What I Think About the Current Controversy Surrounding the Latest South Park Episode --and Comedy Central's Censorship of Said Episode-- Can Be Summed Up in Two Words

Brilliant marketing.

Comments

[The Commissar]

Did you hear that Borders refused to stock a magazine critical of (George Bush)? That TV shows back down from offending (George Bush)?

Sorry, Rox, you guys are missing the boat. Sure George Bush sucks (almost as badly as Kerry, if I have to explain my vote). Meanwhile the Islamists ACTUALLY ARE restricting our freedoms. Not threatening to ... Not doing stuff that someday might lead to ...

Books are being pulled from bookstores. Today. NOW. Oh, but wait, let's talk about which of three WMD reports Bush ignored 3 years ago.

The Left would be going ABSOLUTELY STARK RAVING BONKERS if books offensive to .. say .. "The Relgious Right" were being pulled.

BTW, all that nonsense you might have heard about 'only placing Korans on the top shelf?' I didnt believe it. Until I checked my local Borders.

[Roxanne]

I think either you misunderstand or I did't explain myself more clearly.

I'm no censorship advocate. But, I do think the SP fellas have come up with a clever way of making their First Amendment point AND generating tons of free advertising for their show, Comedy Central, and future DVD sales.

As for books being removed from bookstores, libraries, etc. simply because they may contain material that may offend, I am absolutely NOT in favor of that.

As for "Lefties" missing the boat, I'll quote Josh Marshall again here:

So liberal mores versus theocratic mores. Where's the possible compromise? There isn't any. On the face of it this gets portrayed as an issue of press freedom. But this is much more fundamental. 'Press freedom' is just one cog in the machinery of a society that doesn't believe in or accept the idea of 'blasphemy'. Now, an important cog? Yes. But I think we're fooling ourselves to reduce this to something so juridical and rights based.

I don't want to imply this is only a Muslims versus modernity issue. I know not all Muslims embrace these views. More to the point, it's not only Muslims who do. You see it among the haredim in Israel. And I see it with an increasing frequency here in the US. Is it just me or does it seem that more and more often there are public controversies in which 'blasphemy' is considered some sort of legitimate cause of action -- as if 'blasphemy' can actually have any civic meaning in a society like ours. Anyway, you get the idea.

[The Commissar]

Got it.

May I quote Marshall's final paragraph?

"It's not the US or the West versus Islam. At least it's not that simple. In any case, the government in this country is too close to illiberalism, militarism and theocracy for that to work as a model. But it is there -- liberalism and authoritarianism, modernity and theocracy."

He's very explicit. Are Muslims censoring free speech? Sorry .. "government in this country is too close to illiberalism, militarism and theocracy" for him to care.

George Bush is the problem. Period. ANY issue. ANY question. That's the problem. Anything else is a joke, a marketing ploy, irrelevant, more nuanced, etc.

[Taylor Marsh]

You said it, Roxanne.

[Roxanne]

Fundamentalists of all stripes embrace censorship. Just over a year ago, a few ABC affiliates pulled their local broadcast of Saving Private Ryan, thanks to the mobilization of the American Family Association.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/arts/21rich.html?ex=1258520400&en=d2db0d7fd89c6582&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt

[norbizness]

Not to mention two prior episodes of South Park getting pulled: one offensive to Catholics; i.e. the Catholic League, and one offensive to Scientologists; i.e. the marketing department at the parent company, Viacom, who owns the Tom Cruise MI:3 project.

Just because some beancounter shit his pants doesn't mean we have to bust out the all-caps at this juncture.

[The Commissar]

So, blogger Bill Hobbs just got fired for running Muhammed cartoons.

But he was a wingnut, so that's cool. Let's not bust out all caps.

[slickdpdx]

Josh Marshall undervalues the importance (to free thought and science) of throwing off the shackles of the fear of blasphemy. Also I see no reason to distinguish between any of the a-holes who want to enforce blasphemy EXCEPT WHO THREATENS VIOLENCE. That's a pretty strong distinction, almost totally glossed over by tired recall of Falwell (or whomever is hot among the Xtian fundamentalists now) types.

[The Commissar]

Okay, rox,

I must admit that there is some possibility that you're right, that Comedy Central set up the whole thing as a stunt.

Perhaps they got me.

As my comments make clear, "creeping dhimmitude" and lack of concern about it, by those who generally are most sensitive to any possible infringement of the Bill of Rights, irritate me.

[fred]

Democrats have gotta come up with a believable set of plans for dealing with islamofascism. Not gonna be easy.
But that stuff’s boring...

I watched SP for the Extreme Fighting matchup!