Uncle Miltie, the epitome of taste 
Posted on 12/28/2005 1:12:12 PM PST by FerdieMurphy
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The president of the U.S. bishops blasted a recent episode of the cable television comedy "South Park" that he said showed Mary in "a tasteless and ugly fashion."
In a Dec. 14 letter to Tom Freston, co-president and chief operating officer of Viacom International, parent company of Comedy Central, the cable channel that shows "South Park," Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., said the channel showed "extreme insensitivity" in choosing to show the episode.
The episode, which first was shown Dec. 7 and had repeat showings in the week following, was titled "Bloody Mary." During the episode, a "South Park" character claims to have been sprayed with blood from a bodily orifice of a Virgin Mary statue.
When Pope Benedict XVI investigates in the show, he declares that she was merely menstruating. The episode's premiere date came the day before the feast of the Immaculate Conception, a holy day of obligation for Catholics.
To say that good comedy never mocks people's religious beliefs is to say at no time is people's behavior regarding religion ever funny.
Of course people are sometimes funny in their religious beliefs, as they are in other parts of life.
Burns played God in a movie. That movie had a few things to say about some silliness in the church too, didn't it? And yet, as a whole, the film inspired people to consider again their belief in God and find the truth.
Don't fear a little examination and mockery. If the stuff is true, it'll hold up. If it's not, it should be pointed out and mocked.
Comedy in a society with class doesn't degrade and deride people's religion in the sick way as the South Park episode we're talking about. If you don't understand that, it's hopeless talking with you. The idea that Jack Benny would ever talk about the Virgin Mary menstrating is so ludicrous I shouldn't have to even raise the prospect -- but maybe you don't know what life was like in America before the cultural destruction wrought by the Sixties radicals. You've bought into their revolution, so there's not much dialogue that you and I can have, since I honor, and still try to live by, the values and norms that were destroyed by that revolution.
It doesn't mean we don't still value some of the same things, and support some of the same causes, and vote for the same candidates... but you can't touch my South Park. I know that leaves you feeling a little frustrated, but there it is.
Thanks for your posts, whoever you are. You see what many of us see today, an unsuspecting America going down the toilet from decadence within, all the while believing they are merely enjoying the fruits of "freedom". What you said about these freepers having "no class" is right on the money. Some of these people are the most ignorant, crass bunch of thugs I've ever had the misfortune of being in contact with. Scariest of all, they think of themselves as 'conservative Christians'.
Just thinking about Jonathan Winters makes me laugh. Even though he never uttered an obscenity or vulgarity in any routine I ever saw him do!
"Comedy in a society with class doesn't degrade and deride people's religion in the sick way as the South Park episode we're talking about:"\
I found that episode offensive..but I got their point - it wasn't that the Virgin mary was bad or deserved to be mocked - their point was about how people go nuts over icons and statues and it becomes almost idol worship.
I liked Jonathan Winters. Alot. I also like a lot of stuff Robin Williams does.
You get distracted by the tinsel and can't get past the 'naughty' word. I don't. Not in an adult comedy routine. It doesn't make the show, but it doesn't break it for me either. But it does for you. So I've got a deal for you. Don't cross any lines or offend any sensitivities you don't want to.
But don't for a minute think think you have the power to limit what should be allowed in a free country. We'll never give you that kind of power.
You have your form of religion and I have mine. The cartoon does great harm to the Mother of Jesus and just because this "program" insults and ridicules others doesn't make it right.
Many of us do pray for guidance and help in the case of extreme problems or illnesses. You know that there is no shortcut to Heaven, but the path to hell is open to all.
I agree with this because one can plainly see that the Catholic Church in Mexico and South America has become purposefully intertwined with pagan native culture (and marxism) that borders on voodooism.
That being said, this South Park fiasco proves that what attempts to pass as American "culture" is just a trip into the sewer and a jaunt down the path to hell.
You're talking some kind of pseudo, new-age "Christianity", where the condoning of sins for the sake of "tolerance" is taught. But when the Bible itslef condemns something, is it I who am judging?
The Bible also tells us that condoning a sin is worse than the sin being condoned. Christians know intuitively that speaking filth about the pure and holy Mother of Our Lord is just about as evil as it gets, and to condone that sin is to be complicit with it. Time and again the Bible itself speaks out against the obvious evils in the world, and time and again the Bible tells us to upbraid that evil when we confront it. Just two of many such admonitions in Scripture are these:
"Take heed to yourselves; if your brother sins, rebuke him,.." (Luke 17:3)
"As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all.." (I Timothy 5:20)
I don't.
Not all the viewers are as sophisticated as some of those who endorse this travesty of comedy.
South Park is a vulgar parody of dysfunction. The Simpsons, although not as popular as it was in past years, holds a father figure up to ridicule and millions of children are permitted to watch.
For those of you who feel that this is good and healthy fare for families to watch could be in trouble that is so deep you can't comprehend it....for now.
You must be right. How could adults who espouse any family values believe that such a program described on this thread is a good and healthy outlet?
That has to be it. There is another South Park of which we are completely unaware.
No, it's the same South Park. While some people go into rigors at the utterance of a naughty word, some of us remain lucid enough to see that Matt and Trey actually argue many of the same points conservatives do, in a particularly poignant way that puts them in a league all their own today.
Through the show, Americans who aren't necessarily very political have been shown with remarkable clarity that:
There's more, but that's the point. The show has impact with those who perhaps most need to see Christopher Reeve actually sucking the stem cells out of the neck of a fetus during the Larry King show to really see that it's wrong. Complain about the harsh imagery all you want, but you can't say that someone who sees that hasn't been forced to confront what fetal stem cell research really is. South Park is vulgar, but it addresses a lot of issues, strips the issues naked of all polite vagaries and surprisingly enough, makes people think about some of the important values conservatives happen to be on the right side of most of the time. I understand it's not for everyone. You should understand that it's not mere meaningless garbage, if you don't want to be considered ignorant by those of us who know better :~D
Get off your high horse and stop lecturing us. You in WAY over your head trying to control people's lives.
I pity your family and friends.
He might not have used that phrasing but in The Road to Serfdom, F A Hayek pointed out that the clashes in pre-1922 Italy and pre-1933 Germany between the communists and fascist/nazi were driven less by policy, but that they were competing fot rhe same follower mind-set.
While to the Nazi the communist, and to the communist the Nazi, and to both the soocialist, are potential recruits who are made of the right timber, although they have listened to false prophets, they both know there can be no compromse between them and those who really believe in individual freedom.And on FR the only ones who approach DU "it takes a village" levels of hatred for those who don't share the group think, are the "comminuity morals" reactionaries.
Uncle Miltie, the epitome of taste
No one is promoting this show as being for kids. No one.
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