Lost & Found: This Video on the Dangers of Homosexuals Is Beyond Cringe-Worthy

As Bob Dylan once said, "The times, they are a-changin." Sometimes, though, they don't seem to be changing fast enough. This video, warning boys about an "invisible" and "contagious" disease known as homosexuality, was produced a relatively short time ago, in 1961. As a matter of fact, we don't wonder if this video isn't the source of the "pedophile with a mustache" stereotype that we laugh about today.

The "diseased" dude driving the car in the first video sure seems skeezy as hell. But that was probably the point. The Inglewood Police Department and the Inglewood Unified School District were just showing what gay men looked like to them. And the second gay fellow must've been on his way to an art gallery opening when he spotted his prey. That's the only explanation we can come up with for a guy deciding to play a little b-ball in a tuxedo.

The narrator defines a homosexual as "a person who demands an intimate relationship with members of their own sex." We didn't know bossiness was a trait of gay people. You learn something new every day -- like that "not all homosexuals are passive." You mean like how not all people in general are passive? So homosexuals are kinda like normal people? (Still waiting on the font that conveys sarcasm.)

Billy, the protagonist in this little cautionary tale, learns his biggest lesson after he reports the sexual predator to the police -- that he deserves to be punished as well. He is given probation for his part in whatever Ralph did to him. The video doesn't really explain how victims can be punished for being victimized, but we do know that the gay fiend Ralph was arrested and sent to what the filmmakers probably assumed was paradise for a character like him.

The stories continue -- further tales of crime and death spurred on by the terrible malady of homosexuality. The video might be seen as a useful tool to warn children of stranger danger, but it carelessly and maliciously mixes in gross ignorance and falsehoods, making it one of our culture's most embarrassing moments in recent history.