Regular readers of this column know that we are a fan of Comedy Central's exuberantly offensive animated series "South Park." We especially enjoyed the two-part episode that concluded last week, one line of whose plot has sparked quite a controversy. In brief, it involves the Prophet Muhammad, and the gag is that everyone, including celebrities and "gingers" (kids with red hair and freckles), wants what he has--namely, the power not to be ridiculed.
As the New York Times explains, the second episode in the two-parter "was shown Wednesday night on Comedy Central with audio bleeps and image blocks reading 'CENSORED' after a Muslim group warned the show's creators that they could face violence for depicting that holy Islamic prophet." The CENSORED blocks actually had appeared in the first episode as well, but the second episode bleeped out every spoken reference to Muhammad's name, as well as the closing speeches by Kyle, Jesus and Santa Claus.
This censorship was done by the suits at Comedy Central, not Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the show's creators--although that escaped us when we watched the episode. We cracked up at the bleeped-out closing speeches; it seemed to us a humorous device employed in typical over-the-top "South Park" style. Not so, according to Stone and Parker, who released a statement Thursday saying: "It wasn't some meta-joke on our part. Comedy Central added the bleeps. In fact, Kyle's customary final speech was about intimidation and fear. It didn't mention Muhammad at all but it got bleeped too."
Revolution Muslim, the group that warned of violence--the wording seems to have been chosen carefully so that it would not be a true threat--appears to be "legit," which is to say it is a genuine U.S.-based Islamic fundamentalist group that has been around for at least a couple of years. (As a sign of disapproval, we'll pass on linking to its Web site.) So although the whole thing came across as a joke, it does appear to have been serious.
The "South Park" Muhammad meshugass in turn inspired a joke that is being taken too seriously. MyNorthwest.com, the Web site of three Seattle radio stations, reports that Seattle cartoonist Molly Norris "wanted to counter the fear. She has declared May 20th 'Everybody Draw Mohammed Day.' " The story reproduces Norris's strip, which depicts an anthropomorphic teacup declaring, "I am the real likeness of Mohammad" and other household items--a cherry, a domino, a spool of thread--claiming that, no, they are the prophet's image.
Blogress Ann Althouse notes that commentators across the political spectrum--Glenn Reynolds, HotAir.com, Dan Savage, Reason magazine--are endorsing the idea, apparently in all seriousness. Which prompts an update to the MyNorthwest.com story:
After the massive response to the cartoon Norris posted this on her website:
I make cartoons about current, cultural events. I made a cartoon of a "poster" entitled "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!" with a nonexistent group's name--Citizens Against Citizens Against Humor--drawn on the cartoon also. I did not intend for my cartoon to go viral. I did not intend to be the focus of any "group." I practice the first amendment by drawing what I wish. This particular cartoon of a "poster" seems to have struck a gigantic nerve, something I was totally unprepared for. I am going back to the drawing table now!
Our reflexive response to "Everybody Draw Mohammad Day"--which we too thought was serious, not having seen Norris's cartoon or her disclaimer--was sympathetic. But Althouse prompted us to reconsider. Here is her objection:
Depictions of Muhammad offend millions of Muslims who are no part of the violent threats. In pushing back some people, you also hurt a lot of people who aren't doing anything. . . .
I don't like the in-your-face message that we don't care about what other people hold sacred. Back in the days of the "Piss Christ" controversy, I wouldn't have supported an "Everybody Dunk a Crucifix in a Jar of Urine Day" to protest censorship. Dunking a crucifix in a jar of urine is something I have a perfect right to do, but it would gratuitously hurt many Christian bystanders to the controversy. I think opposing violence (and censorship) can be done in much better ways.
At the same time, real artists like the "South Park" guys or (maybe) Andre Serrano should go on with their work, using shock to the extent that they see fit. Shock is an old artist's move. Epater la bourgeoisie. Shock will get a reaction, and it will make some people mad. They are allowed to get mad. That was the point. Of course, they'll have to control their violent impulses.
People need to learn to deal with getting mad when they hear or see speech that enrages them, even when it is intended to enrage them. But how are we outsiders to the artwork supposed to contribute the the [sic] process of their learning how to deal with free expression? I don't think it is by gratuitously piling on outrageous expression, because it doesn't show enough respect and care for the people who are trying to tolerate the expression that outrages them.
"Piss Christ" is not an entirely apposite example, for it prompted no threats of violence or calls for suppression. It was an issue not of free speech but of subsidized speech; people objected to their tax dollars' bankrolling Serrano via the National Endowment for the Arts. But it isn't hard to think of other examples in which speech that is offensive to large numbers of people has occasioned censorship or violence or the threats thereof.
Until 1989, it was a crime in some states to burn the American flag as a political statement. In Texas v. Johnson the U.S. Supreme Court held that this is protected symbolic speech. In ensuing years members of Congress repeatedly tried to propose a constitutional amendment permitting the criminalization of flag burning. It is the view of this column that flag burning is and should remain protected speech. We deplore it nonetheless, and we think holding an "Everybody Burn the Flag Day" would be stupid, obnoxious and counterproductive if one seeks to persuade others that flag burning should be tolerated.
"Hate speech"--for example, shouting racial slurs, positing theories of racial supremacy or denying the Holocaust--is illegal in Canada and many European countries. In the U.S. it is protected by the First Amendment--but it has been known to provoke a violent reaction. Last week we noted that left-wing counterprotesters beat up members of a white-supremacist group who were holding a rally in Los Angeles. The Associated Press reports from Pearl, Miss., that "a white supremacist lawyer was stabbed and beaten to death by a black neighbor who had done yard work for him, police said Friday."
It's not clear if the motive for the Mississippi killing was political, but surely everyone can agree that battery and murder are not appropriate responses to the expression of invidious views. This column is also of the opinion that hate-speech laws are pernicious and that the First Amendment does and should protect the expression of even ugly and false ideas. But we would not endorse or participate in an "Everybody Shout a Racial Slur Day" or an "Everybody Deny the Holocaust Day" to make the point.
Why is "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" different? Because the taboo against depictions of Muhammad is not a part of America's common culture. The taboos against flag burning, racial slurs and Holocaust denial are. The problem with the "in-your-face message" of "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" is not just that it is inconsiderate of the sensibilities of others, but that it defines those others--Muslims--as being outside of our culture, unworthy of the courtesy we readily accord to insiders. It is an unwise message to send, assuming that one does not wish to make an enemy of the entire Muslim world.
The Politics of 'Anything Goes'
* "Even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us--the spin masters, the negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of 'anything goes.' Well, I say to them tonight, there is not a liberal America and a conservative America--there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America--there's the United States of America."--state senator Barack Obama, Democratic National Convention, July 27, 2004
* "In the video message to his supporters, [President] Obama said his administration's success depends on the outcome of this fall's elections and warned that if Republicans regain control of Congress, they could 'undo all that we have accomplished.' 'This year, the stakes are higher than ever,' he said, according to a transcript of his remarks provided by Democratic officials. 'It will be up to each of you to make sure that young people, African Americans, Latinos and women who powered our victory in 2008 stand together once again. . . .' "--Washington Post, April 26, 2010
The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth, but Only if They're Lazy Too
In an otherwise uninteresting profile of Shepard Fairey, the artist who designed those creepy red-white-and-blue Obama posters, New York's WNBC-TV gives us this delightful quote:
"I think what really is the problem with the two-party system is that it's very difficult for people without power to make a difference unless they try very hard. . . ."
In Faireyland, we guess, the world would be run by people who are both powerless and lazy. In the real world, this is logically impossible. If you can "make a difference" without even trying, it is inaccurate to describe you as being "without power."
You Can't Spell 'Congress' Without 'Con'
Under the headline "States Warn of 'Obamacare' Scams," the New York Times reports on yet another unintended consequence of the monstrous health-care legislation enacted last month:
Con artists in several states are seizing on the public's financial struggles and confusion about the recent health care overhaul, the authorities say. . . .
The authorities say the elderly and the poor are especially vulnerable to the bogus plans, which have names like Obamacare and Obama Health Plan. . . .
"Confusion is the scammer's best friend," said James Quiggle, a spokesman for the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, a consumer protection group. . . .
"If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is," said Michael T. McRaith, director of the Illinois Department of Insurance.
There's nothing wrong with the Times article, but it's amusing to contemplate how well its description of these scams apply to ObamaCare itself.
Subtlest 'Racism' Imputation Yet
Yes! Weekly, a Greensboro, N.C.-based tabloid, has come up with an especially clever way of insinuating that the tea-party movement is racist:
[Bill] Randall [a Republican candidate for Congress] said the relative silence within the Tea Party on subsequent constitutional amendments--most notably the Thirteenth Amendment, banning slavery, and the Fourteenth Amendment, guaranteeing equal protection under the law--should not be taken as an indication that theyre [sic] valued any less.
"The Tea Party movement tends to concentrate on the articles of the Constitution that have been significantly downplayed and abused, overemphasized or restricted," Randall said. "We're actually touching where it hurts. If there was a movement afoot in Congress to limit firearms, you would see an emphasis on the Second Amendment."
That should be "relative quiet" or simply "silence." Either you're silent or you're not; there are no degrees.
More substantively, while Randall's explanation is sufficient in the case of the 13th Amendment--slavery is gone and never coming back--the tea-party movement's lack of interest in the 14th Amendment is evidence that it is not driven by racial grievance. If it were, its adherents would argue that the 14th Amendment's requirement for equal protection is "significantly downplayed and abused" by legislative, administrative and judicial decisions giving preferential treatment to minorities.
Meanwhile, CNN.com begins a report from Phoenix as follows:
Hundreds of people gathered outside Arizona's Capitol building on Sunday in a largely peaceful protest against the state's tough new immigration law.
"Largely peaceful" implies that there was some violence, although the CNN report does not reveal its nature or extent. In any case, it's quite a contrast with reports of completely peaceful tea-party protests that emphasize imagined threats of violence.
99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall
The Associated Press has some good--albeit highly anecdotal--news on the unemployment front:
When laid-off toy company executive Paul Nawrocki hit the streets of Manhattan wearing a sandwich board and handing out his resume, he became the face of the recession.
At the end of 2008, with the giants of Wall Street collapsing and bank accounts dwindling, this lone, mustachioed job hunter with the sign proclaiming he was "almost homeless" seemed like a mirror of a slumping nation's fears and troubles. . . .
Well, if Paul Nawrocki is a sign of the times, then times are looking up.
Because last month, after collecting 99 weeks of unemployment, Nawrocki finally found a job.
Ninety-nine weeks, eh? Want to see an amazing coincidence? This is from the Web site of the New York State Department of Labor:
New York State now provides 73 additional weeks of unemployment benefits, as well as the usual 26 weeks of regular benefits.
Get a calculator, and punch in "73+26=." Spooky, isn't it?
Nawrocki must have studied economics under former Enron adviser Paul Krugman. It's a wonder he's still employable!
Killing Them With Kindness
The New York Times reports on Ronnie Lee Gardner, a prisoner on Utah's death row:
Mr. Gardner's lawyer, Andrew Parnes, said he would make a new appeal to the State Supreme Court, which previously upheld the death sentence, arguing that his client did not receive proper help with experts and research before his sentencing and that execution after such a long wait would be cruel and unusual punishment.
In a 2007 post, blogress Bonnie Kernene-Prisbrey described Gardner's crimes:
The charges stem from an incident that occurred on April 2, 1985. Defendant was being transported from the maximum security unit of the Utah State Prison to the Metropolitan Hall of Justice in Salt Lake City to appear at a hearing on a second degree murder charge. As he entered the basement lobby of the Hall, he was handed a gun by a female accomplice. He fumbled with the unfamiliar weapon; his guards retreated to the parking lot. Gunfire was exchanged, and defendant was shot in the shoulder. He entered an archives room, looking for a way out of the building. There he encountered a court clerk, a prison officer, and three attorneys. Two of the attorneys sought refuge behind the office door. Defendant turned on them, pointed the gun at one and then the other, and fired, killing attorney Michael Burdell.
The prison officer, Richard Thomas, was forced to lead defendant out of the archives room to a stairwell leading to the second floor. As defendant crossed the lobby, Nick Kirk, a uniformed bailiff, came down the stairway to investigate the disturbance. Defendant shot and seriously wounded Kirk and then proceeded up the stairs. On the next floor, defendant encountered Wilburn Miller, a vending machine serviceman, and forced him to accompany defendant outside of the building. As defendant stepped outside, Miller broke free and dived through a teller's window inside the building. Once outside, defendant, wounded, shackled, and surrounded by police, threw down his gun and surrendered.
Usually an item like this one is designed to show that a killer did not show his victims the mercy for which he is asking the court. Not this time. Wasn't it nice of Gardner not to make his victims wait for years before he killed them?
How Can We Miss You if You Won't Go Away?
* "Bill Moyers, a preacher turned journalist who accrued 30 Emmys, has veered back to the pulpit in announcing his retirement from 'Now With Bill Moyers,' a PBS weekly newsmagazine for which he has been the host for three years. His final broadcast tonight marks a 33-year run on public television that has brought awards, attacks and almost uncountable stories."--New York Times, Dec. 17, 2004
* "Bill Moyers is retiring from television this week--a significant passage for many who care about journalism, about television, about the "world of ideas" he's shared with his audience for 40 years."--Austin American-Statesman, April 24, 2010
The Experts Certainly Know Football
* "Experts Say Bills Won't End 'Too Big to Fail' "--headline, NPR.org, April 23
* "Size mattered to the Buffalo Bills on Friday after they spent the NFL draft bulking up their defensive line."--Associated Press, April 24
With DNC in Mind, City Bans Carrying Urine, Feces
"Pair Caught With $250,000 of P Jailed"--headline, New Zealand Herald, April 24
There's No Time to Waste, Only Money
"Running Out of Time: Telecommunications Transition Delays Wasting Millions of Federal Dollars"--title of April 29 hearing, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
So Go Nowhere Quickly
"Hyperfast Missile to Hit Anywhere in an Hour"--headline, Sunday Times (London), April 25
What Happened to 'Free to Choose'?
"All Milton All the Time in Chicago"--headline, KIRO-AM Web site (Seattle), April 24
We Hope They Have Bulletproof Jerseys
"Four CSU Linemen Will Get Shot in NFL"--headline, Fort Collins Coloradoan, April 24
A Legal First: Thumb on the Scale as a Defense
"Man Cleared of Weighing Penis on Fruit and Veg Scales"--headline, Scotsman, April 22
The Battery Was Found Dead, and the Man Is Suspected of False Charges
"Police Seek Man in Connection With Battery"--headline, Exponent (Purdue University), April 22
Why We Moved to Midtown
* "Rats Mob the Upper East Side"--headline, The Wall Street Journal, April 26
* "Flushed Diapers Back Up Town"--headline, Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, Va.), April 25
Questions Nobody Is Asking
* "How Do You Say 'Realpolitik' in Klingon?"--headline, ForeignPolicy.com, April 25
* "Buyer's Remorse in New Jersey?"--headline, PoliticalWire.com, April 23
* "Where Are the Jewish Tea Parties?"--headline, Commentary Web site, April 26
* "Has Marc Ambinder Gone Mad?"--headline, LegalInsurrection.blogspot.com, April 24
* "Is It Legal to Stamp 'TAX CHEAT!' Over Tim Geithner's Signature on $1 Bills?"--headline, BeldarBlog.blogs.com, April 22
Answers to Questions Nobody Is Asking
* "Why Shockmeister Chris Morris Is Like Emily Brontë"--headline, Daily Telegraph (London), April 24
* "Why Kate Hudson's (Alleged) Breast Implants Have Me Heartbroken"--headline, Puffington Host, April 22
Look Out Below!
* "Lindsay Lohan Dropped From Movie"--headline, Gather.com, April 24
* "Out for the Count: Why Levels of Sperm in Men Are Falling"--headline, Independent (London), April 26
It's Always in the Last Place You Look
* "Penguin Eggs Discovered in Chattanooga"--headline, WTVC-TV (Chattanooga, Tenn.), April 23
* "Stealth Salt in the Pantry"--headline, New York Times, April 25
* "James Taranto Loses His Marbles"--headline, Samizdata.net, April 23
Too Much Information
"Weiner Backs Up Schumer on Israel Policy"--headline, National Review Online, April 23
Someone Set Up Us the Bomb
"Ohio Man Arrested as Obama Leaves NC Faces Hearing"--headline, Associated Press, April 26
News of the Tautological
"The Nine-Bin Nightmare: Families Forced to Follow Green Zealots' New Recycling Diktats"--headline, Daily Mail (London), April 24
Breaking News From 1863
"Va., W.Va. Boundary Dispute Resolved"--headline, Associated Press, April 25
News You Can Use
* "Clues Found to Sexual Arousal in Women"--headline, Detroit Free Press, April 25
* "Don't Talk to Aliens, Warns Stephen Hawking"--headline, Sunday Times (London), April 25
* "KFC 'Pink Buckets' Not Best Way to Fight Breast Cancer"--headline, Consumerist.com, April 25
* "Don't Reject Rhubarb"--headline, WTOP-FM Web site (Washington), April 24
Bottom Stories of the Day
* "Source: Elizabeth Taylor Not Hospitalized"--headline, CNN.com, April 23
* "Large Euchre Tournament Falls Short of Guinness Goal"--headline, Detroit Free Press, April 25
* "Tourists Likely Won't Skip Utah Because of Firing Squad"--headline, Salt Lake Tribune, April 24
* "White House Adviser Spills Secret: Obama Loves Pie"--headline, Associated Press, April 24
* "Canada Set to Apologize to Italian-Canadians"--headline, Agence France-Presse, April 23
Dangerous Drives
"German researchers have developed a new technology that lets drivers steer cars using only their eyes," the Associated Press reports:
Raul Rojas, an artificial intelligence researcher at Berlin's Free University, said Friday that the technology tracks a driver's eye movement and, in turn, steers the car in whatever direction they're looking.
