South Park Heroes Fight Terrorism While Comedy Central Surrenders.

The South Park heroes tried to strike a blow against terrorism in their recent episode by showing an animated image of Mohammed. Comedy Central censored the image and a black screen with an explanatory message was shown instead. The South Park heroes then drove their point home with an over-the-top scene showing an animated President Bush and Jesus pooping all over the American flag.

South Park can't be accused of subtlety. But it's one of the best satirical shows on television and the bravest.

Not everybody thinks so.

A frequent "South Park" critic, William Donohue of the anti-defamation group Catholic League, called on Parker and Stone to resign out of principle for being censored.

"The ultimate hypocrite is not Comedy Central — that's their decision not to show the image of Muhammad or not — it's Parker and Stone," he said. "Like little whores, they'll sit there and grab the bucks. They'll sit there and they'll whine and they'll take their shot at Jesus. That's their stock in trade." (Here.)

What aembarrassingng remark. First, perhaps somebody needs to treat hookers better. Second, Donohue represents a religious organization. You'd think he'd hold himself to a higher standard and use some other term than "whores" to describe Parker and Stone. Hembarrasseses himself and his organization by resorting to that vulgarity. It doesn't matter that South Park goes even lower. That show makes no pretense of speaking for God or religion. Donohue does. He doesn't speak for this Catholic, however. Third, he just doesn't get it. Parker and Stone didn't take any shots at Jesus in the Mohammed episodes. Showing Jesus pooping all over the American flag was pretty obviously a swipe at our owhypocriticalal and cowardly media culture which allows for offensive representations of Christianity, American leaders, and American symbols, but not Islam. Finally, he probably doesn't recognize the irony but his own whining comment about what the South Park heroes ought to do is just the sort of thing Cartman would say.

-tdr

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