When I think about TV and its effect on me growing up, I am surpized not only at the profoundness of the messages I absorbed, but also the surprizingly positive way it shaped me. I was watching the highly age inappropriate Kids in the Hall from when it first aired, and without a doubt, from it, I built a sense of tolerance and joyful accpetance of the LGBTQ community. I know it was TV for sure, and that show in particular, as both my parents are homophobic and I went to a Catholic school that was intensly anti-gay. I was also watching Phil Donahugh a lot and sponging up allsorts of jems there. I also strongly remember both Sesamie Street and Mr. Rogers looking through the screen at me and saying I was special and worthy, even though no one else in my life was doing that, and somewhere within me a kernal of self-esteem was planted. Likewise, I grew up in fairly intense isolation, but watching TV gave me a sense of the world and kept me company and gave me comfort. The TV was always on, and there was not much talking in my house, so it was a steady diet of the boob tube. I can't help but think that in some ways I turned out alright not inspite of TV, but because of TV.