A Canadian reader writes:
"I totally agree with you on this one. Comedy Central should air the South Park rerun and let the Scientologists fall on their faces and try to sue Matt Stone and Trey Parker – or the network.
It’s worth pointing out that they showed the rerun on Canada’s Comedy Network a few weeks ago despite pressure from the Church of Scientology not to air it again. I got the chance to see it during my ‘lunch’ at work, and I can tell you, the TV lounge was packed with many of my co-workers who, like me, didn’t see it the first airing during the fall. I usually don’t watch South Park, but I wanted to see what the fuss was all about ‚Äì and what’s the big deal? Nicole Kidman begging her ex to ‘come out of the closet?’ The Scientology operatives who laid out what their religion believes ‚Äì then threatened to sue the poor kid when he repeated, verbatim, something else they said?
We all got a huge laugh out of it.
Your point about the Catholic League managing to stop another episode of South Park is well taken. This was like the Simpsons episode a few years ago, the one about the Super Bowl and the commercial parody of ZZ Top sponsored by ‘the Catholic Church: We’ve made a few … changes.’ I remember the League went ballistic over it. As a Catholic, however, I totally got the point and couldn’t stop laughing. I still do when it’s in reruns.
Sometimes, I just wish these guys would just get a sense of humour.
As for seeing MI: 3, rest assured I won’t. Seeing him in ‘The Firm’ gave me more than enough of Cruise to last a lifetime."
It strikes me that people with a secure sense of their own faith are often the least liable to get upset by parodies or comedies about it. Religions may deal in divine truths, but they are run by human beings. And the combination is often funny. True believers know that; and don’t care when they’re made fun of. Insecure believers – and they often need fundamentalism to keep their own souls untroubled by doubt – are the touchiest.
The Dish 