ADDED: Drudge presents it this way...
... which might not be quite fair. That FoxNews thing is this: "TRUMP GOES OFF – BLASTS RICH LOWRY After Conservative Pundit Talks About 'His Balls' on Kelly File." What Lowry said was: "Let’s be honest, Carly cut his balls off with the precision of a surgeon." That is, it wasn't an imperative. (It wasn't: "cut his balls off!") And I suspect Lowry thought he was exercising some kind of twisted female privilege, since he was interposing a woman between himself and Trump and female violence is sexistly regarded as a big joke.
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Pope Francis' pious lecturing on illegal immigration reminds me of the scene from Clint Eastwood's "High Plains Drifter" where the avenging angel Clint removes all guests from the Lago Hotel and the preacher complains:
Preacher: See here...you can't turn all these people out into the night. It is inhuman, brother. Inhuman!
Clint: I'm not your brother.
Preacher: We are all brothers in the eyes of God.
Clint: All these people, are they your sisters and brothers?
Preacher: They most certainly are!
Clint: Then you won't mind if they stay at your place, will ya?
Preacher: All right, folks, let's go. Put your bags here. Friends, don't worry. We shall find haven for you in our own homes... and it won't cost you one cent more than regular hotel rates.
Clint: (Does a disgusted double-take).
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/an-bPfu2m222hbm22/high_plains_drifter_1973_emptying_the_hotel/
Canadian Donald Trump doing the Safety Dance!
After last week's episode which had a lot about Caitlin Jenner without ever depicting her, we greatly appreciated getting a caricature, complete with hinky eye and tongue hanging out... and murderous driving.
The Caitlin Jenner episode last week took on the whole Social Justice Warrior craze. Did it about as well as could be done.
Hard to believe that after all these years, South Park still has this huge swath of material staked out for itself. That's nearly 20 years of being the only true counter-culture product on television.
female violence is sexistly regarded as a big joke.
Ever see the cheeky promos for the ID Channel's "Wives with Knives"...? Real-life stories of women murdering their husbands.
The promo, read as a poem, ends with "a knife in his chest." tee hee, amirite girls?
Touchy, aren't we?
Damn it I missed it last night! I love South Park and how it skewers everyone's sacred cow. That's one of the big differences between a conservative and a liberal. Conservatives can laugh at themselves generally. Liberals can't laugh at themselves because that would imply heresy. Liberalism is a religion.
There is certainly a double standard--Lowry used a crude term, but I can't imagine him using an equivalent term for the female anatomy if he was saying that Trump had really socked it to Fiorina. Society is far more accepting of violence against men than women.
"That's one of the big differences between a conservative and a liberal. Conservatives can laugh at themselves generally. Liberals can't laugh at themselves because that would imply heresy. Liberalism is a religion."
Generally that is true, but there are notable exceptions--Portlandia comes to mind. The creators are undoubtedly on the left, and the show spends almost all its time poking fun at various leftist types.
What cut his balls off? Carly just revealed herself as a snippy female. "Women all across America heard what Trump said" rough quote.
As if women would agree with her because of vagina solidarity.
Probably 40% will. They're morons, but mockable because of it. Trump still has his balls, as the next zinger will reveal. I think it was that Carly's a beautiful woman.
Does she even realize what Trump did there?
Lowry fired Derbyshire and lost half the readership of his magazine. Talk about no balls.
If we talk about cutting gonads off, it's not so sexist. Women have gonads too.
Ellen Page _Juno_ was a nice DVD. I watched it only once but from time to time recall great moments. Slightly feminist.
Her self-awareness is what's missing from most feminism.
stop being so fucking sensitive! It's a joke, hardly one of violence- precise surgery - not really the same as violence against men. Also, it's an analogy! ANALOGY! Get the fuck over it.
"Let’s be honest: Carly cut his balls off with the precision of a surgeon, and he knows it."
Fact check says,'Four Pinocchios'.
Or are we back to recognizing metaphor this week?
I've had three bosses who thought that the position of boss was ridiculous. None of them were women.
"What cut his balls off? Carly just revealed herself as a snippy female. "Women all across America heard what Trump said" rough quote."
That's the other issue--besides the crudeness of the metaphor, it didn't really seem that she "took him down." I thought her strengths in the debate were her command of the facts and ability to go into policy specifics, but found her delivery too shaky and nervous.
Trump didn't come across well in either debate in my view, but then I don't think I'm the sort of person he's trying to appeal to.
This is why I advocate for Republicans to be President even when I stop seeing differences between the parties.
Can you see Obama or Hillary being mocked in the same fashion?
No way.
We need to be able to mock our politicians. Democrats won't allow that.
Now that Fox News and Trump are officially at loggerheads we shall see who needs who more. I suspect that FNC will win in the long run as the Trumpocalypse slowly dies off.
But Mr. Garrison's proposed solution was to f*ck the illegal immigrants to death. That's rape, that's making a joke out of extreme sexual violence and threats of same.
Problematic.
I saw the exchange live -- Rich Lowery is a great editor, commentator, but he could have easily made his point without the graphic phrase. In essence, he decided to meet Trump on Trump's terms. His mentor, William F. Buckley, rarely did this. Buckley interviewed Alinsky, Huey Newton, Mark Lane, Allen Ginsburg, and usually, not always, but usually, the guests elevated their civility up to Buckley's level.
Not saying that Lowery was bad, that's just what happened.
Recommended! Especially for Trump fans. You won't be sore-y.
So rape is something even university professors joke about and we call all agree this one particular violent crime is totally different than all other violent crimes and cannot be joked about in any way and deserves special treatment in the legal system.
This is excellent news. Hopefully every other university professor, administrator, and student will come around to our hosts point of view.
But Mr. Garrison's proposed solution was to f*ck the illegal immigrants to death. That's rape, that's making a joke out of extreme sexual violence and threats of same.
Problematic.
Not so long as it’s male on male and the victim is white and identified as being either Christian, rich or on the political “right.” Then it’s within the boundaries of acceptable humor as determined by our betters.
I would think the 'cut his balls off' comment refers to Jessie Jackson's comment about doing that to Obama. It is a portend, a foreshadowing, it means that Trump will be elected like Obama was.
eric,
Except that South Park mocks Democrats all the time. For example... when the CDC determined that money is somehow responsible for infecting males with sex addiction, President Obama proclaimed that the sex addiction virus must have been brought to Earth by extraterrestrials (and when they couldn't see the alien, he decided that it must have been a "wizard alien" that can cast invisibility spells); when a lone federal agent pointed out how ridiculous the President's theories were and suggested that sexual drive is merely related to the ego's impulses, Obama had him bound and gagged, put in an alien costume and tricked Kyle and Butters into shooting and murdering the "alien."
Or when Al Gore started preaching about the "half man, half bear, half pig" monster ManBearPig which attacks humans for no reason and is the greatest threat to mankind's survival. Gore almost kills the kids by flooding a cave that they are in, tries to claim credit for "saving" the kids, and Kyle correctly points out that Al Gore is a pathetic loser with no friends who only created ManBearPig so people would pay attention to him.
I could go on and on, but South Park skewers Democrats far more often than Republicans (although NO ONE- not even Santa, Jesus or Buddha- gets a free pass from Parker and Stone).
Thorley,
But in this case, Mr. Garrison was initially railing against illegal alien Canadian children in his classroom. They're white, yes, but in South Park, Canadians look very different than American children. They're not Christian- they have their own Canadian religion (which requires them to pray five times a day by playing Chuck Mangione songs on their trumpets) with their own Canadian Satan (although he was recently defeated by Satan). And they're certainly not on the political right- yes, they elected Trump as "President of Canada," but it was because "Nobody ever thought he'd be president! It was a joke! We just let the joke go on for too long. By the time we were all ready to say, 'Okay, let's get serious now, who should really be president?' he was already sworn into office. We weren't paying attention! We weren't paying attention!"
"Conservatives can laugh at themselves generally. Liberals can't laugh at themselves because that would imply heresy. Liberalism is a religion."
He said, reciting doctrine.
"Buckley interviewed Alinsky, Huey Newton, Mark Lane, Allen Ginsburg, and usually, not always, but usually, the guests elevated their civility up to Buckley's level."
You're assuming Alinsky, Newton, Lane, and Ginbsburg were not civil in conversation as a rule.
South Park comes from a libertarian, hypocrisy-abhorring perspective, which makes the Democrats and Democratic-supporting institutions more easily targeted. But they do not hesitate to mock Conservative policies/institutions that fall into those parameters.
I could go on and on, but South Park skewers Democrats far more often than Republicans (although NO ONE- not even Santa, Jesus or Buddha- gets a free pass from Parker and Stone
Mohammad does. Not from Parker and Stone, but from the network producers. Donald Trump getting raped is okay where Mohammad just standing around in a football helmet is not.
It's funny that anyone though would consider the line "not even Santa, Jesus or Buddha" as praise for one's edginess credentials.
Good grief! "Cut his balls off" is just a figure of speech. As in "shot him down". As in "cut him off at the knees". Etc.
"Good grief! "Cut his balls off" is just a figure of speech. As in "shot him down". As in "cut him off at the knees". Etc."
We know that, but it's a particularly crude figure of speech. Imagine if some Trump supporter said of Carly "he's going to rip off her tits in the next debate." It would be equally crude.
"South Park comes from a libertarian, hypocrisy-abhorring perspective, which makes the Democrats and Democratic-supporting institutions more easily targeted. But they do not hesitate to mock Conservative policies/institutions that fall into those parameters."
What I like about South Park's evenhandedness is not that they have some obligation to be "fair" but rather that this enables them to use the full spectrum of comedic targets wherever they find them. Contrast that to the Daily Show, which with its blind spot when it comes to skewering the Left, will miss many opportunities for comedy.
I'll admit, with the name Abdul Abulbul Amir I don't know if you're playing it straight or not - such is our society today. So this may or may not apply to you specifically, but it's a good thing to keep in mind:
It's tit-for-tat. The same society that rushes for the fainting couches at every utterance cannot be allowed to turn around and say 'just a figure of speech!' To do so is to yield a weapon to the enemy. As Alinsky said: hold them to their own rules.
Ergo, those who use idioms that reference sex-specific violence are sexist bigots and there is NO PLACE for them.
@Robert Cook
"Buckley interviewed Alinsky, Huey Newton, Mark Lane, Allen Ginsburg, and usually, not always, but usually, the guests elevated their civility up to Buckley's level."
You're assuming Alinsky, Newton, Lane, and Ginbsburg were not civil in conversation as a rule.
_______________________________________________________________________
Lane was generally civil, I'll give you that. He did push all those wild JFK conspiracy theories, though.
As for the rest, well, Alinsky learned his tactics from Al Capone; Newton was an admitted rapist and murderer; and Ginsburg was an admitted child molester. Rough crowd, those 60's heroes. You can look it up.
Alexander,
You misunderstood me. I meant it more in the vain (vein?) of they'll make fun of the kindest, gentlest, most innocent of people, i.e., those whom we'd normally consider "above" being made fun of -- like my late grandmother, the meekest, gentlest person I ever met in my life whom people refrained from joking about because she was so meek. I would not consider making fun of her to be "edgy," but it would be evidence that no one gets a free pass. We might just have different senses of humor, though.
In any case, as you well know, Parker and Stone did not give a Mohammad a free pass, and can't be held responsible for Comedy Central asserting network privilege and censoring their work. Although, if you watch South Park, you know that Comedy Central did not always censor out Mohammad-- season 5, episode 3 introduces Mohammad as one of the "Super Best Friends," where he is described as "the Muslim prophet with the powers of flame." It's only later that Comedy Central chickens out, but- again- that's not on Parker and Stone, which is whom I referred to.
AA: After last week's episode which had a lot about Caitlin Jenner without ever depicting her...
Snort.
Bobby,
That's actually my point. People who would attack your late grandmother are not proving that no one gets a free pass, they are proving that they would attack someone who they know to be meek and sweet and so not likely to retaliate in a way that could land them in hot water.
"Giving nobody a free pass" means you go after targets even if it would be inconvenient or dangerous for you to do so. Mohammed, not Santa.
And yes - Parker and Stone do go after everyone, and while at another time I might still consider them the sort of liberal fools who undermine their own culture as a useful idiot for a less benign power, they are in this day and age absolute heroes. In all seriousness, Team America is one of the finest, most patriotic, most rigorous defenses of western civilization since the RAF took flight over the channel and South Park is a bastion of classical liberalism. My hat off to them.
My earlier comment was an indictment of the networks, not of Parker and Stone. The networks are willing to show a candidate for the presidency being raped, but not Mohammad just standing around in a football helmet. And as you say - this principle is one of cowardliness , as they had no problem years earlier.
"And they're certainly not on the political right- yes, they elected Trump as
'President of Canada,' but it was because 'Nobody ever thought he'd be president! It was a joke! We just let the joke go on for too long. By the time we were all ready to say, 'Okay, let's get serious now, who should really be president?' he was already sworn into office. We weren't paying attention! We weren't paying attention!'"
I don't think they are depicting Trump as the president of Canada...I think they're saying Canada's current Prime Minister, Steven Harper is Trump's disastrous equivalent. (The "Canadian President" depicted in the show has gray hair--as does Harper--topped with a wig that resembles Trump's unsightly hair.)
Alexander,
Yeah, I guess this is one of those things where we're looking at the same coin from two different sides. I meant it more as the concept of "good humor should not punch down" (which Althouse has blogged about before), and Parker and Stone not feeling they should be constrained by that.
Like, probably most Americans would not think it's funny to make fun of physicially- or mentally-disabled children, and if I ever saw my nieces and nephews doing it, I'd discipline them immediately-- but Parker and Stone have used both Jimmy Valmer and Timmy Burch for comedic value on numerous occasions. I'd bet most Americans don't think it's funny to make fun of orphans or starving African children, either, and again if I ever saw my nieces or nephews doing that, they'd get disciplined- and yet South Park has done that numerous times. Parker and Stone feel that nobody is off-limits and nobody gets a free pass from being made fun of, regardless of what other people decide should or should not be funny.
I get what you're saying, and I even agree with you in part, but I believe we're clearly talking about two different things, and as such, it's quite likely we'll just wind up talkng past one another as seems to happen all too often on this blog.
Cook,
Have you watched the episode? If you haven't, I get why you'd be inclined to see it that way, but it's unlikely that's what Parker and Stone intended. "Stephen Abootman" has already appeared on South Park, and more importantly the whole narrative of Canadians supporting a "presidential" candidate who just says whatever pops into his head and them thinking it's funny, cool and/or refreshing is clearly Parker and Stone mocking Trump supporters.
Althouse: After last week's episode which had a lot about Caitlin Jenner without ever depicting her...
He is a male. Its biologically impossible to change your sex.
http://www.franklincountyvapatriots.com/2015/05/04/sex-change-biologically-impossible/
There. Are. Four. Lights.
Humor about female-on-male violence is sexist. Humor about male-on-male violence is "recommended." But humor about being overly PC is also "recommended."
Was the implied self criticism knowingly ironic or merely unintentional?
Bobby,
The point of their making fun of disabled kids is that they should be treated like everybody else, which Stan et al make a point of doing.
"Humor about female-on-male violence is sexist. Humor about male-on-male violence is "recommended.""
This. The hypocrisy and double standards are amazing.
Bobby,
Yes, I watched the episode, that's why I'm pretty sure this is intended to be a depiction of Steven Harper...as the disastrous equivalent of Donald Trump.
It would make no sense for Trump have become the "President" of Canada, as he isn't a Canadian citizen, and the character's depiction of having gray sidewall hair topped by a wig "cap" of yellow--echoing Trump--wouldn't make sense if this were intended to be Trump...he doesn't have any such disjuntion between the sides of his hair and the top...it's all one dubious, diaphanous mystery.
Trey and Parker can easily mock Trump supporters by depicting an equivalent to Trump who has triumphed elsewhere.
” The networks are willing to show a candidate for the presidency being raped, but not Mohammad just standing around in a football helmet.”
This times 1000.
exhelodrvr1,
No, I know- we're in agreement.
Cook,
Well, certainly, their portrayal of "Stephen Abootman" was not an endorsement of Stephen Harper -- after leading Canada on a disastrous and completely-failed hunger strike, Canadian heroes Terrence and Phillip (backed by the rest of Canada) send him off to sea on a floating block of ice as they go through their "I'm not your buddy, guy" -- "I'm not your guy, friend" --- "I'm not your friend, buddy" standard routine.
And you're correct in that, even for the show, the "President of Canada" can't literally be Donald Trump because he is drawn as a Canadian, not an American.
And, finally, in Donald Trump's Season Five appearance, "The Entity," he looks quite different than did last night's "President of Canada" (although that could be a function of the ~15 years that have passed in between).
So, maybe you're on to something. I don't share your conclusion- and I doubt that Parker and Stone intended it that way- but they themselves actually covered this dynamic in their Season 14 episode "The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs."
Cook,
One more thing, if you don't watch the show much, you might not be aware of how they often blend together different threads that couldn't be possible in the real world-- for example, in Season 15, we were introduced to the "Prince of Canada" when the Canadian Royal Wedding is interrupted by the monstrous Tooth Decay's kidnapping of the future "Princess of Canada." Despite their appearances, you could definitely argue that it can't possibly be William and Kate since, you know, there is no such thing as a "Prince of Canada," much less a "Canadian Royal Wedding," but it is them, even though it's not.
I never understood the popularity of the show. It isn't funny, at best its a bad and even more juvenile version of Mad Magazine without Mad's charm and wit. Or I'm the one who is humor impaired.
cubanbob,
South Park runs the gamut from brilliant to sophomoric. Very vulgar, so if you can't look past that at the underlying themes, you definitely won't like it.
C'mon Althouse. A sexist thing? When Jessie Jackson talked about cutting Obama's nuts off was it a sexist thing?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_ZEW7ZDLYg
You're assuming Alinsky, Newton, Lane, and Ginbsburg were not civil in conversation as a rule.
I'd take that bet.......
He said, reciting doctrine.
And trust me, Comrade Cookie, our own little Squealor, knows doctrine.
The sex of a human being is exclusively determined by their DNA. However, it seems that a person's gender, or rather gender roles, can be manipulated with sufficient force to deny or confuse their sex.
"Or I'm the one who is humor impaired."
DING!DING!DING!DING!
Give that man a SEE-GAR!!
"After last week's episode which had a lot about Caitlin Jenner without ever depicting her, we greatly appreciated getting a caricature, complete with hinky eye and tongue hanging out... and murderous driving."
WTF! Caitlin's face work is much better than Carly's. Does this mean that Meadehouse is even more Trump than Trump, when it comes to criticizing Carly's face?
Robert Cook said...
"Or I'm the one who is humor impaired."
DING!DING!DING!DING!
Give that man a SEE-GAR!!
9/24/15, 8:49 PM"
Thanks for admitting that your taste in humor runs from the crass, vulgar and stupid to the preadolescent.
"Thanks for admitting that your taste in humor runs from the crass, vulgar and stupid to the preadolescent."
And what's wrong with that?
However you want to describe the show, I'm an unapologetic huge fan of South Park. I don't think we're all supposed to like the same thing- I'm pretty sure that's the point of us each having unique tastes.
Caitlin Jenner was a caricature? I don't think so. It looked exactly like it.
Jessie Jackson said he wanted to "Cut Obama's nuts out." He got a pass, why criticize some one else for the same comment?
Jessie Jackson said he wanted to "Cut Obama's nuts out." He got a pass, why criticize some one else for the same comment?
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