We Asked Why People’s Rents Banned ‘The Simpsons’ & It Was A Wild Ride

Which is why people who have never watched the show are complete pariahs, locked out of at least 50% of the regular cultural references made by their peers. Some of these people legitimately are broken and lack taste. They cannot be helped. However, some people are cursed from childhood – their parents never let them watch it, and the bandwagon was too far gone for them to catch up on.

Everyone remembers these Rod and Todd Flanderses in primary school who were banned from watching the show by their parents. While every other kid was gorging themselves on reruns of episodes, ensuring that every single quote was seared into their cerebellum for eternity, these poor kids were watching – I assume – 7th Heaven.

Reflecting on this, I made an extremely innocent tweet about it:

there will be a future sociological inquiry into the political lives of people who were banned from watching simpsons as a kid

— j.r. hennessy (@jrhennessy) February 21, 2017

The replies finally shed some light onto the myriad and baffling reasons why parents decided that a cartoon about yellow humans was simply too extreme to be shown to a child, and the deep, deep alienation that results:

@jrhennessy until maybe season 3 we were only allowed to watch the couch gag then we had to turn it off.

— Ben Jenkins (@bencjenkins) February 22, 2017

@jrhennessy I was allowed to watch it but for some reason I remember, as an 8 year old, telling my friends it was “a bad influence”

— Vichy Thought Leader (@i_zzzzzz) February 22, 2017

@jrhennessy I wasn’t allowed to watch the itchy & scratchy parts

— Jonny is Good (@jonny_is_good) February 22, 2017

@jrhennessy my parents banned it so I really first watched it during scripture where the teacher just showed us any episode with rev lovejoy

— Melissa Brooks (@melissacbrooks) February 22, 2017

@jrhennessy @rustyjacko my mum banned it for ages because I mooned her in the lounge room after watching Bart do it on tv

— Ryan Jones (@hamonryen) February 22, 2017

@jrhennessy my parents didn’t let me have a television until i was 13. the only reason i turned out ok was i bought the books about the show

— Gregor Stocks (@GregorStocks) February 22, 2017

@jrhennessy 2 bros at school jumped on their trampoline to glimpse neighbours watching Simpsons. Called them Rod & Tod – they didn’t get it.

— Matt Burke (@matttburke) February 22, 2017

@jrhennessy Simpsons: Permitted
South Park: Permitted
OZ: Permitted
Crank Yankers: Banned

— Tal Waterhouse (@iiTalW) February 22, 2017

@jrhennessy I was only allowed to watch on special occasions and every time it was the ep where Mr. Burns is an alien

— Seth Simons (@sasimons) February 22, 2017

@jrhennessy i was banned. IN MY TEENS. because bart is a poor role model.

— travis t. (@travis__tea) February 22, 2017

@jrhennessy For me it was cos Mum was tired of my older brother saying “Eat my shorts” in response to everything.

— Jack Bouquet (@BumblingAboot) February 22, 2017

@jrhennessy I wasn’t allowed to watch the one where Bart has nightmares about being bullied because my parents feared I was too sensitive

— Alex Hardison (@euchrid) February 22, 2017

@jrhennessy I would have been one but my dad let me sneak it in the back room

— AnarchoMoustache (@CapnSilver) February 22, 2017

@jrhennessy no definitive ruling from my parents on the simpsons but they didn’t let me watch daria so i dunno what that says

— momjean leftist (@bbburgerrr) February 22, 2017

There’s also this extremely on-point observation, from the other side of the fence. Before the DVD release, even the most insanely obsessed Simpsons fan had one or two episodes they inexplicably had never seen:

@jrhennessy I watched every ep 100s of times like most but somehow my two brothers and I missed the Sidehow Bob Cape Fear every single time

— Mark Sutton (@Mrmsutton) February 22, 2017

This however is the absolute best response:

@jrhennessy my extremely french father deemed the bright colours too vulgar

— Léa Antigny (@leaantigny) February 22, 2017

Please. Pray for our deprived peers.