If you watch South Park – a crude and offensive adult cartoon that makes insightful social commentary – or watch conservative news, you’ve heard of the recent Comedy Central censorship of an episode a recent episode, partially due to a vague threat from some stupid website.
Here’s the basic premise: All the celebrities the “town of South Park” have been making fun of get together and decide they need to find a way to stop South Park’s abuse. So they make a class action law suit against them. Tom Cruise, knowing that the Muslim prophet Muhammad is the one thing no one is allowed to mock, demands the town make Muhammad appear, then the celebrities will withdraw the lawsuit.
Of course, the town’s people, during a discussion, sight the danger in doing so, and point out the utter conundrum in producing a depiction of someone who has been dead for 1200 year for whom there is no depiction of to reference.
The episode was in two parts. The first one had Muhammad appear inside a moving van, then 
inside a mascot outfit of a bear. I haven’t seen the second part but it was highly censored and likewise isn’t available on southparkstudios.com where I usually watch.
No one made of fuse when Muhammad appeared on the show several years ago as a member of the Super Bestfriends, a group of super heroes that included several religious icons and Aqua Man. But in recent years some Muslims have turned seriously violent using depictions of Muhammad as an excuse.
So it’s totally and completely clear that Comedy Central is unwilling to allow fun to be made of Muhammad. However, South Park maintains Jesus as a running character, as well as God – the Judeo-Christian one, who is depicted as an amalgamation of all kinds of different ugly creatures – with zero censorship. And the word around is, there will soon be a new series of Jesus episodes coming up.
So some Christians might take offense to the fact that South Park makes consistent fun of Jesus, but has had resent attempts at Muhammad censored. So, for those people who hold their Christian religion sacred, and want to do something about South Park’s double standard, here is my best advice: Don’t.
Listen. If you want to boycott Comedy Central go ahead. Besides South Park you’re not missing anything. But listen. Trey Parker wrote this one. He’s an expert in highlighting ridiculous things in our society people like to spin or ignore – love or hate. Pay attention to the overall point he’s making!
We just watched a big to-do over Muhammad. Out of fear Comedy Central sat on their writer’s freedom of speech. Liberals defended the censorship. Muslims threatened violence that people took serious – appropriately. And now we’ll get to see how society reacts to Jesus.
So if you are upset about a double standard, embrace South Park. They’re doing your work for you. This is a real world proof of a double standard – not to mention the fact that Christianity is the one group America feels comfortable offending and otherwise oppressing.
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Raging Kitty
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
This was a good commentary on that Southpark incident, and with a cool spin. I agree Christian, I think it’s good that Southpark is, or used to be an equal opportunity offender of all religions, groups, etc. But I think Southpark administrators are a bunch of panzy bitches for folding on this one and hushing their writers like human traffickers “shhh”ing their cargo across the Mexico/America border crossing. Freedom of speech will die slowly and quietly at the hushes of spineless idiots like those at Southpark.
Thanks for the chaff old bean, Squab Dove
Great blog post, with a cool opinion. Though I think that it’s cool that south park make fun of every religion.
Cheers,
Christian,