not to offend anybody but... OH PLEASE!! give me a break. these kids dont need a cartoon charectar to connect with, they need a peer group! I mean just because they see HIV on tv doesnt tell them that there are other people like them! anything can happen on tv. i mean think about it. "lets have a big purple and yellow poka dot elephant with AIDS. That oughta show kids their not weird!" this is not what we should be doing about AIDS. we need to get kids together with other REAL people who have AIDS. kids and adults. in fact, the adults are probably as important as the kids, because we need to show young children with AIDS that they can still live a full and prosporous life. not that they can put on an animal suit and be on tv.

A cartoon character won't solve all the problems, but at least it is a step in the right direction. The main problem is people refuse to acknowledge AIDS. People tried to pretend they didn't have it, and no one would talk about it. If starting at an early age they can teach kids to acknowledge AIDS, then maybe it could fuel discussion. Peer groups would probably work better, but they just aren't realistic in this situation.