GLAAD is encouraging people to call Comedy Central to whine about Wednesday's hilarious episode of South Park. The episode revolves around the boys changing the definition of the word "fag" to refer to irritating Harley drivers.
Not only does the episode confer a valuable public service by drawing attention to the menace posed by attention-seeking jerks who ride without mufflers, it also lets kids know that gay people are O.K., but GLAAD is all in a tizzy because the episode drops the f-bomb about a zillion times.
GLAAD even goes so far as to suggest that the cavalier use of the word "fag" in a gay-positive way in a comedy show can lead to kids killing themselves:
this year, an 11-year-old Massachusetts student named Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, unable to endure the unrelenting anti-gay bullying and name-calling he experienced at school, committed suicide
Seriously? They are going there? Are they really suggesting that there is no difference between a joke about the word "fag" and tormenting a child in school?
So, for my friends at GLAAD, let me offer some desperately needed perspective. Using the word "retard" in a joke is crass, and possibly funny. Calling a kid with Down's Syndrome "retard" is cruel and savage. Using the word "bitch" while singing along to a rap song in your Toyota is somewhat pathetic, but harmless. Calling your wife "bitch" on a daily basis means you are a vicious jerk. It's called context, people.
9 Comments for “Or How About We Call GLAAD And Tell Them To Lighten Up Instead?”
posted by Throbert McGee on
Dear Comedy Central,
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has just sent out a press release alerting me to the recent “Fag” episode of South Park (Ep.#1312), and urging me to contact your network and complain about the episode’s offensive content.
So here’s my complaint: I’m totally pissed off that the hairy-chested rasslin’ coach from “W.T.F.” (Ep.#1310) didn’t show up at the “Gay Men of South Park” meeting in this latest episode, because he was hella sexy — VOOF!, to quote Teri Garr from Young Frankenstein. Please ask Trey and Matt to consider making the coach a recurring character, and possibly have him teach some rasslin’ moves to Butter’s dad.
Sincerely,
Throbert McGee, Esq.
posted by george on
i only got to watch the show last night (thank you, dvr), and i am amazed at GLAAD’s outrage. not only was it clear that the boys were poking fun at the stereotypical usage of the word, but it was clarified for all the bozos who don’t know better at the end of the show. i love south park for its blend of humor and sarcasm and its biting satire.
please, GLAAD, back off on this one and go after some bigger fish.
posted by Throbert McGee on
i am amazed at GLAAD’s outrage.
Something even more amazing: When the Harley bikers go on their violent rampage towards the end of the episode, we see a brief shot of Emmanuel Lewis (i.e., a black guy) being dragged with chains behind a motorcycle (and the biker is white). But does the GLAAD letter mention this? Nope.
Let that sink in: a white Harley rider drags a chained-up black guy behind his bike, as slapstick humor, and what does GLAAD bitch and moan about? People using a word!
Note: I’m not saying that GLAAD should’ve complained about the dragging scene, or that the scene was actually racist — the episode makes it totally clear that the biker attacked Emmanuel Lewis NOT because Lewis is African-American, but because the Harley riders were pissed off at dictionary editors in general, and (in the South Park universe) Mr. Lewis turned out to be the Grand Emperor of All Dictionary Editors (hence the name Webster‘s Dictionary, geddit?).
I’m just saying that if GLAAD feels the need to complain about something, maybe physical-violence-as-humor should’ve been higher on their priority list than people saying a particular word.
P.S. Something else that GLAAD forget to mention. Near the end of the episode, who gets to be the heroes of the day by rescuing Stan and his friends from the violent Harley rampage? Shotgun-wielding Big Gay Al and his all-gay posse, that’s who! If that’s not the exact opposite of “encouraging homophobia,” I don’t know what is.
posted by Bobby on
Throbert, physical violence as human has always been part of South Park. “Oh my God, they they killed Kenny. You bastards.”
People need to lighten up and stop being so politically correct. South Park is satire and sometimes it’s going to offend. Anyone remembers the “N-gg-r guy” episode about Stan’s dad playing wheel of fortune and saying “n-gg-r” instead of “nagger?” That’s a classic.
posted by Throbert McGee on
Bobby — over on the BBS forum at the South Park website, there were a small number of complaints about the use of the word “fag(got)” in this episode, and one or two of the whiners actually said, “Trey and Matt wouldn’t dare make an episode using the word “niggеr”!
posted by Lymis on
The deal is that South Park is a rare exception to just about everything. There are few if any other shows out there that are so evenhanded about being equal-opportunity offenders. And in general, they are so over the top that only someone already dedicated to blind, ignorant bigotry is going to use “they did it on South Park, so it must be okay” as any sort of excuse.
Not saying that South Park can’t go too far – they do it all the time – but they do it pretty evenly. There are plenty of examples of beyond-cutting-edge gay acceptance on the show. Same is true for just about everyone they offend.
GLAAD needs to follow its mandate and object to this. It’s their job. In just about every other possible on-air use of the term, “fag” is unacceptable, for all the reasons they objected to it. They really can’t give it a pass, or start picking and choosing, unless it is a clear academic use of the word explaining why using the word is bad.
But on the other hand, they need to quietly object, get it on record, and move on. Then, when the show does some exceptional gay-positive work, they need to congratulate them.
They were absolutely right to object. They would be absolutely wrong to try to make too big a deal of it and not move on to other more substantive objections.
posted by Audrey the Liberal on
Headline: GLAAD issues asinine press release in a desperate attempt to justify their continued existence. Headline can be cleaned off and reused as often as needed. Your welcome.
posted by Jack Anorak on
I hardly ever hear the word fag used as an insult anymore. I usually only hear it in internet speak, like Newfag or something.
The last time it was used as a message of hate I was walking home from college. It’s my first year, and I’m new to the city. This was only a couple of weeks ago so I remember it pretty well. I was walking to the cross-walk and the tinted window of the car stopped at the light rolled down, letting out a puff of smoke as a cigarette on a long classy filter was tapped, the ashes falling to the ground. the person inside was an obvious drag queen. Very glamorous, big feather boa, and more glitter than a pre-school crafts table. She shot me a wink and I started to smile back when the guy behind me said, “Get a load o’ this fag here, huhuh, what a faggot.” I was waiting for the sign to turn, I’d have said something, but this guy was big, I passed him every day, and, in my blue shirt and pink-lined cardigan, I was a dead giveaway.
“huhuh, what’s up faggot?” he said, calling to her.
Then she slowly leaned out of the window, looked up at him with the most cool, confident smirk I have ever seen, and said “Those jeans make you look nice.” Then the light turned green and she floored it, peeling out as a mess of feather flew from her open window, whipped through the dust kicked up by her screeching wheels, and fluttered softly to the ground.
“Huhuh, what a faggot.” said the boy with the hideous jeans.
“Shut up.” I responded as I walked away.
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