South Park - "The F Word" [11/4]

I haven't showed up in any South Park talkback in weeks. This is the first time I think. And I'm not trashing the show (I haven't seen any of the new episodes) as much as I'm commenting on how easily led so many of it's fans are.

I just don't think vandalizing internet sites and causing an actual corporation to shut down comments on it's Youtube site for fear of said vandalism is very funny.
 
It's the internet. Stupid fans of every show/movie/book/whatever are all over the place. This phenomenon is not unique to South Park.



I don't find it funny either, especially since the episode was targetted against obnoxious Harley riders, not Harleys or their manufacturers. But again, it's the internet. There's not much you can really do about it. :sweat:
 
What corporation are you referring to, I think I have it, but just in case, I am asking.

EDIT: NVM, I was thinking of something else, but it is kinda sad Harley Davidson had to close off their comments after an onslaught of the f word, not the one that is censored, being posted.
 
Cant be Harleys official youtube channel, comments are allowed. Unless they just now reallowed them. Yes there are people on there calling them f@gs, and others quoting the new definition.

http://www.youtube.com/harleydavidson

I think they went way overboard on this whole thing. It seemed that this whole episode was more about bashing harley riders and giving them a bad rep rather than the whole point that that words and definitions change with age, which is what this whole episode truly was supposed to be about.

I worry that Harly Davidson may try and sue SP over this whole fiasco, because yes, it can hurt their business, and as a result, this episode may not air again.
 
Don't get ahead of yourself with that last paragraph, I don't think that will happen. And on the subject of the YT channel, comments are again disabled.
 
It happened with Boondocks when they made fun of BET. Why would it not happen here? SP already showed with their Family Guy episode that no matter what you do, a network can pull an episode for whatever reason they have. And if they want to let the terrorists win (harley davidson and BET) then they will.

Oh, and why on earth do they keep turning comments on and off and on and off? I just clicked the link, and the comments are still active, click any random video in their channel and the comments are still active. Theres still numerous "f@g" related comments on every one.
 
To be honest, I don't think Harley is in such trouble, their main base are those who are bikecurious already, and wouldn't care about SP bashing them. They sell a product. BET sells a viewership. RTjngs is their big thing, and if a show bashes them, they do lose viewers, since the show is aimed at people that might watch BET.
 
So youre saying that if you were bike-curious, but you see a bunch of people calling harley riders f@gs, and possibly even you a f@g, that you may possibly NOT buy one? Or say that you already own a harley. Would you not feel awkward at every light wondering if everyone is thinking "F@G!" You may try an act cool, and say that you don't care what everyone else thinks, but there are enough people out there that are self conscious enough to not want a new bike, or no longer want the one they have.

Have you ever wanted something, or liked something, but your friend(s) thought it was lame? Many people, in order to be accepted, will like/do whatever their friends/society like just to fit in. It usually happens during childhood when something becomes too babyish, or uncool, despite being a recent popular trend.

If boondocks says that BET warps the minds and destroys the self-esteem of young blacks, and that could result in a loss of viewers, then yes, they can lose revenue for it. Sponsors (ads) whatever contract they have with the cable providers. Anyone with Time Warner Cable may remember what Viacom did when they raised their price. TMC, was going to drop Nick, MTV, VH1, etc, because they wanted more money since they get so many viewers.

If South Park says that anyone who drives, owns, thinks about Harleys is a f@g then that could also result in a loss of revenue. Bikers may not want to buy a new bike every 3 or so years, the younger generation may stay clear of them all together, while the older generation, those that continue to be brand loyal slowly die off. Merchandise alone is a HUGE seller, not just with bike accessories, but think about everything that has their logo on it. Even in the freakin pet store theres Harley Davidson merchandise. You dont want people thinking your dog is a f@g do you.

Believe me, I already had one idiot try to sue me because I told people how rude and inconsiderate their company was. It was a one person owned/ran business, and everything I said was 100% truth based on what happened, but since it was on a review site, they felt that my comments was slanderous and could hurt their sales. Of course, the only way they could ever have a case is if I were to make up crap that never happened. Like by saying that BET was an evil corporation that ruins the image of black people, or by saying that anything related to Harley davidson is f@g-like.
 
I really, really, REALLY appreciate what this episode tried to do (explain that the producers don't use the OTHER F word as a slur against gay people) but as usual Trey Parker misses the forest for the trees. I am loving this season's lack of political commentary so far and I can't exactly say this episode fell under that particular umbrella but it in classic Parker/Stone tradition tries to have things both ways. Guys, you can't do an episode JUST last year about how out of touch with young kids you are (the High School Musical parody) and then claim to be on the pulse of the youth of America when they use hate speech. The F word is STILL a perjorative for gays, even when kids use it. Kids just use it a LOT but they know exactly what it means and who they are putting down by saying it. It's quite disingenuous for Parker to claim that characters who know quite a great deal about homosexuality and gay issues do not know what the word means.

Honestly, I think Parker and Stone would have been served better to let this one go. Their non-denial denial of bigotry just doesn't ring true. Maybe it's because we live in an age where Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church are given so much media attention but nobody who uses that word doesn't know exactly what it means.

I laughed a LOT about the bikers being obnoxious. I can never tell who they are trying to impress with their noise and it drives me bonkers when they rev up their engines on the road outside my apartment. It's not cool and EVERYONE hates it. I just saddened that this VERY true message will probably be overshadowed by the F word.

By the way, I'm VERY disappointed with this site's swear filter. It's gotten extra touchy lately but according to quite a few posted comments here hate speech against gay people is just fine and dandy. I'll chalk this up to oversight rather than malice (my earlier sentence was snark) but it's something the mods should be aware of. Kids do read these boards.
 
I never took that episode about how out of touch they were with young kids, I just thought that they felt it was a stupid movie with insane popularity like the Jonas Brothers episode.
 
I think what this episode was trying to do was not to claim that the word no longer has any homophobic connotations -- and I can see how somebody would misconstrue the episode that way -- but just to do some observational humor about how, for a lot of people, the word no longer has that meaning. A lot of people use it to refer to a type of behavior, not sexual preference. Or, worst-case scenario, they insult someone they know to be heterosexual by implying that they aren't, and would never use it to insult a homosexual. Even though that's pretty politically incorrect, it's not exactly hate speech, and is a far cry from the people who picket gay pride parades while yelling the word.

This is not to excuse the use of the word, but just to explain it. And I think that's what they were going for. The fact that completely non-homophobic people use the word to mean other things is a social absurdity, and South Park is good at exploiting such absurdities.


The squeaky wheel gets the grease. The word doesn't seem to be a problem around here, so nobody noticed that it wasn't in the filter.
 
How is that vandalism? Anyone can change Wikipedia pages and comment on Youtube. It's not like they're hacking into websites or anything.



Sony makes Boondocks and they make music videos that are shown on BET, so they wanted to keep that relationship amiable. As far as I know, Viacom has no financial interest in Harley Davidson. I've never seen any ads for motorcycles on Comedy Central or anything.
 
Uh... ...not all do. I remember asking my mom what "f@g" meant. Hell, I remember when someone called me a pu$$y and didnt know what that meant. Well actually I did, I just didnt understand why someone would call me a cat. How did you learn what a f@g was? did you ask the person who used the term? And how is it derogatory when used towards gay people? Ive asked people who actually ARE gay there opinions on it, and they think such words and phrases are funny. It only is hateful when used in a hateful way. In other words, its ok to call people gay, but not ok to call straight people gay or things that are lame gay. But to those who use the term that way, when they do use it towards homos, are they not being hateful? Why is it wrong to say the N word, but fine and dandy to say words like "honkie" or "cracker?"

Lastly, this thread is about south park. Yes, I understand that some children watch the show, but this is a discussion ABOUT the show. You cant go to a porno site and then get upset because theres porn. Its pretty much a given. Besides, what happens on the show is far more rated R than anything spoken of in here.
 
Something else just occurred to me: in their own half-serious South Park way, they're actually promoting a reduction in the usage of the word. Just think about it. If, in theory, the word was changed to mean biker gang members, and people only used the word to refer to biker gang members, it would be used a LOT less often.

It's not a practical solution, but it's pretty good for a South Park solution.
 
Well, gay isn't officially an insult, and that people use it as an insult just shows stupidity on their behalf. Queer was once used as something of an insult but the gay community has since embraced being different and thus the word has become an acceptable word to refer to LGBT people as. F**, on the other hand, has never not been an insult towards gays since the middle ages.



In England, yes.
 
They are not the majority (I talk to a lot of different people) and if they DO think that way they are probably really young. Most young people nowadays (outside of maybe 11 year old boys) have no problem with gay people but they still know what it means.Because honkie and cracker aren't insults. I'm white and if someone called me that I'd be amused because black people don't really HAVE any racist terms to describe white people (we're generally know as "White Folks" for good or ill). The Jeffersons' producers had to practically invent these anachronisms to show the main character was racist but nobody actually uses those words as an insult. It's usually only people trying to justify their OWN racism who try to paint a similarity between the cartoonish honky and cracker to the N word, which has a HUGE and terrible history behind it of keeping African Americans down. This is a ridiculous argument.

Have you EVER had a black person call you a honky or a cracker? Now ask yourself if most black people have ever been called the N word by a white person. There's no contest.
 
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