Posted on 12/30/2005 11:40:04 AM PST by NYer
“Several news stories today are reporting on the decision by Comedy Central to pull a scheduled rerun of the ‘Bloody Mary’ episode that was shown on ‘South Park’ on December 7-10. The decision reflects what I asked for in our news release of December 8. Therefore, I commend Comedy Central for finally making the right decision. That it aired in the first place, however, does not speak well for the bigots responsible for creating it.
“In our December 8 news release, I also said, ‘Remember, they chose to insult Our Blessed Mother on the eve of the Immaculate Conception, and the holy day itself.’ The episode in question featured a statue of the Virgin Mary spraying blood from her vagina. It was one of the most vile TV shows ever to appear, and that is why I asked Joseph Califano, a practicing Catholic and member of Viacom’s board of directors (Viacom is the parent company of Comedy Central) to issue a public condemnation of the ‘Bloody Mary’ episode; I also asked that he do whatever he could to pull any scheduled reruns of the episode.
“On December 9, the day Califano received our request, he released a statement condemning the episode. He also said that any further decisions would have to be made by Tom Freston, president and chief executive of the New Viacom. For the past few weeks, we have been in touch with Freston’s office awaiting his decision. Yesterday, we received a phone call from Tony Fox, executive vice president for corporate communications at Comedy Central, informing us that there were no plans to rerun ‘Bloody Mary.’
“Already, we are being deluged with hate mail that is as obscene as it is viciously anti-Catholic. All because we exercised our First Amendment right to request that Comedy Central not offend Catholics again! But we’re used to such things and will not be deterred.”
Well, first, Cartman's always making jokes about Jews. Once he says about Kyle's cousin after Mr. Garrison tells him to concentrate: "Maybe they should send him to a concentration camp!" There was an episode in which Cartman dressed as Hitler for Halloween, and another in which he actually tried to exterminate the Jewish race by using unassuming fans of the Passion of the Christ (I assure he got grounded afterwards.)
There was also an episode, "Deathcamp of Tolerance," in which the boys were sent to a death camp to learn tolerance. It was a huge parody of Holocaust portrayals in movies: the kommandante had a thick German accent and they had to do forced labor (like fingerpaint pictures of multiethnic people holding hands)
In a recent episode, they even made up a thing about a bag of Jew gold, which Jews wear around their necks. Cartman kept demanding Kyle to hand his over, and finally Kyle did.
don't forget the Ginger episode....
Perhaps they do .... when there is something humorous. St. Joan of Arc - burned at the stake, St. Stephen - stoned to death, St. George - subjected to merciless torture and then beheaded, and let's not forget St. Peter - crucified upside down. But not all saints are martyrs - Mother Teresa - literally scraped the abandoned from the pavements of India for she saw Christ in their miserable faces. Mother had a sense of humor, but she took her faith seriously.
So what if South Park makes fun of her? They make fun of God and Jesus, too.
Did you ever, for one second, reflect on what Jesus did for .... you .... and why? Do you find it humorous that He was beaten, flogged, humiliated, and nailed to a cross? Only one person stood by Him throughout His short life on earth - His mother. When all of the apostles fled, Mary remained with Him. And with His last breath, He entrusted His mother to John and to us. We are her children.
God gave Moses the ten commandments - not the ten suggestions or recommendations. One of those commandments says: "Honor your mother and father". Jesus honored Mary during His life and after death. She was assumed into heaven for He did not want her mortal remains to rot in a grave.
If you bitch about Mary, you should be bitching about them, too.
Again ... you, like many others, missed the point. Viacom intentionally aired this episode on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Had they picked a different day, it would never have made the news.
As a catholic, I love the Mother to whom Jesus entrusted me. As a child of God, I try my best to follow the ten commandments. What Viacom did was blasphemous. That you can find humor in our Mother's public humiliation is inconceivable. Are you a catholic?
Seriously, you need to lighten up.
Those who know me enjoy my sense of humor. What you need, however, is to re-examine your conscience.
Well, let me ask you this, since I too will not watch it. When have they had an episode in which they have held HaShem up to ridicule and derision?
It wasn't aired on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The Immaculate Conception was on Dec 8, and this episode aired on Dec 7. People are seriously just stretching to find offense.
And, yes, I am a Catholic. So is my family. And we all enjoyed the episode.
Your problem is that you keep saying things should be off-limits. South Park doesn't feel that way about anything.
Well, they have often made fun of Jewish prophets, particularly Moses. They also made fun of the story of Job.
I consider the Jewish God the same as the Christian one, so I will say that they have made fun of Him many, many times. They show Him as some sort of weird, ugly, lizard creature. Jesus, too, is regularly made fun of.
None of this is ever intended to be malicious, as people think. It's just silly humor.
First, the plain definition of blasphemy for the courts cannot make distinctions that only theologians understand. So we either allow all blasphemy or ban all blasphemy, whether in the strict or in the popular sense.
Secondly, if the episode made fun of the plaster of the statue of Mary, that would be making fun of that which is of the created world. The episode, however, makes fun of the essence of her sainthood, -- her virgin womb. That is toughed by a miracle, in fact, by God in the very direct sense. So the blasphemy was also in the strict sense.
Historically, atheism -- the claim that God is an invention of man -- might have been considered blasphemy, but at the present age I would make an exception for such claims done in the spirit of philosophical inquiry when no obscenity is admixed tot he claim.
Thanks, someone else looked it up earlier as well.
Well the point is, they don't. It's one thing to make fun of people, and culture. I'm not offended if someone makes fun of TV evangelists, or nuns, etc. However, when they do hold up our Lord God as something vile and someone to be reviled, then there is something deeply perverse and evil going on. For you to defend them says more than you think about your spiritual development.
For the love of pete, it's a TV show. Family Guy's digs on Catholicism offend me far more than South Park's do (mainly because FG is ignorant, whereas SP knows what it's talking about.) But you don't see me calling for them to take off any episodes of it.
If you truly think South Park hates God, the Catholic Church, etc, then go watch the episode dealing with the pedophilia scandal.
I won't watch any of it. I'll now spit when it comes on.
I notice that most people who are complaining about this have never even seen the show.
saying things should be off-limits. South Park doesn't feel that way about anything
No kidding, and neither do you. Nothing is off limits.
'It's a do whatever you want world'. Remember, when things start to happen, this is what you wanted. Your idea how things should be - whatever, no-limits. You can't have it both ways; no-limits when it comes to laughter, but limit to the sadness/tears. You seek after 'no-limits', you will get 'no-limits'. Hey, lighten up, you are going to get what you want, a 'no-limit' society.
Sounds like someone got coal in his Christmas stocking.
Don't need to see it. We know it for what it is.
Now THIS is what I call making a mountain out of a molehill.
Thanks for the description. Again, I haven't seen the show so let me ask you further;
Was the parody making fun of ones faith in Judaism or was the parody making fun of the intolerant who would mock that faith?
Was the parody making fun of the Jews in the concentration camps, the pain that they endured and the deaths many suffered (including entire families) or was the parody making fun of the freakish Nazis who caused all of that?
What is the "un-PC version?"
It was doing the same thing as the Mary thing: it was seemingly poking fun at the religion, but deep down it was making fun of the latter things you mentioned. Same with the Mary thing: on the outside it seemed to be making fun of Mary, but really it was just making fun of people who flock to miracles just for a quick fix.
With South Park, you can't just look on the outside level. You have to dig deeper and find the true meaning behind the humor.
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