South Park’s “signs of extremist activity”
Few people have validated Saul Alinksy’s “Rule” that “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon” better than South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. So it’s striking how boneheaded some Russian prosecutors are being in trying to ban the show in that country. (Apparently the increasingly authoritarian Putin/Medvedev apparatchiks underestimate the role that humor played in delegitimizing the Soviet regime.)
Considering South Park‘s incredibly quick turnaround on current topics, I wouldn’t be surpised to see (poorly) animated skewerings of Vladimir Putin (with Dmitri Medvedev joined at his hip) soon — and being viewed inside Russia despite the authiritays‘ best efforts.
Applied today, Alinksy’s rule has an obvious corollary: Do not get on South Park‘s bad side. Just ask Tom Cruise or Al Gore.