Well, it’s the Morning After, and I’m sitting here thinking, “THAT’S what we were arguing about? THAT’S the big, nasty, controversial ‘Tebow-ProLife Ad’??? You have GOT to be kidding me.”
To catch up, in the last two weeks, the internet has been abuzz about the commercial made by Tim Tebow and his mother, sponsored by Focus on the Family. The ad, starring QB Tim Tebow and his mom, Pam, featured Pam reflecting on her difficult pregnancy, and ultimately admitting that she still worries over “her baby”. The ad wraps with a black screen bearing the white-lettered message, “For the full Tebow story, go to Focus on the Family.com. Celebrate Family. Celebrate Life.”
This is the “massive controversy” that has been burning up the internet wires these last two weeks. The “controversy” which played itself out on sports boards and parenting boards alike, with each group dividing in half, taking sides, and slinging words like “hate” and “murder”.
All because a woman says that she worries over her son.
The interesting thing to me is this: Nobody saw the ad before it aired during yesterday’s game. Planned Parenthood went so far in their opposition to the commercial that they created a “rebuttal” to it, which featured Sean James (RB, Vikings) and Al Joyner (Olympic Gold Medalist, Track) talking all about how it’s the woman’s right to choose, and that men must trust women to make the right choice. They rebutted an ad that they had never even seen!
I also find it interesting that CBS took all kinds of crap for not airing the ad for the gay dating site, Mancrunch.com (all three can be viewed in this article). CBS’s stance on the ad was that it did not meet their standards and that the credit of the company was in question. Frankly, my personal opinion is that the Mancrunch.com ad was riding the coattails of the Tebow controversy, and was never meant to run during the game. They didn’t need to buy commercial time, they got plenty of attention in the run-up. Brilliant strategy, if you ask me. I have to wonder if they even submitted the commercial with the intent of actually following through.
But the point here is this: who are we, as a country and a people, that we get to this level of screaming and insult-hurling over a commercial whose content is completely unknown? Why do we let ourselves be drawn into this kind of debate when the facts aren’t even on the table? Are we this insecure with ourselves as a society that we can’t even allow an opposing point of view to be heard?
Us Girls..Our Views 
That’s the thing. We have to step back and remember that in America, sometimes we need to agree to disagree.
Today a similar discussion was found on a women-oriented site I visit. Most folks were like, “so what was the big deal?” But a couple were unhappy, and one in particular was absolutely seething with anger. Because the organization behind the ad (Focus on the Family) has a “dangerous” agenda and should not be allowed to be heard at all.
I also heard that the NOW’s comment after seeing the ad was that it encouraged domestic violence! (I guess the son affectionately “tackled” his mom.) I didn’t see the ad, but what do you all think? Should Tebow get counseling?
I do hope that, to the extent anyone had any doubt, this helps people realize that NOW does not represent the concerns of most women. They call themselves pro-“choice,” yet they loudly protest the dissemination of information about positive alternatives to abortion, and now they have openly attacked as “offensive” a woman’s choice to follow her heart / maternal instinct. What exactly they are afraid of, I have my theories, but there is absolutely nothing in Tebow’s message that could threaten women’s rights. And I even before the ad was aired, they couldn’t name one damaging thing they expected to hear. I mean, the worst I heard was that this would make pregnant women think all unborn babies could be football stars. Huh? Talk about a total lack of respect for women’s ability to make a reasoned choice.
I heard that about the “domestic violence”, too, SKL… If you follow the second link in the article, both of the FOF ads appear, one with the tackle and one without.
The tackle? You can totally tell it’s fake, and it’s just silly. Truthfully, I didn’t even notice it, when it ran the first time. I really thought they ran the one without it. Maybe I was too focused on looking for whatever was so “offensive”.
But that reaction from PP just shows that they’re more interested in stirring up controversy than engaging in a conversation about the facts.
I just heard a good point made on the Glenn Beck show (yeah, I’m a GB Junkie)…
Interesting that NOW found the Tebow commercial “offensive” for “violence against women”, but not the ad where a whole bunch of guys were tackling Betty White.
I thought the same thing Laura. And they REALLY knock her down and shove her in mud. HARD!!!! Then they do the same thing to Abe Vigoda (sp). What about violence to the elderly?
I seriously know what you mean. I’ve been “hearing” about this commercial for WEEKS. It was nothing like I thought it would be like. I’d also really like to know why all the “do good” groups get so caught up in stuff like this and then drag all of us into it. It happens all the time. I don’t know how people can predict something that they’ve never seen. It’s like giving a book review on a book you never read of a movie review on a movie you didn’t see.
I thought the ad was very tame and couldn’t believe the hulabalo over the whole thing.
knee jerk reactions are common now. I wish people would focus on their own backyard.
There will always be those who support free speach… as long as the speakers agree with their point of view.
That is so true Mssc!
I couldn’t understand why everyone was up in arms about the ad even before it aired! It’s ok to run KY, Viagra and condom ads but we all know we can’t run an ad promoting family.
I absolutely can’t stand all those ads. They embarrass me sometimes.
Sorry, I just crack up at the Cialis one, though… of COURSE the guy needs Cialis!! He’s sitting outside, in a BATHTUB!!! That’s gotta be some anatomy-shrinking cold!
I agree we are an insecure society, and it is just plain ridiculous to fight in this way. This only brings a wider division, more problems. Both sides should be heard, respected. I do not like TV because most channels are one sided on issues from commercials to news reports. It is sad.