For decades—hahaha twenty-two seasons!—Matt and Trey have been telling us that they alone are the Reasonable Men, they alone stand against the indoctrination of both Right and Left, they alone know the truth, and the truth is that “both sides” are equally stupid, equally worthy of mockery, so the only rational response to any political argument is to snicker. And what is our mechanism, as an audience, for questioning that narrative, when South Park has been just as relentless in its insistence that criticism is censorship, that if you disagree with any of the show’s choices you must be a moral scold, a damp-handed weepy little bitch, a boring person? It is so, so frightening, especially when you are young, to seem uncool. Taking a side against anything that happens on South Park would mean taking a side, and, as we’ve learned, both sides are equally stupid. The only safe space is nihilism.
It’s a neat trap, which certainly does not sound like indoctrination at all.
But.
My friends.
Both sides, inasmuch as there are two “sides,” are not equally stupid or equally bad. The notion that they are is human-extinction-level dangerous.
For decades—hahaha twenty-two seasons!—Matt and Trey have been telling us that they alone are the Reasonable Men, they alone stand against the indoctrination of both Right and Left, they alone know the truth, and the truth is that “both sides” are equally stupid, equally worthy of mockery, so the only rational response to any political argument is to snicker. And what is our mechanism, as an audience, for questioning that narrative, when South Park has been just as relentless in its insistence that criticism is censorship, that if you disagree with any of the show’s choices you must be a moral scold, a damp-handed weepy little bitch, a boring person? It is so, so frightening, especially when you are young, to seem uncool. Taking a side against anything that happens on South Park would mean taking a side, and, as we’ve learned, both sides are equally stupid. The only safe space is nihilism.
It’s a neat trap, which certainly does not sound like indoctrination at all.
But.
My friends.
Both sides, inasmuch as there are two “sides,” are not equally stupid or equally bad. The notion that they are is human-extinction-level dangerous.
Leyendo lo de la nueva peli Torronto y el rollo ese de que se ríe de todos me he acordado de The witches are coming, de Lindy West, que recomiendo muchísimo si os apañais con el inglés. En este ensayo pone de ejemplo a South Park.
