South Park & Muhammad

[yeahwho]

Super Best Friends (http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/04/26/iftikhar.south.park/)was censored.

Should our freedom of speech be curtailed at Muhammad?

+ one more great Ed/Op Not Even in South Park? (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/opinion/26douthat.html?hp)


Basically South Park creators had already been censored to the point that Muhammad had to be hidden in a cartoon bear.

What ensues is collective fear and paranoia so fresh it seems as if radical Islam is now more prevalent in America than the CIA. I found it to be very disturbing and completely gutless considering we are at war in two countries presumably fighting Islamic terrorism. South Park can deride every religious organization except radical extreme religious organizations?

What do you think?

[QueenAdrock]

Absolutely not. Censorship is for assholes, and it's letting the terrorists win. Apparently, if you want something pulled, all you have to do is make a death threat and you'll get your way. Fantastic life lesson for everyone out there. (n)

Matt and Trey still wanted it to go on, so I think Comedy Central should have respected their wishes. I think it's bullshit that a cartoon that has never had anything "off limits" to them (as in, they can make fun of Christopher Reeve, children with mental disabilities and the Special Olympics, Terri Schiavo, etc.) is now being censored for this. If we live in a free society, we should be allowed free thought and expression, as is stipulated in the First Amendment. Giving up our freedoms makes us no better than the people we're fighting against "in the name of freedom." It makes us hypocrites.

[faz]

The bear costume was obviously their way of poking fun at the steps you had to go to to have muhammad on screen in the first half of the two parter.

It was the the second epsiode where comedy central censored them.

"In the 14 years we’ve been doing South Park we have never done a show that we couldn’t stand behind. We delivered our version of the show to Comedy Central and they made a determination to alter the episode. It wasn’t some meta-joke on our part. Comedy Central added the bleeps. In fact, Kyle’s customary final speech was about intimidation and fear. It didn’t mention Muhammad at all but it got bleeped too. We’ll be back next week with a whole new show about something completely different and we’ll see what happens to it."

[Burnout18]

Why did comedy central let the terrorists win?

[yeahwho]

May 20th, everybody draw mohammed day (http://www.google.com/search?q=everybody%20draw%20mohammed%20day&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbo=u&tbs=nws:1&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wn)

[Bob]

unsurprisingly, i like jon stewart's (http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-april-22-2010/south-park-death-threats) take on it

[yeahwho]

You link Jon Stewart & I link NYTimes.

Here is an interesting article I culled off the internetz about a personalized license plate in Virginia "14CV88" which by itself has no meaning to most everyone. Then this plate was photographed and posted (http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2010/04/22/PH2010042201511.jpg) on a website that quickly spread across the land.

The rest is crazy, but true (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/21/AR2010042105132.html).

A photo of the truck hit the Web a few days ago, went viral on car and other blogs and finally came to the attention of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an advocacy group for American Muslims. On Wednesday morning, the group complained to the DMV that the plate contained a white supremacist and neo-Nazi statement.

A few hours later, the DMV agreed that the plate contains a coded message: The number 88 stands for the eighth letter of the alphabet, H, doubled to signify "Heil Hitler," said CAIR's Ibrahim Hooper. "CV" stands for "Confederate veteran" -- the plate was a special model embossed with a Confederate flag, which Virginia makes available for a $10 fee to card-carrying members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. And 14 is code for imprisoned white supremacist David Lane's 14-word motto: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children."

He can still trash Islam but not with the confederate Virginia vanity plate 14CV88.

Anyway South Park seems to have hit a wall that just doesn't flex anymore with the satire, on one hand it is actually brilliant that the bleeps and darkness show up during the Muhammad scene... that works better than a bear costumed Muhammad.

On the other hand isn't it sad that cartoons are more cutting edge than our own news commentators on all of television.

[Bob]

On the other hand isn't it sad that cartoons are more cutting edge than our own news commentators on all of television.

well...no, not really. i wouldn't expect to see mohammad in a bear suit on the news

[yeahwho]

I expect the 11 PM news to be cartoonish followed by a late night national talk show that habitually shows mysterious people in bear costumes masturbating.

[Guy Incognito]

Why did comedy central let the terrorists win?

because comedy central have people to answer to who are scared of terrorists. and any possible bad publicity. its rubbish , gutless programmers and directors worrying about stuff that might probably wont happen.. south park has always been pretty brave and unafraid to air any views and is always quite objective about stuff. i mean its not like they were being silly about it, they were trying to make a point and instigate discussion, which has happened anyway

i havent seen all of the second part yet but the first part was enough for me to comment i think

[yeahwho]

South Park is sort of fading but this dude with the PU truck (http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2010/04/22/PH2010042201511.jpg) is pretty interesting. The Washington Post put up this article for it's readers.

Virginia driver denies license plate had coded racist message (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/28/AR2010042805335.html)

Douglas Story... tells his (er) Story.

Douglas Story, a Chantilly dump truck driver for the Virginia Department of Transportation, says he wanted to grab people's attention when he paid $224.90 to have a mural of the burning World Trade Center detailed onto the tailgate of his Ford F-150 along with a sticker that reads: "Everything I ever needed to know about Islam I learned on 9/11."

The flag "celebrates my Southern heritage," he said. "And the numbers recognize my favorite drivers in that southernest of sports, NASCAR."

He says he doesn't know who took the photo of his truck, in a handicapped parking spot, that became a viral sensation on the Web. "Probably someone who obviously has a soft spot for Islam," he said, pronouncing the word "I-slam," "because if you pronounce it 'Ih-slahm,' it's not disparaging enough."


Interestingly enough, Somebody found his facebook page (http://jalopnik.com/5527225/update-non+racist-nascar+loving-truck-owner-actually-racist), where he proclaims...

100% WHITE MAN, 100% ARYAN, 100% PRO-LIFE (Children are innocent), 100% PRO DEATH PENALTY (Criminal Scum aren't innocent). Over the past 28 years; I, like David Duke, have had an Awakening.


His sister really got it going on.

[rirv]

Are you people confusing all Muslims with terrorists and radicalism? Not showing the Prophet Muhammad isn't about terrorists' demands it is more about the 1.66 billion Muslims worldwide who would be offended by this.

But you know... religion dunno LOL:cool:

[Bob]

Are you people confusing all Muslims with terrorists and radicalism? Not showing the Prophet Muhammad isn't about terrorists' demands it is more about the 1.66 billion Muslims worldwide who would be offended by this.

But you know... religion dunno LOL:cool:

i think it was about terrorists though, wasn't it? didn't a terrorist group in NY issue a fatwah against matt and trey? i was under the impression that the decision to censor was related to that, not about it being offensive (south park is regularly quite offensive)

[Burnout18]

totally hypocritical of comedy central
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gxnZK5i67vuSLHEv_p8Db2L9mCAgD9FHV64G0

Jesus show in the works...

They bend over and cower in front of the muslims like the pussies they are, but they want to do a show the will not only depict, but star the icon of another religion.

[kaiser soze]

uh, it was Comedy Central not Stone and Parker

they have made fun of Jesus many times

[Burnout18]

fuck me, thanks man i meant to type in comedy central.

[yeahwho]

Seattle cartoonist target of backlash (http://www.king5.com/news/Draw-Muhammed-Day-94543404.html) and perhaps the reason Pakistan shutdown facebook & youtube.

Because she suggested today (May 20) be "everybody draw Muhammad day".

very sad.

[yeahwho]

Even sadder, Seattle cartoonist goes into hiding on FBI advice (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012919170_apusdrawmohammedday1stldwritethru.html) .

I think that this should be front page news on every major news outlet (http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en#hl=en&expIds=17259,18168,25855,26514,26550&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=molly+norris&cp=7&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbo=u&tbs=nws:1&source=og&sa=N&tab=wn&fp=6f32b8af52b7e0b8) across the world, at least here in America. The insanity of not being able to express ones self or feelings about repressive societies and those who will attack you for it should be huge news. We're talking about a cartoon, a free thought and the ability to share that thought. Just as those who claim to be religious and full of love claim they have that right.

How did we become so obedient to censorship? When did we become so fearful of commentary or cartoons? They sure as hell weren't afraid to mock the powers that be during World War II. Bush wouldn't allow the coffins to be photographed coming home during his Iraq invasion.

I can't help but think every aspect of the current Middle East conflict has a set of restrictions put upon it and the more we think, express or exercise our right to free expression the more ways the government comes up with ways to censor the citizens thoughts on our hard fought freedoms.

I'm trying to not be paranoid but for such a sweet person as Molly to go into hiding over nothing more than a local paper comic about a TV cartoon is to me, insanity. Fear is motivating everyone, a frightened electorate is a pliable electorate who eventually may just give up on truly speaking their minds.

Molly take care of yourself and I hope you can find freedom from this in a far away land that doesn't dictate hatred guide your very life. Hopefully some good will come out of all of this, because you deserve a great life in a land that is truly free of fear and reprisal. Maybe you can become an anonymous artist that randomly creates comics of love and charity, we need that today.

[Burnout18]

How's she have to go into hiding but the guy who wanted to burn the Qurans walking free?

[yeahwho]

Like the pen is mightier than the sword I guess the cartoon is mightier than the fire. Molly would never try to purposely infuriate a whole religion, that wasn't the point of the Everybody Draw Mohammed Day, the point was censorship. And now sadly censorship is winning because of extremest religious nutcases that thrive on mental illness and hatred.

Molly just went into hiding and all of this happened 4 months ago in May, so perhaps the the pastor will have to go hide too. Or become a martyr for his cause... since he wasn't really just making a comic, he meant it.

Here is a bit more on the actual fatwa (http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/27806)issued against Molly.

She's a great person who would never harm anyone, she apologized for her cartoon immediately after the first complaint yet the whole idea went viral and that was that.

When FBI agents, on a recent visit, instructed her to always keep watch for anyone following her, she joked, "Well, at least it'll keep me from being so self-involved!" It was, she says, the first time the agents managed a smile.