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Having seen this episode a couple times already, I have to agree with some of the Kiwis that were interviewed that it wasn't the funniest effort that South Park has ever put forth. They flat out miss the funniness sometimes, and this is one of them. As far as I'm concerned, that's only thing wrong with it.
That said, who cares? South Park is consitently satirical, and they have no sacred cows. They've happily sent up everyone from the American government to Osama bin Ladin to Alcoholics Anonymous to Barbara Streisand. And again, so what? Their job is to make fun of people and things, and they engage in some very pointed social commentary from time to time. To me, its pretty obvious that the "Bloody Mary" episode is criticism of the Catholic Church, NOT Christianity in general, specificially the Catholic's misogyny and general mistrust of women. The critism isn't even pointed at the faithful but at the upper levels of the hierarchy, since the rank and file are ready to believe in what's obviously a miracle of sorts, albeit a sort of disgusting one.
dlishguy, you said that you find this depiction of Jesus and Mary offensive as a Muslim, but please tell me where Jesus or Mary is depicted in this episode. If you've actually watched the show, you know that Jesus is a long-running periferal character that pops up from time to time (like on his low-rated "Jesus and Pals" cable access show) as is God, Moses and angels, and the Jesus character never really shows up in this particular episode. I don't see where Mary is depicted at all other than a bleeding statue. Yes, the blood is coming from possibly vulgar spot, but this is a statue, not the actual ideolgical figure. If the South Park guys were out to skewer her, they would have put her in the episode.
I really don't get the point of your post. Are you really hoping that Christians rally around the "Bloody Mary" episode the same way that the Muslims have rallied around the Danish cartoons? Sorry to be blunt, but that's pretty naive, especially since this isn't a critisism of Christianty in general but of the Catholic hierarchy in particular. I can't imagine the rank and file of the Southern Babtists (notoriously conservative and outspoken) getting upset about this. Even if they did, what would it prove? That Christians are just as capable of outrage as Muslims? Well of course they are. Until I see Matt Stone and Trey Parker being burned in effigy or living with death threats from the Christian Right, I'm going to have to think that you've missed the boat on all of this.
It's very obvious to me why Muslims are so upset about these cartoons - your religion specifically bars images of the Prophet. The cartoons are all labeled as being such and in unflattering ways. Christianity has no such prohibitions. If the cartoons in question hadn't been had the word "Mohammed" in a way making it obvious that the person drawn was supposed to be the Prophet (i.e. if it were "Mohammed Jones" or the Arabic equivalent), this whole tragic situation never would have happened. As it stands, the Danish artists violated a basic tenant of your faith. Since Christians don't have the same prohibition, I think that the parallel that you're trying to draw here just doesn't exist.
I think that you might want to go back and actually watch this episode again if you're still confused.
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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo
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