The problem with LGBT South Park fans

Recently, the creators of the adult cartoon show South Park and Comedy Central were called out by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) for an episode in which the word “fag” was used dozens of times. GLAAD issued a statement in which they objected to the episide, explaining that “fag” is a slur that is rooted in homphobia and that casual use results in worsening the hostile climate that many gay and lesbian people face in their daily lives.

One thing I have learned about South Park fans over the last few years is that they can be as crude and insensitive as the show itself. It makes sense that people who are devoted to a program that “ridicules everyone” would not react well to GLAAD’s objection to an episide focused on the primary anti-gay slur. The sad thing is that many of the fans who jumped to South Park’s defense are gay and lesbian.

Many gay and lesbian fans of the show were quick to condemn GLAAD, calling the organization “thin skinned” and “overly PC” for speaking out about the issue. Ironically, those are the same words often used by those who use slurs and other forms of hate speech to defend themselves.

Rather than try to understand why GLAAD objected to the program, many gay and lesbian people seemed all to eager to throw them under the bus for simply doing their job and ensuring that LGBT people are not defamed in the media. Many LGBT people do not know what GLAAD has been able to accomplish over the last two decades. They are the reason why journalist no longer use terms like “admitted homosexual” to refer to gay and lesbian people. They are the reason why being gay, lesbian and bisexual is not referred to a being a “lifestyle choice” by legitimate newspapers and magazines.

The statement from GLAAD reads in part:

Though this seems to represent a well-intentioned effort by the creators of South Park to delegitimize a vulgar anti-gay slur, the fact is that the word is and remains a hateful slur that is often part of the harassment, bullying and violence that gay people, and gay youth in particular, experience on a daily basis in this country. It is an epithet that has real consequences for real people’s lives. Just this year, an 11-year-old Massachusetts student named Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, unable to endure the unrelenting anti-gay bullying and name-calling he experienced at school, committed suicide.

The creators of South Park are right on one important point: more and more people are using the F-word as an all-purpose insult. However, it is irresponsible and wrong to suggest that it is a benign insult or that promoting its use has no consequences for those who are the targets of anti-gay bullying and violence. This is a slur whose meaning remains rooted in homophobia. And while many South Park viewers will understand the sophisticated satire and critique in last night’s episode, others won’t - and if even a small number of those take from this a message that using the “F-word” is OK, it worsens the hostile climate that many in our community continue to face.

Anyone who has been involved in raising children over the last 10 years can tell you that many of those who watch South Park and lack the ability to understand satire are children.

The day after every new episode of South Park aired, my nieces and nephew came home quoting lines from the show. They were not allowed to watch it at home, yet it was the talk of the elementary school playground. Kids repeat everything they hear on the show like little parrots and share it with their classmates.

So, you can be certain that the words “fag” and “faggot” were spoken in record numbers in U.S. schools on November 6, the day after the F-word episode of South Park aired. One can only assume that those boys who are perceived to by gay did not have a good day in school.

GLAAD issued a thoughtful, well-reasoned statement about their concerns regarding this issue. It is disappointing that so many LGBT people are so devoted to a cartoon show that they would attack GLAAD for doing what is an invaluable service.