Reflections, Reflections

From an Ace thread regarding the Scientology vs. South Park squabble: Isaac Hayes Quits South Park Over "Religious Bigotry"

Isaac Hayes has quit "South Park," where he voices Chef, saying he can no longer stomach its take on religion.
...

"There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins," the 63-year-old soul singer and outspoken Scientologist said.

"Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honored," he continued. "As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices."

"South Park" co-creator Matt Stone responded sharply in an interview with The Associated Press Monday, saying, "This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology... He has no problem - and he's cashed plenty of checks - with our show making fun of Christians."

...

Stone told The AP he and co-creator Trey Parker "never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin."

Comment by "sandy burger:"

I do think that isaac Hayes is an idiot and a hypocrite, not to mention a scientologist. And his statement about all religions is obviously a lie, as Matt Stone correctly points out.

But Matt Stone is wrong, too, when he says, "He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin". This statement is bunk. If we were talking about outlawing mockery, it would be one thing. But it's not intolerance and bigotry to promote certain specific beliefs and refuse to be a party to mocking them. In Hayes' case, it may be stupid and even hypocritical, and his statement about it is at least partly a lie. But it is silly to call it "intolerance and bigotry".

Very discerning observation, Sandy. Actually, I would even take it further.

"There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins," the 63-year-old soul singer and outspoken Scientologist said.

There is a lot of intolerance and bigotry towards religion in the US right now, and the satire is just the tip of the iceberg. I was just reading this article about a new case of a girl who got fired because she spoke of her religion (Christian) to a few co-workers during her lunch hour! I mean, talking about your religion for 15 minutes has always been a felony, no less - you all should know that. So I don't think he is being hypocritical about how bad things are regarding respect for religion in general, but if he was so respectful, why does he work for this trashy, disgusting series? Major hypocrite.

"Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honored," he continued. "As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices."

I think he was just making an appeal so that (specially) other religious people could identify with his objection. That's why he said "religious beliefs," meaning all religions, when, in fact, as it was pointed out, he had no problem in the past mocking all other religions. So hypocrisy in one way there.

But, on the other hand, Scientology, like many of the big religions (Catholicism, Judaism, several of the big Protestant groups, etc) posits itself as the Truth, as The religion. So for a Scientologist, it's not a problem to mock other religions, which are considered nothing more than superstitions, I imagine.

But when it comes to mocking his religion, then it's a Problem. This is not a hypocritical stance for people who believe that only their religion is really a valid one. So no hypocrisy there, if one takes his self-centered religion perspective.