In his eagerness to stand up against what he views as religious persecution against Christians, Fox News’ Todd Starnes seemed to see no irony in putting very little daylight between himself and Islamic zealotry. Because while he called it “well and good” that the Obama administration has condemned the controversial anti-Muslim film that is so central to the Middle East riots, Starnes asked, “Where are the federal investigations into shows like South Park which has denigrated all faiths?”
In a video captured on Right Wing Watch, Starnes says at the recent Values Voter Summit:
We have the seen the administration come out and say, “We condemn anyone who denigrates religious faith.” And they come out in regards to this anti-Muslim film.
Well, that’s well and good, but my question is, when has the administration condemned the anti-Christian films that are coming out of Hollywood? Where are the federal investigations into shows like ‘South Park,’ which has denigrated all faiths?
Where is the outrage when people of the Christian faith are subjected to this humiliation that is coming out of Hollywood?
It’s more than a little telling that Starnes seems to equate personal outrage with a need for federal investigation. In fact, as Right Wing Watch’s Josh Glasstetter points out:
As it turns out, the only investigation going on around the “Innocence of Muslims” concerns whether one of the purported “filmmakers” violated the terms of his probation. Otherwise the government has no place policing speech, regardless of who is offended, and the president is not the film critic in chief. President Obama can be excused, however, for speaking out when Americans are being killed over an amateurish YouTube video.
As for South Park, I thought one of the main differences between us and Islamic fundamentalists was our tolerance for that kind of thing.
But the point with South Park is that it’s all been said, regarding their critics- some arguments multiple times. The entire point of their 200th episode was to say exactly that. They took Tom Cruise and Tim Burton (neither one of which can shut up whining about them) and basically said as much, while getting everything they still wanted to say about them as people and entertainers out of their system. What I have seen of South Park after that pretty much just ignored their critics altogether.
Though that’s not to say their critics don’t get it harder when they’re on to get ripped for something else. Can’t say I blame them there- there’s some people that I would do the same for.
And then, of course, there was Isaac Hayes’s quitting the show (Hayes provided the voice of Chef; the character was subesequently killed off in an episode which had ALL of Chef’s dialogue done by using previously recorded dialogue inserted) over his supposed disgust with the show’s treatment of religion following the “Trapped in the Closet” episode (although Hayes never mentioned Scientology specifically, his sudden “disgust” came on the heels of the slams on Scientology during the episode). There were some other factors that are alleged to have led to Hayes’ quitting the show but the timing of his departure so quickly after the show’s first airing seem to lead the show’s anti-Scientology storyline as the prime (or even, only) reason.
