Kami, the HIV Positive Muppet

Hello Beauties!

Sesame Street, the longest running childrens program on US television is celebrating their anniversary on November 10th. This morning, on the news, they were talking about the many changes Sesame Street has gone through over the years and happened to mention a HIV positive muppet. I'd never heard of an HIV positive muppet, so I had to investigate.

Meet Kami. She is a character on Takalani Sesame, the South African version of Sesame Street. Kami was infected with HIV through a tainted blood transfusion as a baby. She is a happy girl with perpetutal sniffles, though she lost her mother to HIV/AIDS. Kami's purpose was to teach young viewers how to deal with sadness and loss in a way that they could understand.

Upon her introduction in 2002, many thought she would appear on the US version of the show. This sparked much opposition. Here is a statement from the Traditional Values Coalition:

The introduction of an HIV-infected Muppet on Sesame Street is problematic because HIV is spread primarily by homosexuals and bisexuals in the U.S. It is likely that an HIV-infected Muppet would be used to teach tolerance and acceptance of homosexuals to the preschool Sesame Street audience. In effect, this would be another propaganda tool to normalize homosexuality in our culture.

Ignorance. SMH. And this was not that long ago....2002! They missed the purpose of Kami's presence altogether. I am so glad to have learned about her. If I am blessed with children, they will defintely meet Kami and all the other Sesame Street characters. Hopefully, one day, the US will get over their fear and ignorance, and introduce Kami to american children.

To Sesame Street, Happy 40th birthday, and here's wishing many more years of your wonderful prorgram. To all, be blessed!