Something tells me that I probably don't have a lot in common with the spiritual or religious views of the creators of South Park. I also don't think that their brand of satire or their recent episodes centering on the insanity of Islamic radicalism and the cowardice of Western censorship are doing much to heal the rifts in our divided world.
I can't say that I was all that happy to see an image of Pope Benedict among the celebrities intending to sue South Park...but I hardly feel a need to kill anyone over it.
I get the point that it isn't really the pope--it's a cartoon caricature of the pope included for rhetorical effect. In a way, it's a mark of pride for Catholics that South Park can poke fun at our leaders and institutions. It means that no one thinks Catholics are going to turn violent over it.
It's an embarrassment to Muslims everywhere that Comedy Central feels the need to censor depictions of Muhamed. It says that Comedy Central believes that there are followers of Muhamed who lack the intelligence, sophistication, maturity, or even the sense of humor to get smart satire. It says that Comedy Central believes that there are self-proclaimed followers of Muhamed who are so infantile that they must be protected from possible insults.
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