More than ten years ago, Trey Parker & Matt Stone had a brilliant idea. Knowing the kind of trouble that can accompany anybody who speaks the truth, they found themselves a front, of sorts. What had begun as a project for a College Sociology class has now changed into a sort of check and balance system for our country, and maybe the World.
The very first episode of South Park was intended to be confrontational, and the creators of the show have not veered away from this technique. A plot that involves Jesus of Nazareth fighting Santa Claus for the rights to Christmas, enough potty humor for an entire kindergarten class, and a level of sophistication in regards to social commentary that is quite rare in 3rd graders, South Park was an instant hit(and I'm proud to be an American...).
Tangent time, don't worry, it'll make sense. In 2004, film-maker Theo van Gogh, a distant relative of Vincent "hard on hearing" Van Gogh, was shot, stabbed, nearly beheaded, then his body was left with two knives sticking out. One of the knives had pierced a 5 page note that can be found here. Theo was the victim of Islamic extremists, whom he'd provoked by making a documentary that exposed the violence many Islamic women face. Not in some far off land, but in his very own country of Amsterdam.
About a year later, a Danish paper called the Jyllands-Posten published 12 cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad, found here. The reaction by some of the louder voices in the Islamic world was probably unexpected. Danish embassies in Syria, Lebanon, and Iran were burned to the ground, more than 100 people were killed, and various European buildings were stormed. All of this for some ink on paper.Now back to South Park. When the creators attempted to depict the prophet Muhammad, they were censored by Viacom, Comedy Centrals parent company. What is almost as sickening is the amount of media that Viacom controls, look here! By putting the sensibilities of an angry mob ahead of the rights of American citizens, Viacom put into motion the events that would silence the very voices that they were trying not to offend. (good work guys, I know it was all part of your plan.)
Molly Norris, no relation to Chuck, is a Seattle based artist who is apparently passionate about free speech. So on behalf of the creators of South Park, she made a cartoon that depicted Muhammad as a menagerie of inanimate objects. She then declared May 20th, to be "everybody draw Muhammad day", and thus a holiday is born.
Molly Norris has since distanced herself from this movement. The reasons for this are complicated, but it may have something to do with the fact that now Pakistan has banned facebook until the end of May, as a response to the new-found holiday. Molly may simply not want to be the excuse for some extremist to do something profoundly stupid, I really don't know.
The Atheist in me wants the crazies in the Islamic world to do something stupid, an act that will inevitably speed up the demise of religion in general. But the rational pacifist in me doesn't understand why people would spill blood over spilled ink. Regardless this shit does not qualify as appropriate human behavior of the 21st century. Either moderate Muslims need to whoop-ass within their own ranks, or the western world surely will.
I do know this, that free speech dies when it yields to the sensitivities of a group of people who are stuck in the 7th century.
So, here it is, as found in the Koran, Muhammad consummating his marriage to 9 year old Aisha...
