Who else was offended by the new South Park tonight?

[AshevilleGuy]

I'm surprised there hasn't been a thread about it. It was inconsistent, clumsy and they said the n-word dozens of times!! It was sorta about Michael Richards, but it went off on tangents that made no sense at all.

Just a sophomoric excuse to use extremely offensive words over and over!! I don't care what their poorly attempted purpose was for this episode, I did not want to hear that damn word, especially constantly repeated as it was. :mad:

[jollyreaper2112]

1. dude

You've been watching South Park for ten years and are only now getting upset about sophmoric excuses to use extremely offensive words over and over? *Jolly starts humming "uncle-fucker" to himself quietly*

[AshevilleGuy]

2. Did you see this one?

Hey I don't care if they said shit two hundred and some times and counted it, as they did a few years ago. This was a word that offends a race of people directly, and it was just pointless the way they did it. Next it will be f****t, or q****.

I am white, by the way.

[jollyreaper2112]

24. nope, didn't see it

But if you want a comparison, I'll point out Boondocks. You watch an episode and it's "nigga" this and "nigga" that. It's wall to wall nigga, you think you're at an NWA concert. For Boondocks, I think it's stupid. Why? Because the original comic strip achieved the damn near impossible: biting social commentary and excellent humor within the confines of the American comics page. Do you know how hard it is to stick within the rules and still be funny? You're talking about a medium ruled by Garfield and Family Circus. Aaron McGruder managed to put his comic on the same level as Calvin and Hobbes, Non Sequiter, Doonsbury, and Bloom County. Very hard to do. So what does he do when he takes the comic to TV? He south parks it up. A crying shame. South Park is good at being what it is but Boondocks had a more challenging kind of humor. The nigga stuff is a perfect case in point, it's used for no discernable reason. In Chris Rock's "niggas v. black people," he's making a point. But again, Chris Rock does dirty comedy, Boondocks was clean. Being clean and funny is so much harder to pull off.

[uppityperson]

12. blame canada

[dysfunctional press]

3. so...i take it that the point of the episode was lost on you...?

"I did not want to hear that damn word, especially constantly repeated as it was..."

i think the real issue here is why you have a tv that apparently only gets one channel...is it broken?

or are you having the same type of tv-remote dead battery-related issue that sarah silverman was dealing with this evening?

[AshevilleGuy]

6. The racist word was not a problem, all I had to do

was turn it off?? That would not have turned it off for anyone else. What about millions of African American kids who were possibly hearing it??

I can't believe that people here are not horrified by this.

[Mojambo]

9. It's not your responsibility to "turn it off for anyone else"

Let everyone (including all those millions of African American kids) make their own decision about what they want to hear or not.

[Clark2008]

23. If kids of any color are watching this show, they have more

problems than hearing that word - like a lack of parental involvement.

[blondeatlast]

26. Ding, dingity, ding. We have a winner! nt

[dysfunctional press]

25. the only thing that horrifies me...

is that someone that posts here is too incredibly stupid to even understand the point being made by an of an episode of south park....did you watch the entire episode? did you even give a thought to what they were trying to say???

[Buzz Clik]

35. Exactly.

South Park isn't particularly deep, but their entire point -- week after week -- is to kick as many people in the cajones as possible.

[Bandit]

64. Something about kissing Jesse Jackson's ass wasn't it?

Yep they really had a lot to say allright.., :crazy:

[Dave From Canada]

70. millions of African American kids already hear that word in popular music.

[Buzz Clik]

33. I got it. I don't get it.

I'm serious -- I get it, because I simply don't get it.

[EOTE]

72. Here's how I interpreted the episode.

White people don't know what it's like to be called a single word which denigrates their entire race. Sure, we have words like "cracker" and "honky" which are uttered from time to time, but they're nowhere near as pervasive or offensive as the N word. So, Stan's dad makes the faux pas on Wheel of Fortune, and shortly afterwards he's referred to as "n***** guy". He is called this so many times, it eventually seems as if he gets it and understands how powerful and offensive words can be. So, he goes to poetry jams and such in order to express the pain he feels by being called "ni**** guy", and eventually meets up with Michael Richards, Mark Fuhrman and other guys who've used the N word before in public. These guys go on to lobby congress, then congress, empathizing what these guys are going through, decides to ban the words "ni**** guy". Not the N word itself because that primarily effects black people, but "ni**** guy" because these white people who have carelessly used the word are now on the receiving end of the discrimination. I think it was suggesting that people in general are selfish and unlikely to care about an issue unless it effects them directly.

I've watched South Park since it's inception, and I typically like the episodes. I think there have been many stupid episodes (the manbearpig episode was one of, if not THE most stupid), but generally I find it pretty damn funny. I thought this week's episode, although pretty offensive, was pretty damn funny too.

[Lex]

4. That show jumped the shark so long ago.

It is a pathetic hull of its former self.

[AZBlue]

69. I agree. Can't remember when I last watched an episode.

I refuse to fill up my mind or time with junk.

[TheWraith]

5. A sophomoric excuse to use extremely offensive words over and over? That's South Park alright. NT

[ddeclue]

11. After all isn't that the basic plot description of South Park?

You know:

1) The Love Boat - boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy finds girl again.

2) Fantasy Island - Boss..the plane the plane! Unhappy person comes to island with one fantasy leaves happier with a different dream.

3) Gilligan's Island - something or someone new washes ashore offering hope of rescue - Gilligan screws it up. They must stay on the island.

4) The A-Team - hopeless victims victimized by powerful careless people - A Team shoots a lot of guns, no one dies, bad guys give in, Army catches up to A-Team, A-Team flees.

5) Star Trek - Enterprise arrives at new planet, Kirk beams down with security guards. Security guards are killed before first commercial break (never wear red if you're not Scotty). Kirk meets attractive female alien. Kirk scores with alien female. Spock and McCoy fight. Kirk resolves complicated social, moral or technical problem. Kirk leaves girl. Enterprise leaves orbit.

6) M*A*S*H - Choppers land bringing new wounded. Jokes are exchanged in surgery. Hawkeye puts the moves on the nurses. Wounded soldier has some social problem besides his wounds. Hawkeye and B.J. rail against problem while Burns and Houlihan are establishment stooges. Eventually problem is solved and the wounded are evacuated to 121st Evac Hospital.

7) Seinfeld - Seinfeld, George, Elaine and Kramer find bizarre mew ways to try to get ahead in tiny little ways at the expense of each other and others around them.

8) Dukes of Hazzard - Boss Hogg does something to screw the Dukes. The Dukes drive fast and jump the General Lee across a ditch. Sheriff Coltrane's car wrecks in the ditch. Boss Hogg is caught red handed and makes things right with the Dukes.

9) Law and Order - Someone is murdered based on a recent real life news case. The details are translated into New York City locations and social situations. The cops suspect someone. When their original theory pf the crime falls through they suspect someone else. They arrest that someone else. The D.A. offers a deal. The defendant refuses. There's a trial. The P.D. comes up with a bizarre theory of defense. It almost works. Another more lenient deal is offered and refused. The jury convicts the defendant. He gets 25 to life.

10) South Park - A recent news event is translated into an excuse to be offensive and insulting in bizarre surrealistic plots. Kenny Dies. Again. You Bastards! Famous people are belittled. Satan cheats with Saddam. Chef scores again. Cartman's mom is a ****. Taboo subjects and words are repeatedly used hundreds of times in an obvious attempt to offend the audience and draw publicity. Offended people then complain on Democratic Underground. The end.

Doug D.
Orlando, FL

[BlooInBloo]

16. Insert into A-Team: builds vehicle/weapon/other device...

... in impossibly short time with infeasible materials.

[ddeclue]

32. I thought that was MacGuyver

[BlooInBloo]

36. MacGyver learned it from A-Team. :)

[ddeclue]

38. OK... I never think of A-team that way..

I always think that for an elite military "A-team" they either have an amazing aim to always intentionally miss or that they suck at shooting because nobody ever gets shot after thousands of bullets fly. :0

[BlooInBloo]

42. Yah - there *is* totally cowboy-hat-never-fall-off aspect to it - lol!

[bling bling]

17. I love that you wrote that post.

I enjoyed that. Thanks.

[MADem]

20. Bravo, well said, excellent work!!!! Amusing as hell, too!

I've been a fan of these for a long time, myself...

[ClintonTyree]

21. holy crap, I remember when those first came out........

the wire was a pain in the ass, but hey, NOT having to get up to change the channel? :woohoo: I thought technology couldn't get any more advanced at that point. This was the epitome of science.

Sheeesh....am I getting old! :wow:

And I always thought South Park sucked. Sophomoric potty humor designed to appeal to the most unrefined audience. But hey, I'm just some old fart holding my wired remote control: what do I know? :shrug:

[ddeclue]

39. Actually a "wired" remote is featured in the 1990 movie Grand Canyon.

I love that movie. Everyone else seems to have forgotten it.

Doug D.

[Marnieworld]

71. I loved that movie!

I didn't forget it. Great directing from Kasdan and a memorable performance from Steve Martin. I forgot the remote though.

[Blue_Tires]

30. lol

11) All in the Family - Archie spouts off some blasts about women, minority races and/or religions, calls his wife a dingbat and his son-in-law a meathead...Archie gradually and grudgingly learns an important lesson about the changing society around him...

(still a great great show)!!

12)Lassie - Timmy gets in trouble, Lassie gets him out...


I was gonna do a few more, but i'm tired...if anyone wants to pick up the list, please continue with Cheers, Knight Rider, NYPD Blue, Friends, Seinfeld, Charlie's Angels, Columbo, and my childhood favorite, the Dukes of Hazard

[ddeclue]

37. Seinfeld and Dukes already done..

It's hard to do friends because they don't generally seem to have an obvious repeating plot line other than perhaps:

Ross wants Rachel. Rachel dates other guys. Ross and Rachel kiss. Ross and Rachel break up. Ross and Rachel date other people but want to get back together. Repeat as necessary.

??? That sound good???

I do like Friends and Seinfeld and believe them to be creative and generally original.

Doug D.

[Art_from_Ark]

55. 13) Bewitched

Darrin competes for new advertising contract, but can't come up with ideas. Samantha's witch and warlock relatives pop over and create chaos and confusion, while Samamtha tries her best not to use witchcraft and be just a normal suburban wife. Meanwhile, Gladys Crabbits is peering over at the Stevens' home and reporting the strange goings-on to her husband, who is reading the newspaper in his easy chair and trying to ignore his wife. Eventually, Samantha gets to use just a little bit of witchcraft and save the day for Darrin.

14) Get Smart
A CONTROL agent is killed in the first scene. Chief calls in Max and 99 to make the counterattack against KAOS and their arch-nemesis, Siegfried. Max bumbles his way into a jam, but 99 outwits KAOS to save the day.

15) Gomer Pyle
A country bumpkin in the marines somehow causes trouble for his sergeant, but things always work out in the end.

16) Butterflies (British TV show)
Mother has two teenage boys who are lazy louts and ignore her, as does her husband. Mother seeks solace with single neighbor man, but they never do anything except talk. Mother then returns home for more of the same from her family.

17) Roadrunner
Deep-pocketed coyote spends wads of cash to devise Rube Goldberg-like contraptions to catch a small bird, but always fails after falling off several cliffs, getting blown up by dynamite, and having anvils, boulders, or other heavy items fall on him several times in the process.

[silverweb]

54. LOL

A perfect summation of almost all television.

:D

[Exultant Democracy]

56. If I could recommend a post as opposed to a thread you would get one

a sincere round of applause I enjoyed that.

[Initech]

7. My reaction to tonight's episode: "Holy shit!"

:wow:

But I must admit that I laughed my ass off at the beginning because I KNEW it was coming.

[The_Casual_Observer]

8. I'd rather swallow a razor blade than watch that dreck.

[Spangle]

10. The STING is gone from it

IT's gone from being a 'bad' word, to being a 'cool' and a'cutsy" word.

We are a white family. Normaly if you hear a white kid use that word, the only way they KNOW that word, is if they heard it 'in family' by racist family members. A sure sign that the family was racist pigs. Pretty cut and dry.

Not any more.

The kids I have to get on to about this word are African American Kids. They generally say "It's all COOL Mrs. B." But it isn't. The same rule still applies. White kids can't say it or they and their family are seen as racist pigs. But yet, it's not where it's heard so much today. IT's no longer a 'sure thing" as a sign.

The last time I had to get onto a kid about this, I had to tell them the truth. It's not "All Cool" cause my youngest said it the week before. Now WERE did he learn it? And will it be "cool" if someone beats the snot out of him, thinking he is a racist pig??? Will it be 'cool' if people we seldom see, starts thinking the family are secret racists?

We learning the meaning of words by the way they are used. For some people, they use that word in so many ways. Like homie/friend.

That word really bothers me. But at some point society is going to have to decide if it's STILL a bad word, or something else. But it can not be both. With different rules for different folks. That is just plain crazy and don't work.

[BlooInBloo]

13. It was fine up til Cartman's incessant audience laughing. Changed channel at that point.

[Warren DeMontague]

14. I might have been, if I was remotely interested in that tired-ass, has been show.

Trey and Parker are idiots. Give me Mike Judge any day.

[Greyhound]

15. Every time I see one of these threads I picture Parker and Stone

in their mansions in the Hollywood hills just laughing their asses off at just what imbeciles Americans are. It's like every episode they write they tell each other, "OK, this is it, this is so offensive and pointless, its got to get the show kicked off the air", yet here we are, 10 years and 150+ episodes later and they're still raking in the dollars and millions keep watching it.

Mencken was right, "No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public."

ETA; Have you ever seen or heard of Lenny Bruce's routine on this?

[ComerPerro]

53. or, more likely, laughing their asses off at the very idea that

people like you could think they were somehow brilliant satarists and social commentators, when really all they are is libertarian idiots.

[Exultant Democracy]

58. Not to be rude, but Grey never said or impled that they were brilliant satarists

All that Grey pointed out was that these guys have been racking in millions pissing people off. Anyone who cares enough to be pissed off enough to give them more attention is a win.

[ComerPerro]

62. Actually, he did, when comparing them to social commentators and satarists

[Greyhound]

59. You are making assumptions based on nothing more than your own supposition.

I don't think Parker or Stone come anywhere near brilliant and the show hasn't been funny, IMO, since it went on TV in 1997.

I suppose they are an example of how brilliant H.L. Mencken was.

[HuffleClaw]

18. erm, 'dozens of times' ????

if you were SO offended why didn't you change the channel after hearing it ONCE?

[silverojo]

19. So the entire point of the show just sailed over your head, huh?

A white man was being ridiculed and shunned b/c he became known as "the nigger guy" after saying that word on TV. (Hint: The use of the n-word illustrated how much it could hurt a white man in this circumstance, as much as it hurts black people all the time.)

A little person who blithely acted as if words didn't hurt WAS hurt by Cartman's words and cruel laughter.

The other kids, who hadn't been the objects of such bigotry and ridicule, finally got the point--that you can't fully understand what it's like, until you've been a victim of this sort of thing.

South Park's whole purpose is to be outrageous and offensive, while making you think. It's the thinking part you need to do a little more, instead of just clinging to one word to the point where you're no longer thinking.

[MrSlayer]

22. Not I. It was hilarious and made a great point.

South Park is a great, great show. And you missed the point entirely.

[matcom]

27. 'Sophomoric'??? A CARTOON???11

say it isn't so!

[WinkyDink]

28. It's called "humor" in a "cartoon" on "cable".

[BlameCanada12]

29. Unbelievable. Watch 'Chappelles Show' just once please,

Are you offended by all the slurs when he says them? If not, why?


It was a cartoon - they tried to get the audience to think about the situation, instead of just primal, gut reactions of ,"I'm offended".

By the way, they said the word 'Cracker' a few times as well. Were you as equally 'offended' by that racial slur? If not, why?

[ddeclue]

48. White people generally arent' offended by names like "cracker"

in my experience anyways...

[Kelvin Mace]

76. And a lot of white people are clueless.

I take the remark very seriously and pay close attention to the context. If spoken by a black person in anger or contempt, a white person should be offended, and damned careful. Since American white people have never lived in a minority situation, they really do not realize what is behind the word.

[DefenseLawyer]

80. Just a guess

but most of us aren't as offended by the term "cracker" because being called one didn't mean that we might also be lynched, or segregated or denied a loan.

[bmbmd]

31. Sometimes you just have to ask yourself

"What would Brian Boitano do?"
Change channels, maybe.

[Buzz Clik]

34. Here's the test: did you think N_GGER was nagger?

I didn't.

It was a major "ouch" moment. They made their point in spades. <== bridge term.

[BlameCanada12]

41. I sat there and ran every vowel thru my head. Still didn't come

up with NAGGER. I thought, what the hell is a "Nugger"?. lol.

[Buzz Clik]

45. Exactly. I was hoping the "nogger" was a word.

[ddeclue]

47. Pat I'd like to buy an "A"

It was an obvious gag...you only have 5 vowels to run through to figure out the "right" and "wrong" answers...doh...

[youthere]

40. something doesn't smell right.

[BlackVelvet04]

44. LOL You mean you aren't convinced? n/t

[GoneOffShore]

43. I have the same regard for "South Park" as I do for Fox "News".

Therefore I don't watch it.

Despite what it's creators say, it is a horribly biased attempt at humor. And they go after the Left far more than they need.

[mwb970]

46. I never watch it.

There are too many genuinely offensive things to waste time on gratuitous, look-how-bad-I-am on-purpose offensiveness. Someone needs to grow up.

[ddeclue]

50. That's exactly it...

The people like Richards who used that word in real life did it out of stupidity and/or insensitivity or bigotry - not for profit.

The ONLY reason Parker and Stone did it was to juice their ratings and make more money.


If you don't see that you'd have to be blind.

Doug D.

[Kelly Rupert]

49. It must suck to be tied down in front of a TV with only one channel.

Seriously, just take some goddamn responsibility for what media you consume and change the channel if you start getting offended.

[mwb970]

68. You want the OP to just change the channel and not comment.

Couldn't you have just deleted this thread and not commented? How about taking some responsibility for which threads you read and just delete it if you don't like what's written?

[XOKCowboy]

51. Did you see the ending?

Between Stan and Token when Stan finally figures out the he doesn't get it? How he has no idea what it's like to be called a nigger? Were you too fixated on the word not to get the message?
I mean these guys are always over the top but Archie Bunker was also in it's day.

I really worry about the collective loss of a sense of humor in our midst lately.

[ComerPerro]

52. South Park is immature libertarian-conservative bullshit

[rman]

60. That must be why it so often targets conservatism.

[ComerPerro]

61. even when it targets conservatism, it attacks liberalism

and it treats conservatives better than it treats liberals.

For example, their episodes discussing the war depicted BushBots as well-meaning patriots, and liberals as clueless followers.

And just look at how it treats Bush. As a lovable buffoon, nothing more.

[Hippo_Tron]

57. The n-word didn't bother me so much as the preaching

South Park was a lot better when they satirized for humor instead of to preach their political views.

[rman]

67. There's already so little critical reflection on society.

You know: harmless, meaningless, shallow entertainment.
There's plenty of that. Should every TV show be like that?

Do you think "The Simpsons" is (or should be) just entertainment to?

I'm not so sure SP ever did it just for fun.

[Hippo_Tron]

81. Well if they want me to watch the show, then yes

I'm not saying that they shouldn't preach their political views, I'm saying that I'm not going to sit there and listen to a show that has become nothing more than a libertarian mouthpiece.

Their views were always known but the satire used to be far more outrageous and far more removed from reality.

[cgrindley]

63. Not even a little bit

It was a thoughtful episode and the overall message that non-African Americans "don't get it" was a good one.

Just because you didn't understand the episode doesn't mean to say that it wasn't clever and well structured.

[gravity]

66. This thread supports the show's message

They just don't get it.

[porphyrian]

65. If an episode doesn't offend someone, they don't air it.

That's the nature of the show, pretty much.

[candidate]

73. Why do people think words are offensive?

Words have neutral value; their definitions depend solely on context.

People, words are not out to hurt you. The only way they can offend you is if you let them offend you.

[Kelvin Mace]

75. Well, it's not the word, it's the context

"Nigger" as used in South Park has one meaning, as used by Richard Pryor has another meaning, and when used by some Neanderthal in a white sheet has yet another meaning.

The last one is the dangerous one.

I agree that people are very silly about words, especially "bad" words. I can swear a blue streak in Italian and no one finds it offensive in the least, unless they speak Italian.

[Kelvin Mace]

74. Uh, social commentary seems lost on some

The whole point of the episode was:

1) The word wasn't deemed offensive enough to be banned until it was applied to white people.

2) White people can never truly comprehend why the word is truly offensive in the context most white people use it.

[cgrindley]

77. A+

There were some other things going on, too, but those two were the main points.

[brettdale]

78. south park has gone down hill in the lasy few years

Its not even close to being funny.

[MnFats]

79. no. free speech and all...

..but we ought to raise our children not to use words that have centuries of hate and violence behind them

[rman]

82. Even if the point of using those words is to show

the hate behind them?

[rman]

83. So why was everybody on the show embarrased about the use of the N word?

And why was it only the one dumb fuck of the SP friends who was so eager to have a race war started?

Not to mention that those dozens of times when the N word was used ("nigger-guy"), it was used as a synoniem to "racist".

And SP is supposed to be racist and anti-liberal?
I'm just surprised there are so many on DU who don't get it.