with our decision. It’s strange, there’s a significant chance that I’m aiming this piece at people who will never bother to read it. I may very well be writing this for nobody at all, but I’m compelled to write it all the same. You see, there was someone who responded to our announcement on Twitter that really struck me.
First off, hell no. Politics isn’t, and shouldn’t be, a dirty word. We’ve never been afraid to publish pieces that reflect our opinions, and sometimes those enter the political arena. It’s not all exploring the socio-economic justification for thumping the Fraggles! Sometimes we talk about the importance of labor unions, or the dangers of letting artificial intelligence replace human creativity, or even how LGBTQ+ people deserve the same protections and dignity as the rest of us do to live their lives the way they see fit. We talk about them because the lessons we’ve learned from the Muppets have inspired us to speak up on the issues that affect people, even if they don’t realize it. You really think The Song of the Cloud Forest was just about a toad that desperately needed to get laid? Floyd’s comment might be good for a laugh, but that’s all it’s good for. When the pirates are kidnapping cabin boys and tying up the crew, that’s exactly the time to stand up and say “no.”
But that’s not even the part I take the most offense to. We’ve “taken the website in a left-leaning direction?” Buddy, if you think we’ve steered to the left in recent years, you haven’t been paying attention. ToughPigs was born on the left. Danny Horn, a gay man, founded this website because he was furious with the way his community was mocked and belittled. He was told by other fans that Bert and Ernie couldn’t be gay because they were on a children’s show, and that didn’t sit right with him. He wanted to promote the acceptance of LGBTQ+ characters by exploring something that was already familiar, the Muppets, through the lens of queer theory. We’ve never been afraid of losing readers because we stood up for something we believed in. And we’ve shown our disdain for Donald Trump for years, even before he was elected President. (I personally take pride in calling him a turkey all the way back in 2012.) So saying we’re going to the left now is as factually true as saying Kermit is a gecko.
That being said, if you are someone who backs our right to speak our minds (because I know you’re nice enough to read this anyway) and you’re also troubled by the theory that Muppets and politics don’t mix, there’s something you can do. You see, I have a little theory of my own: I believe they only make up a tiny portion of our (ex-?) readership. The only way to show them just how outnumbered they are is for more of you to speak up. If the lessons you learned from the world of the Muppets have helped to form your core beliefs, show it! You all know what happens when a lot of people believe in something deep enough and strong enough: we find our strength in numbers. It only takes one Muppet to start a Muppet ladder, right?
So if after all this, you still think we’ve gone too far, then you can take advice from another Muppet: scram. As much as we appreciate those who read and follow us, and especially those who support us on Patreon and buy our t-shirts, losing those who think we shouldn’t say what we feel is right isn’t any skin off our backs. We pride ourselves on being an ad-free website. You can’t threaten our business if there’s no business to threaten! So go ahead and unfollow. Find another Muppet fan website that suits your wishes, or start your own. Because spoiler alert: we’re going to keep doing what we’ve been doing for twenty-three years and say something when we’ve got something to say. I guarantee it. Even if we do have to say the “p” word… politics.
Click here to do this for justice, for freedom, for honesty on the ToughPigs Discord!
by Matthew Soberman – Matthew@ToughPigs.com
