Isaac Hayes quits “inappropriate” South Park
From the BBC: Isaac Hayes, the 63-year-old soul singer who plays Chef in South Park, is leaving the show because he objects to the cartoon’s religious satire.
Citing the show’s “growing insensitivity towards personal spiritual beliefs”, Hayes said,
There is a place in this world for satire but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry toward religious beliefs begin.
That time, apparently, was when South Park turned its attention to Isaac Hayes’ own religion: Scientology.
Co-creator Matt Stone:
In 10 years and over 150 episodes of South Park, Isaac never had a problem with the show making fun of Christians, Muslim, Mormons or Jews.
He got a sudden case of religious sensitivity when it was his religion featured on the show.
Seems this chef can dish it out, but can’t take it.
(Thanks to Andrew)
Well children, scientology is a made up religion, like all the others, for people who like to suck on my chocolate salted balls.
They avoided picking Scientology for years for precisely that reason.
Did Hayes say anything about the levels of tolerance gays can expect from Scientology? I’m assuming they still claim to be able to “cure” it. I have to say, while I do strive to dislike all religious beliefs equally, the Co$ has a special place in my heart due to the quite extraordinary degree of idiocy required to swallow Hubbard’s incomprehensible bilge. I genuinely can’t understand why anyone who didn’t have car doors slammed on their head regularly as a child would fall for it.
Indeed, at least most of the other religions have been around for a fairly long time and have some historical significance (Jesus, Mohammed, etc really did exist), not to mention moral impact (love thy neighbour, turn the other cheek, don’t steal).
Scientology reads like bad science fiction.
Sconzey writes,
Hmm. Not so sure about Jesus’s claim to have lived. There are only the Gospels to say so. It’s believed that any other reference has come ultimately from them – and even they copy one another in places and disagree in others (John is an exception, the first three being the so-called Synoptic Gospels). ‘Jesus’ could have been an amalgam of figures who were around at the time.
That’s probably because it was invented by a bad science-fiction author.
Does it really read like bad sci-fi? Badly written perhaps, but sci-fi is a queer thing in the larger scheme. I prefer Greg Bear – at least he uses proper science in his sci-fi!
It reads just like any other religion to me – a lot of made-up bullshit that makes no sense whatsoever and denies any need for the proof that would invalidate it.
Marc,
Don’t forget the destroying-any-sense-of-self-worth aspects to their psychological “assessments”. A friend of mine was once gullible enough to wander into one of their “dianetic” personality-assessing centres. Fortunately she wasn’t gullible enough to stay once they started severely berating the “defects” they’d found in her…
As to sci-fi, I LOVE Ian M. Banks’ stuff. (Actually, I really like his non-sci-fi work, too.)
Saw him once, coming out of Tesco in Dunfermline. Mildly amusing to see a best-selling sci-fi author climbing into his battered old landrover, dressed like a typical Gloucestershire farmer (tweed cap, green wax jacket, cords, green wellies).
[apologies to any gloucestershire farmers who feel stereotyped!]
🙂
A friend of mine did too, funnily enough. He killed himself some years later…
Another good quote from Matt Stone:
Damn right.
Interesting developments in this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4819826.stm