You've probably read about Buster Baxter, PBS's animated afternoon bunny. The little fellow was busted by the feds in late January. The new Department of Education Secretary, Margaret Spellings, took issue with Buster's visit to Vermont. During the episode "Sugartime!," Buster hangs out with the children of lesbians while he's learning about sugaring and dairy farming.
      If you missed the firestorm flaring about this harmless hare, Postcards From Buster is an afternoon children's program, nestled in between Arthur, an eight-year-old aardvark, and Zoom, an interactive show challenging kids to turn off the tv and do stuff. Buster travels with his airline-pilot father whose job is to fly a rock band all over the continent on a concert tour. He stays in touch with friends through video postcards from all the cool places he visits. Except for the animated rabbit, the show is live footage of Buster's travels.
     Upon hearing that the PBS bunny interacts with lesbians during his visit to Vermont, Secretary Spellings announced, "Many parents would not want their young children exposed to the lifestyles portrayed in the episode." In a letter to PBS, Spellings denounced the spending of public money on a show with lesbians, and asked that the tax dollars spent on the episode be returned to the government. Spellings raised the issue of the Senate's control over the appropriations for the literacy grant which partially funds Buster. PBS subsequently cancelled distribution of the episode to its 349 stations. Pat Mitchell, President of PBS, has since announced that she will resign when her contract expires in 2006; a PBS vice president claimed the decision is not related to Buster.
      WGBH-Boston, producer of the Postcards series, quickly made the episode available to all public television stations. In a press release, WGBH regretted that PBS would not air the show and added, "We consider it the responsibility of public television to give children and parents the resources they need to understand the world they inhabit – without excluding any segment of our society." To date, 46 stations plan to air the episode.
     Where does that leave the two Vermont families who opened their homes and hearts to Buster's camera? The initial pride at their part in this little corner of public television turned to anger and disbelief for the Pike-Pieper and Harris-D'Ambrosia families. The episode has blossomed into an opportunity to teach a once-in-a-lifetime lesson, and the families have chosen to turn away from the hatred demonstrated in Spellings's words.
     Karen Pike, her partner Gillian Pieper, and their kids Emma (11), James (11), and David (10), live and make maple sugar in Hinesburg. Life-long PBS fans, the family was really excited to be in the show because Buster represents much of what Pike believes. This bunny's grand purpose, according to PBSkids.org, is to encourage 6-8 year olds "to sample the colorful details that make other cultures so distinctive." Pike and Gillian want their kids to appreciate the world in all its variety and to not be afraid of something because it's different. The kids – including Lilly, the daughter of dairy farmers Tracy Harris and Gina D'Ambrosia – had a blast sharing their lives and families, working nearly 40 hours in three intense days of filming.
      And then they were verbally attacked by a representative of their own government as Spellings rebuked the show. Pike reflects that, in our lives, we "get only a couple of chances to really stand up and to try to make change and to show our children that there are things worth shouting about." Although initially the kids were devastated, they've since been saturated with support including e-mails, gifts, letters, phone calls, and even ice cream from Ben & Jerry's. A bear from a Pennsylvania family arrived with a note explaining that he was to hug in case the burden of all this was too much.
      Pike wonders why we can't teach our youngsters not to fear or hate things that are different. "I wish people were willing to say to their children, 'I may not approve [of homosexuality], but there are many kinds of families.' Don't tell your children that I don't exist and that my daughter's life is invalid." That's why Buster was such a great fit with this Vermont family.
       Buster has visited Orthodox Jewish kids in Manhattan, a Kurdish girl in Nashville, and a Mormon family in Salt Lake City. He chased a "swamp monster" in the Bayou, played with Pentecostal Christians in South Carolina and has visited Hmong children and kids who live with their grandparents. At each stop, he sees the world through the eyes of a child.
      In addition to nationwide attention, Pike's family has received local support. The Vermont General Assembly sent letters signed by over 60 legislators to PBS and Vermont Public Television strongly objecting to the Secretary of Education's censorship. And among the most supportive was the response from VPT. As soon as the episode was available, Pike was assured that "Sugartime!" would be aired.
     Ann Curran, the community relations director at VPT, remarked, "We've never backed down from anything and we're not likely to succumb to pressure." Although contrary to PBS's action, it was a "pretty quick decision" to run the show. Asked about reports that VPT had previously been pressured not to film and air a program on civil unions, Curran said the station has never been pressured directly by the Bush Administration.
     What will become of Buster? The U.S. House of Representatives just passed the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005. This measure will allow the FCC to levy fines of up to $500,000 without warning if a broadcast is considered "indecent." If our gay and lesbian families are labeled indecent, as Secretary Spellings implied, Buster might disappear – or be forced to limit his visits only to the Cleavers.

Postcards From Buster's "Sugartime!" episode will air on March 23 and 3:30 pm on Vermont Public Television.

Assistant Editor Susan McMillan lives in Mallett's Bay with her partner and two four-footed friends.