Did I miss the part where this show is allowed in China?
8
The majority of Americans, myself included, use price as a defining factor when buying goods. So long as China produces goods more cheaply it will have a huge net export advantage. So as inequality is getting worse and the appetite for cheaper goods grows the influence of an oppressive regime appears to be growing.
12
Hong Kong is an international hub. It serves Americans’ interests to stand with Hong Kong. According to the 2019 World Investment Report released by UNCTAD, Hong Kong received USD 115 billion in FDI in 2018. The main investors in Hong Kong include British Virgin Islands, Singapore, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Canada, Japan, besides China. Foreign investments are spread over real estate, finance, insurance, banking, retails, import and export trades, construction, information and communication. Hong Kong’s fall will impact the world. That’s why, Hong Kong’s fight isn’t just about Hong Kongers, it’s a fight for the core value of the free world.
China uses Hong Kong’s free market to its advantage to infiltrate business and fund its authoritarian regime. Every government in the world needs to exert diplomatic pressure on the Hong Kong and Chinese government to allow Hong Kongers to have human rights and a fair election system, in order for Hong Kong to remain as a free port.
Companies around the world need to unite and condemn China using the carrot and sticks of economic might to suppress political expressions—before China succeeds in overtaking the free world.
26
Trey Parker and Matt Stone are my heroes. I could not mean it more.
75
China is all about saving face. South Park really did Tibetans, Uyghurs and all the people suffering from China’s oppression, including all the prodemocracy Hong Kongers a huge favor! South Park is an inspiration to the world!
44
,,, and this is why, as much as possible, I avoid buying Chinese products, many of which happen to be cheap, malfunctioning, defective junk.
19
Anyone who's seen The Book of Mormon knows that, behind the sophomoric, topical satire of South Park, these guys are the real deal, two supremely talented individuals who keep reaching higher.
42
To all commenters that defend mainland China over the Hong Kong protesters, this is why they protest. Xi is little better than trump, he can’t bear being compared to a fictional bear.
Why are all these “great men” such thin skinned little girls?
19
Oh, little girls are a lot tougher than these insecure cowards.
44
South Park is now joining the long list of banned mediums for political expressions in Mainland China— including YouTube, Facebook, Google, Twitter, Dropbox, Wikipedia, Reddit, Netflix, WhatsApp, Medium, BBC, Gmail, TIME, Apple Daily, ABC News, The Economist, NBC, South China Morning Post, The Epoch Times, Al Jazeera.com, HBO…even the New York Times. 10,000 sites have already been blocked under the country’s internet censorship policy.
In July 2017, Bilibili, one of the most popular video sites in China, removed most of American & British TV shows, and all foreign categories like "American drama" to comply with regulations. In order to limit outside influence on Chinese society, the authority also restrict the publishing of children’s books written by foreign authors.
To tame grievances and curb uprising, something China’s Communist Party hideously fears, China has also banned any form of communication or contents that detailed suffering and brutality caused by this authoritarian regime, including civil movements or political struggles in Tibet, Xinjinag, Hong Kong, Taiwan, religious movement Falun Gong, Tiananmen Protest and Massacre of 1989, Moaism, police brutality, corruption, disparity of wealth, food safety scandals and gossip about party leaders’ life.
By harnessing the invincible power of censors, China is breeding blind obedience and cultivating dangerous patriotism the world should be alert of. South Park being banned isn’t funny if we really read into it.
24
South Park is now joining the long list of banned mediums for political expressions in Mainland China— including YouTube, Facebook, Google, Twitter, Dropbox, Wikipedia, Reddit, Netflix, WhatsApp, Medium, BBC, Gmail, TIME, Apple Daily, ABC News, The Economist, NBC, South China Morning Post, The Epoch Times, Al Jazeera.com, HBO…even the New York Times. 10,000 sites have already been blocked under the country’s internet censorship policy.
In July 2017, Bilibili, one of the most popular video sites in China, removed most of American & British TV shows, and all foreign categories like "American drama" to comply with regulations. In order to limit outside influence on Chinese society, the authority also restrict the publishing of children’s books written by foreign authors.
To defuse grievances, China has also banned any form of communication or contents that detailed suffering and brutality caused by this authoritarian regime, including civil movements or political struggles in Tibet, Xinjinag, Hong Kong, Taiwan, religious movement Falun Gong, Tiananmen Protest and Massacre of 1989, Moaism, police brutality, corruption, disparity of wealth, food safety scandals and gossip about party leaders’ life.
By harnessing the invincible power of censors, China is breeding blind obedience and cultivating dangerous patriotism the world should be alert of. South Park being banned isn’t funny if we really read into it.
12
"Censorship, forced family planning, constant surveillance......"
Has ALWAYS happened in China, under any of the Dynasties, under any Emperor, under Mao and every other Communist party member.
China has a several millennia sordid history of despotism and rigid societal structure in which, if you step out of line, you're killed. The Emperor was equal with god. It doesn't make for free thinkers or free spirits.
15
The CPC-run PRC is now travelling the Nazi road. Emperor Pooh for life. Social credit scores. the laughable notion of the "feelings of the Han/Chinese" people. The totalitarian communists running china have an admirable record of poverty reduction but when it comes to other human freedoms they share Carl Schmittian ideas with Adolph. The current regime governing China has, since 2013 turned its back on freedom and the future and soon will learn that they are only ʻlikedʻ for their money. How imperialistic to tell others what to say. How insecure and juvenile and fragile. The Han-Chinese Communists seem to be building a genocidal state if Tibet and Xinjiang provide any evidence.
13
Bravo
7
Daryl Morey will forever be remembered by the world as a hero who stood up for battles for human rights. James Harden will be remembered as someone who bowed to an authoritarian regime. We will forever adore South Park and New York Times for their bravery to speak up against oppression—as we will forever pity those who are silenced by China’s economic might.
24
I heard that President Trump wants to outlaw LA Rams Quarterback Jared Goff because people always say that Goff has small hands! But he can't because we're free!! Although Republican congressmen are saying that Trump has huge hands, which is, of course, not at all true.
8
I heard that President Trump wants to outlaw LA Rams Quarterback Jared Goff because people always say that Goff has small hands! But he can't because we're free!! Although Republican congressmen are saying that Trump has huge hands, which is, of course, not at all true.
1
Wonderful but South Park has always been doing political and social satire. Most people just couldn’t see past the raunchiness to notice it until recently.
11
You guys are missing the point. Today China cares about what you say because it's not yet fully adapted to the western culture. But as it adapts to the western culture, it will simply stop caring about what you say. But none of this will make any difference, because China knows full well you won't DO anything.
5
@cb Who is the "you" that you are referring to throughout this comment? Is it the same "you" throughout?
2
The humor is subsumed by reality...a dictatorial, controlling state. Nothing funny here. Very sober. Very real. Very Orwellian.
14
The issue is that American viewers of this content are now subject to Chinese censorship. Frightening thought.
14
Even if you're not a South Park fan, it's worth watching this episode. It's a slam dunk.
16
I’ve been to China many times and I can tell you one thing, they do not want democracy. They know very well what democracy in China means for China, the end of China. Tibet would go, Hong Kong would go, Macau would go, Taiwan would go, Inner Mongolia could go, large parts of the north-west and north-east could go as those parts are populated mostly by Muslim ethnic minorities. It would be the end of a large China. Only a strong central communist, non democratic, government can hold it all together. They know it very well and they don’t want democracy just like Russians don’t want democracy as that country would fall apart too.
9
@Krzysztof Right, so no one in China wants freedom except for the people in Tibet, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Inner Mongolia, and large parts of the north-west and north-east.
10
@Krzysztof In case you haven't noticed Taiwan is already gone. The Taiwanese want NO part of China.
6
In the plays of Shakespeare, the jester is the only one willing to speak the truth. Everyone else is too scared.
26
The most cogent, effective voices defending American values today belong to Stan and Kyle.
Yep, it's 2019.
23
I never noticed how much he looked like Winnie the Pooh until today. Long live South Park!
8
Thank you South Park. Thank you Trey and Matt.
I am terribly disappointed in the NBA's stance towards China, particularly the lack of public support for Daryl Morey and the freedom of speech. Putting the almighty dollar ahead of the founding principles of the United States of America is incredibly sad and narrow-minded.
I am 52 years old, and I grew up in Southern California. I was a fanatical follower of the showtime Lakers, with Magic, Kareem, James Worthy, and even their predecessors like Norm Nixon and Jamaal Wilkes. Even Chick Hearn was a voice of my youth.
Now living in the Bay Area, I've relished the awesomeness of the Golden State Warriors, the Splash Brothers, and the incredible past six years.
To say that I am a fan of the NBA would be an understatement.
And that is why I am so totally astonished, hurt, and betrayed by the past few days. Listening to Adam Silver couch his comments, delicately trying not to offend China... it sickens me. How about a little integrity? How about a little backbone? How about leading by example, even if the billionaire NBA owners have slightly less in their already bulging wallets?
I am so incredibly disappointed in my favorite sports league. What happened to you guys?
Go Niners, I guess. Go Sharks, I suppose.
21
Pretty sad that a cartoon show’s creators have the moral high ground over the US government.
24
@Paulie And money grubbing cowardly academia, corporate entertainment industry, NBA.
10
FYI, the "South Park" version of "Come Sail Away" is hilarious and far better than the original 1977 version of the song by Styx. I have no respect for any national government that would ban the comic geniuses behind "South Park." Life on a daily basis is hard and everybody needs a good laugh.
4
What came to my mind was the Russian who threatened to yank his dollars for an aluminum plant in Kentucky if an inquiry to his close association to Putin (and Manafort) is opened.
Talk about pay-to-play. And Moscow Mitch and Disney are only too happy to play—profits over patriotism.
6
"We too love money more than freedom and democracy.”
Many American businesses have the statement above
as their implict attitude
5
I am sure that the "Great Dictator" is also banded in China, specifically the following, >>"You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure.
Then, in the name of democracy, let us use that power; let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfill that promise. They never will!
Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people! Now let us fight to fulfill that promise! Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness. Soldiers! in the name of democracy, let us all unite!"
3
We are not going to do anything to help Hong Kong. There is nothing that we can do. Hong Kong is going to be taken over and run like any other Chinese city. fare thee well, Hong Kong as a capitalist center.
Why do you think that the Brits did not give the HK Chinese UK passports? They knew that this day was coming.
@Lefthalfbach The Brits did indeed give the residents of HK British citizenship and passports while HK was under British rule. They were subject to the Crown, same as the rest of the UK.
2
This is an excellent example of WHY the first amendment is so important, and what is at stake in any coming conflict between the US and China. In the US, we have the freedom to satirize and criticize our leaders and our larger society. A future world in which our entertainment needs to meet the approval of Chinese censors, and in which online platforms to share content will be banned if they mention figures like the Dalai Lama, or Hong Kong, or Tienanmen Square, or Uigur concentration camps is something that needs to be acknowledged as a real threat.
It's sad that it takes a show like South Park (which is brilliant if at times scatological) to highlight this for Americans who haven't been paying attention.
8
it is the role of the artist to be a fierce critic of modern society
Matt and Trey have fulfilled their roles yet again.
6
This sort of censorship is exactly what America needs to expect from Trump regarding the impeachment inquiry. His song and dance of earlier today, which likely will change when the whim to do so hits him, is to stonewall, hide, lie [well, of course; we can never expect the truth from our Liar In Chief], and otherwise obstruct justice. To those who call themselves Republicans:" why do you continue to support this Evil, Amoral guy?
3
South Park is a crude and rude national treasure.
6
High tolerance for profanity? That's the way I talk every day!!
3
Daryl Morey tweeted “Fight for freedom. Stand with Hong Kong,” while visiting Japan on a website that is not accessible to the general public in mainland China. China immediately responded by severing the teams’ business tie and opportunities in China as a punishment. The shoe company Li Ning and the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank ended sponsorship deals with the Rockets. Chinese broadcasters and the Chinese Basketball Association — led by the former Rockets star Yao Ming — all suspended ties with the team. Despite the mounting pressure, Adam Silver, NBA’s commissioner voiced in support of freedom of political expression. It was a shining moment of American pride, until James Harden issued a public apology and Tilman Fertitta also publicly rebuked Morey.
Thank God we got South Park! South Park is now a symbol of American spirit! Go South Park!
8
Trey Parker and Matt Stone are syncophants to the alt-right who masquerade as defenders of free-speech.
1
@Kevin You're wrong. They're equal-opportunity insulters. They chastise the alt-right and progressives.
6
@Kevin Wow.
4
@Kevin Thank you for your comment. Sure, the show goes after conservatives as it should but its skewering of liberals is totally unacceptable and firmly places it in the alt-right camp.
2
Thank god someone has some integrity up in this place. Clearly the NBA has none. Anyone/everyone doing business in China has blood on their hands. They are effectively co-signing all of China's human rights abuses. Period. No wiggle room on that.
8
The question for the NBA and Disney pretty much asks itself: How much profit is enough, and what dollar value have you put on your soul?
5
Bravo. This was hysterically fun and terrifying. More terrifying than funny. We cannot let China dictate to the world. Thank you for incinerating all those who bow to Beijing. Sadly, money mostly extinguishes fires, even those lighting Tegrity
4
This revives my interest in watching South Park.
3
The only good way to do business in xi China is clandestinely. Selling genuine wares and services to the Chinese bootleg-style carries a risk of prison for the salespeople, but at least such bootleggers aren't already imprisoned by having to self-censor, register their website with xi, or grovel to xi's rules.
That it avoids paying that tyrant any taxes to fund his protester-oppressing military and cops too, while still giving the *people* of China the services they need, is a bonus.
All companies foreign to China have a duty to dry up xi's revenue and influence by not doing official business with his regime. For the NBA, were it less eager to grovel, it could mean unscheduled pop-up games instead of their usual well-advertised, easy-to-oppress events.
1
I love these guys !!!!
2
It's worth remembering that South Park was once censored in this country (the U.S.) for showing (or attempting to show Muhammed) in an episode lambasting Islam. (Ultimately, they hilariously replaced Muhammed with a dancing bear.) There are some topics that this country can't bear to have broached as well.
8
Sadly, China's actions here are the stuff dreams are made of for one Donald J. Trump.
3
"If it wasn't for the honor, I'd just as soon not have been blacklisted." - Lee Hays, singer-songwriter
http://www.bencourtney.com/hays/
1
Our corporate overlords would sell us as slaves as fast as they could if it were profitable. They like authoritarian dictatorships and are helping to install one here in the US.
2
This is the funniest article I have seen in the NYT since I first subscribed 4 years ago.
Go, South Park!!
1
Yikes! Disney not looking too good and Oprah wanted Iger for President. Oprah needs to stay in her own lane............
2
The best.
1
Big tough NBA. Is there ANY adult supervision of it?
1
This is the World we live in - only artists with an absurdist bent have any idea of how to deal with the last Cruel Commie's.
I am not a fan of South Park, but I am a fan of it's creators.
Winnie the Xi!
2
Hats off to South Park. China is basically run like the Mafia.
It's time to boycott the NBA for doing business there.
4
I don’t watch South Park; it regularly makes fun of my political principles and people whom I hold in high regard. Does the First Amendment really permit such hate speech or skewering of our most-beloved celebrities?
2
@jim
Yes, it does. Thank you, Matt and Trey.
Don't like it, move to Singapore.
10
@Lee Is it really your contention that the 1st Amendment permits the lampooning of national treasures such as Barbara Streisand, Paris Hilton, Kayne West and Mel Gibson???
1
@Lee "Sarcasm" is not a canyon in Arizona.
2
We have no problem, apparently, doing business with China despite the fact that they are Communist, yet Russia is supposed to constitute the greatest threat to us? Apparently if Trump was friendly with China, the circumstances would be reversed.
5
@William Stuber If the Chinese had bankrolled Trump Inc, as Russia has, Xi would be The Donald's bestie.
1
@William Stuber
It has nothing to do with being Communist, and everything to do with trying to destabilize democratic societies, including our own.
1
You are talking about South Park, when was the last time they cared what someone in authority thought about the program? The point of most comedy is to mock and politics needs to be brought down a notch more often than most.
13
@Dawn The creators live for this kind of situation, where real life imitates their unique brand of take-no-prisoners scatalogical humor.
1
This will be the most-watched South Park episode ever. Way to go, Stone and Parker!
16
If a corporation's sole purpose is to legally create value for shareholders, I don't know how we fix the problem of "self-censorship" without regulating the companies that practice it because China helps their bottom line.... I definitely recognize the problem, but what's the best solution?
4
@Zach S : Answer: Become a "Public Benefit Corporation." "A 'public benefit corporation' is a for-profit corporation. . .that is intended to produce a public benefit or public benefits and to operate in a responsible and sustainable manner. To that end, a public benefit corporation shall be managed in a manner that balances the stockholders’ pecuniary interests, the best interests of those materially affected by the corporation’s conduct, and the public benefit or public benefits identified in its certificate of incorporation. . . .'Public benefit' means a positive effect (or reduction of negative effects) on 1 or more categories of persons, entities, communities or interests (other than stockholders in their capacities as stockholders) including, but not limited to, effects of an artistic, charitable, cultural, economic, educational, environmental, literary, medical, religious, scientific or technological nature. https://delcode.delaware.gov/title8/c001/sc15/index.shtml
7
@Zach S
Or embrace a larger stakeholder model. In any event, public pressure will have to play some part.
1
@Virgil Soames : That's the point. An ordinary corporation (in most states) can't do that unless it becomes a PBC. Otherwise directors by law have to put maximizing shareholder value over most other considerations and can be sued if they don't.
1
I can't even remember all the times I've seen parodies of U.S. and U.K. culture and government on TV.
"Black Adder", "Saturday Night Life", and so on, and on and on. The U.K. especially seems to relish making fun of itself. I'm sure there are other examples as well from other nations who value freedom of speech.
None of those programs were censored or banned. Probably because it takes a strong nation, and a secure people, to have the capacity to laugh at themselves.
31
@Thuban77
None of those programs were Chinese.
@matty You missed my point.
My point is, the U.S. and other countries show tons of self parody. Those parodies are almost always seen as a form of harmless self expression. Whereas, in China, a similar program would be banned.
2
This is both funny and frightening. China's economic power is enormous. This isn't a problem for John Oliver or the people who write South Park, but it is for outfits like the NBA and Disney, of which quite readily caved when China raised issues.
To the extent we are integrated with the Chinese economy we not even know it when U.S. companies subtly alter their positions and products to keep the authoritarians in China happy and the income flowing.
17
I've never watched SP much, but that was pretty good.
9
Maybe we can all find a common enemy in the Chinese regime. Not the Chinese people but the regime. Except they have a lot of money. Soviet Russia made an easier enemy.
10
@Rando Yes, because we as a people can never survive without a common enemy of some sort.
1
You know that "South Park" is doing something right when this is the result (the episode was great, btw).
40
I know it was mentioned as a footnote in this article, but the backlash against Blizzard (the gaming and esports company) is very real right now. Users are uninstalling, boycotting, and vocally criticizing them like crazy. The backlash gives me hope that other companies will learn from their mistake and support free speech.
86
One under-reported fact during the recent "trade war" with China is that China's economy has been hurt far more deeply and severely than the US economy. That is not to say that the US stock market has not ebbed-and-flowed and some industries have been hurt in the US, but the trade war has been a wide-spread disaster in various Chinese industries, leading to even more state-sanctioned borrowing. For now, the US still has the economic muscle, but it is too scared to push the envelope in any real way while it still can.
15
Awesome! Let Freedom Ring!
Censorship, forced family planning, constant surveillance, etc. China sounds like a terrific place to live and do business. South Park tells the truth - in a funny way. The truth will, eventually, win.
47
@KW "forced family planning" FYI, with China becoming the first country in the world to get "old" before it gets "rich" do look for the communist government to advocate "forced birth" soon rather than "forced abortion." The nation is rapidly turning into a gigantic nursing home after decades of the one-child policy.
People should stop automatically associating authoritarian left-wing governments with "forced family planning." The USSR, for example, banned abortion in 1936.
2
@KW Humor works
The GOP wishes they could control reality as thoroughly as the Chinese State does. Fox News is as close as they can get though.
It’s awesome that some people in the media are still willing to expose hypocrisy even at personal expense!
54
@Austin Ouellette To compare the GOP to the Chinese regime is offensive to the many MILLIONS that have been killed and died since Mao brought communism to China.
I really wish we lefties would not be so myopic as to compare our slight troubles with the very real murderous regimes, authoritarian regimes. Their history is no joke.
5
The Chinese leadership is mad at Trump.
And Trump is synonymous with many things American.
Including apparently the NBA, South Park and other cultural institutions, created and nurtured in this country.
China is not merely exercising its right to censor, it is dragging sports and culture into the bigger war on trade.
3
@Andrew B
You have it backwards. Major Chinese censorship was happening way before the current trade war. The South Park creators are completely correct in portraying how craven Hollywood has been in using constant self censoring to make sure their movies pass Chinese government approval.
15
" Xi doesn’t look just like Winnie the Pooh at all.”
That last part makes more sense in the context of the episode, which had two plot lines related to China." -
Actually that last point has to do with the fact that President Xi banned all images of Winnie the Pooh in China after Chinese people mocked him for looking like the cartoon bear.
24
@Sallie that's like the next line in the article
1
Unlike other long running animated series, South Park has stayed relevant and fresh over it's duration. Of course there are stink bombs every season, but Parker and Stone never, ever, shy away from controversy. They embrace it, and blow it up for the public to see it and for us to laugh at how stupid the issue really is. Neither left, nor right, nor any religion is safe from their clutches. They are definitely an equal opportunity offender.
It's too bad that more people don't watch the show, but I do get why. Sometimes the over the top violence, language, and sexual themes are too much, even for me. And sometimes, it's gratuitous and has little to do with the actual topic of the episode. But, if you can work past those moments there is always a scathing rebuke of what should be common sense in this world.
22
I used to love Blizzard and play their games obsessively, but they have proven themselves to be gutless cowards. The only way they will listen is if we all collectively refuse to give them another penny for enforcing state-sanctioned tyranny.
Shame on Blizzard. Not another penny.
25
Interesting how relatively few comments there are on this censorship story but when Colin K is the focus, an uproar ensues. Not sure I want to delve too deeply into why this is...too sad to contemplate.
Also, as the Chinese are probably monitoring this thread as we speak...let me be clear...I love Winnie the Pooh.
12
Remember Ben Franklin's quote "Those willing to give up freedom for security deserve neither"? How about those willing to sell themselves for money, in disregard to their prestige and morals? Should they choke on it, however harsh a judgment, or let them remain lowly worms, with the right to crawl, unimpeded, close to Earth's dirt?
17
Even before Xi Jinping the Chinese government has proven not to have a sense of humor. The South Park team knew this.
When our team was working in China a couple decades ago we knew one of the developers of the Great Firewall of China. He was professional and approachable, but he too lacked a sense of humor. He reminded us that having access to a VPN (virtual private network) made working in China possible for outsiders, but not assured.
For most of their history China's leaders feared famine as the number one root cause for the end of dynasties. Now that they can afford to import as much food as they need, they seem to fear information outside the autocrat's control as the root cause of the end of this dynasty.
Also, it's not a communist country except in name. It is an autocratic modern Animal Farm. 500 million people are still living in abject poverty while the little princes of party members fawn over Ferraris and McClarens.
23
@Capt. Penny - Agree with your comment, but does your nom de plume come from Cleveland TV? (You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool Mom.)
Another home run from Parker and Stone!
18
Parker and Stone...they truly have tegridy!
28
Looks like the Chinese communists learned the golden rule from U.S. capitalists: those who have the gold make the rules.
12
NBA. Steve Kerr. Greg Popovich. LeBron James.
Hollywood. Most actors and actresses.
All willing to criticize Trump when they have nothing to lose, but self-censor criticism of China when money is on the line.
Self-righteous hypocrites and cowards, every one.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone put all of them to shame.
58
Once again, South Park has demonstrated the grotesqueness of profit over principles. Too bad the NBA, Blizzard, Disney and so many others don't follow suite. Shame on you!
16
@Sue Salvesen
*suit*
South Park 1, NBA 0.
31
The good boys of South Park are doing the Lord’s Work!! They are the fearless beacons in an increasingly gutless world.
20
Note to self:
Quit watching spine-free, money grubbing NBA on TV.
Start watching courageous South Park on Comedy Central.
20
There is irony in an article focused on censorship where the author feels compelled to warn his reader that viewing the cited episode of South Park may require a tolerance for profanity.
7
@JPLA I see no irony there, as the episode is freely available with controversial material and profanity intact, which only reinforces the point of the article and show.
3
@JPLA I don't think you have a clear grasp of the concept of censorship.
@JPLA
How does truth in advertising relate to censorship?
China, a great nation and people, is looking only to its past to make the future. Historically, China has been ruled by autocrats and empire builders, regardless of human life, and the well-being of its own people. This is the model Xi is pursuing. It's sad to see that Chinese leadership sees this as the only model to follow, esp for its future. It's only going to bring fear and destruction. Cancelling a western comedy show reveals how medieval, how weak and fragile this ideology is. We should challenge it from all sources. Respect the Chinese people but condemn its current leadership which is turning a proud people into a North Korea.
11
Love you, Trey and Matt.
20
China should ban all of us. They can live in their own dystopian world.
7
The Chinese government is horrible. They are not our friends. They do not share our belief system. They would be happy to destroy all democracies.
14
Long live ‘South Park’!
15
Trump recalled America’s ambassador to Ikraine, Marie Yovadorich, for being “insufficiently loyal to Trump”. See a parallel with China?
10
@Maude My god, this is beyond real. Trump is truly obnoxious, but to compare him to a murderous authoritarian regime is beyond the pale. It is self-indulgent and disrespectful to the millions that were starved to death and murdered by this regime. There is said to be a million Uighars in prison right now as I write this. Please show some common decency and know your history.
3
Emmy please.
20
Trey and Matt score one for truth, again.
11
police states , theocracies, and fascist governments deserve hatred and contempt.
7
Thank you, South Park.
As for the NBA and Blizzard, if you are so eager to submit yourselves to the censorship and oppression of free speech and democracy in China, why don’t you guys go HQ yourselves over there?
9
South Park 1, China 0
11
Bless you South Park, for speaking the truth and not giving one damn about the consequences, ever.
Thank you.
14
Wow! Best thing I’ve heard about in a while. Thanks South Park for reminding us all what is truly important in the best way possible - with humor.
26
South Park doesn't always get it right, but when they do, it's close to perfect...and hilarious
31
Has it come to this, then? Has everything become secondary to money? Truth, justice, honor, integrity, character, fairness, etc. all brushed aside for the almighty dollar/yuan/ insert your favorite currency here.
I am so disappointed in my human race.
19
@SYJ Everyone?? Not Trey Stone and Matt Parker.
2
@SYJ The USA successfully exported its values around the world
Good for the folks at South Park! And shame on the NBA for deciding that money is more important than the 1st amendment and democracy.
It's amazing - all of these millionaires call themselves patriots until they risk losing a dime by having to pay more in taxes or stand up to free speech, then they roll out the red carpet to authoritarians!
41
You mean these multimillionaire sports people and players aren't going to stand up and speak out? And btw, where are all the Hollywood people and those late night comedy hosts so worried about the erosion of our rights, freedeom, democracy? Oh, wait, they only do that in the U.S. where it's safe and have nothing to lose.
24
I don’t think I have ever bought a blizzard product but from now on I’ll make sure none of my family do.
15
“We too love money more than freedom and democracy.”
That pretty much sums up the GOP in one sentence.
171
@jmilovich
That pretty much sums up both sides of the aisle. Lets be truthful. Corporate greed has no boundaries.
17
@Chris True. This is why we need to stand up to them when they refuse to give the common man a living wage, or health care.
5
@jmilovich
you partisan arrogance sums up the Democrats in one sentence
Liberal Hollywood and Silicon Valley suck up to the Chinese for the same reasons the Republicans do
$$$$$$
6
I will be convinced when big Hollywood studios take a stand, not a quintessential American TV show that has next to nothing following in China.
8
It's the height of irony that, as Disney curries favor with Beijing, it is the Disney film cartoon depiction of Winnie-the-Pooh that has been banned -- not E.H. Shepard's from Milne's original illustrated version.
14
Thank God for "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. They are today's version of "Rocky and Bullwinkle".
37
Rather stunning that a sometimes irreverent cartoon is the best the United States of America can do when it comes to opposing freedom, free speech, and democratic values.
Where is our government? Where are our gutless, cowardly politicians? Do we stand for anything anymore, or have we blithely followed Donald Trump and his faux patriotism down the toilet where he belongs?
Our founding fathers would be turning in their graves if they could know the degree of depravity to which we've sunken in our concurrence to consolidate power and wealth in the hands of the the few privileged oligarchs who run corporations and amass unfathomable wealth at the expense of our people.
I'd like to think SOMEONE is ashamed of themselves but watching the avarice and arrogance breed and flourish in our once great democracy suggests otherwise, and the outcome is both surreal and disheartening.
64
It is nothing new. Ever since mankind dropped Tribal organization for variations on centralizing State structures 'families' have been gaming the systems to their advantage at the expense of the many. Today we call it "inequality", or, the 1-percenters vs the 99-percenters, etc. Look around the World today and by most every metric Inequality still is the dominate form of rule. Putin has stolen untold billions from his sheepeople. Mubarak (like his successor) have stolen hundreds of billions from the poorest of the poor. The same goes for the Chinese leadership, most of the Middle East, the Marcos family, murderous regimes throughout Central and South America, and on and on and on ad nauseam. So it obvious by land mass and population that the various forms of State 'rulership'/'government' that Inequality gives rise to have always, and continue to, and will do so going forward, be the Natural state of Man. Now ask yourself what do Republicans really mean when they talk about "Family Values"? Replace "Values" with "Office" and you will be closer to the truth.
4
The Communist Party uses our system of free enterprise against us forcing corporations to self censor. This is why only liberal democracies are meant to have trading relationships with one another. We need to get back to basics... free markets and free people. As Americans we shouldn't accept anything less.
227
@Gabriel Speciale as Americans we should also demand our own government obey the law. Yes we should demand or call out other countries but our ability to do that in a meaningful way is being destroyed by our law breaking President while politicians that SHOULD and can do something about it stand by. It's a shameful.
6
@Gabriel Speciale, "Free Markets for Free Peoples" - very well put.
6
Does that include freedom to eat read meat, buy furs, drive a gasoline powered car or legally buy a firearm without harassment from people against these products?
Matt and Trey are brilliant and - to use a wildly overused expression these days, especially when referring to celebrities and people in the media - they are brave. They would rather lose a huge market than lose their integrity. Seriously, who else in the media can say the same?
Just as they drew Mohammed in the Super Best Friends episode, they now double-down on their belief in free speech by going after those who would bow down to China. And, they do it, as usual, in the most thoughtful and offensive way possible!
Good for Matt, Trey, and all the rest of us who believe in free speech -- They are unlikely champions, but they are the champions we need, especially now! Well done!
136
Makes one realize that the NBA's status as 'wokest' league or their claims to support any kind of freedom of speech are ONLY because it's working for their business model. The second it stops making them money, those freedoms for players are gone.
31
@Roger
Not quite those freedoms aren’t gone. The players could speak up but it would cost money so they choose not too. The nba isn’t silencing them they are staying silent because it a big market. Lebron gets paid by Nike and Nike makes billions in China so he chooses to stay silent but he’s not forced to. We need a new lesson plan, when to be woke and when to be silent.
2
@Roger The first amendment guarantees freedom of speech, but that only applies to government actors, meaning you cannot be criminally prosecuted (in most cases) for speaking out.
It does not, however, protect one from other consequences of speech, such as a loss of job or financial gains.
The NBA players/staff are free to speak out, and the league is free to support them if they wish, but they risk the loss of business with China (which is a huge chunk, btw). They'll have to choose one or the other, but it isn't a guaranteed "right" that they receive both. Can't have your cake and eat it too.
2
It is chilling to think that, had they come out of China, Trey Parker and Matt Stone would have been put in a detention camp by now, if not executed.
China (and many other countries) have disturbing attitudes about censorship and the rights of citizens to dissent. From the Hong Kong protests to today's NYTimes story about an Iranian instagram star charged with "blasphemy," Americans need to speak out about the importance of freedom of speech as a global value to be embraced and cherished.
That's why spineless Donald Trump's raging against the media when they hurt his poor little fee-wings is so disturbing. And it's why it's so horrifying to see so many flag-waving Americans speaking against the free speech rights of people like Colin Kaepernick, and calling for "allegiance" to a song and a flag above the ability to participate in democracy through protest.
We in America have been fortunate to have relatively limited censorship over our media (and South Park pushes that envelope if anyone does). But it is a slippery slope, and we all should speak out against any encroachment on our right to free speech.
90
It really is unfair to compare President Xi to Winnie the Pooh. Winnie is so much more humane.
134
The slippery slope of hypocritical democracy. I do understand why the NBA would support hushing Houston Rockets GM for making comments against the Chinese government regarding its Communist stance. I further understand how the NBA in the same breath, claims that its players/representatives are free to address and condemn anti-democratic values. However, it all comes down to the bottom line (profits). What will the NBA do? Take the players/reps position and risk losing out on billions or accept the fact that in order to do business in China, the NBA will have to accept and acquiesce in constitutionally repugnant values. The NFL tried to silence Colin Kaepernick’s social commentary because it had potential to alienate, divide and most importantly, cause loss of profits. Will the NBA, follow suit and silence players/reps in order to continue doing business in China? What if the issue was apartheid and the country was South Africa - - - would NBA take same similar position? Money over freedom? I wonder.
15
I am very grateful that the comedy writers are paying attention.
When businesses cower and give in to censorship, it is nearly always due to fear and greed- OH NO: WE CAN'T LOSE CHINA $$$$$
Trey Parker and Matt Stone are among our finest satirists and we count on them to demonstrate the insanity of these situations and provide more evidence of the crucial importance of free speech.
Also, it's funny.
87
The connections between multinational corporations and their oligarch owners and worldwide incipient fascism has never been more apparent. We cannot restore our democracies and save our planet without addressing both.
24
This article, juxtaposing “profiting,” in some material or other way, with selected norms, values and ethics which underpin menschlichkeit, found no place to include “ personal accountability” for harmful words and deeds and their temporary or more permanent outcomes.
Personal unaccountability by policymakers, elected (freely or not), selected, self-selected, at ALL levels and ranges of responsibility, as well as ordinary folk whom one knows, or not, IS THE NORM!
All over. At home. Work. School. In the neighborhood. It’s streets, which are more than just for walking. One’s community. Where one shops. Sites of leisure. Sacramental sites where people come to pray to...increasingly transmuted into opportunities to prey on... UNACCOUNTABILITY!
Selected Chinese officials shut down... Censorship!
Selected Russian officials cover up a recent nuclear “event. Censorship!
Selected American officials “super-save” non-national security materials. Censorship!
Duerte massacres.... Personal Unaccountability and Ummenschlichkeit
Prince Mohammad bin Salman, of Saudi Arabia,body-cannibalizer, enables children to starve to death in Yemin.
Trump-the-UNFIT self proclaimed “Chosen One” has “dealt” “kidnapped-by -policy- children” a lifetime of traumas.
What is the balance, in a market profiting globality between understanding, and not just knowing, the differences between Right and WRONG and choosing to BE accountable?
3
The continued cowtowing of business and political leaders to China in pursuit of the almighty dollar is disgraceful. Do we actually believe in anything (except the dollar).
Lawrence Ferlinghetti said it best:
Pity the nation whose people are sheep
And whose shepherds mislead them
Pity the nation whose leaders are liars
Whose sages are silenced
And whose bigots haunt the airwaves
Pity the nation that raises not its voice
Except to praise conquerers
And acclaim the bully as hero
And aims to rule the world
With force and by torture
Pity the nation that knows
No other language but its own
And no other culture but its own
Pity the nation whose breath is money
And sleeps the sleep of the too well fed
Pity the nation oh pity the people
who allow their rights to erode
and their freedoms to be washed away
My country, tears of thee
Sweet land of liberty“
39
@Asif Wow!
As if I couldn't love South Park more.
43
The connection between the multinational corporations and their oligarch owners and the incipient fascism throughout the world becomes more obvious every day.
19
“... anyone who would betray their ideals just to make money in China isn’t worth a lick of spit,”
Good for South Park.
44
Where can I purchase a "Free Winnie" t-shirt in Mandarin?
33
God bless South Park. And Mickey and Winnie the Pooh!
9
A question if you have a moment, Mr. Victor:
Do you think China will censor this article specifically or the NYT generally over it? You do a nice job of walking us through some of the issues over there, while making sure to use quotes and citing to other references. How far does China go with non-satirical censorship?
11
Hahaha. Well, yeah. Businesses limit free expression, too. Companies are essentially little communes and dictatorships, and their employees past a certain socio-economic strata are essentially slaves. Why you would criticize businesses who have zero problem earning money without China for their greed, well, how long have you been paying attention to America? U.S. businesses still hold events in Russia, and they murder people all the time.
5
Their “apology” is hilarious and, more importantly, exposes just how cowardly and hypocritical the NBA and it’s owners are. Thanks guys!
322
@ehillesum Shareholders first!
7
For the creators of South Park, I can’t help but feel that being blocked by Chinese censors is a badge of approval. They have something to say and they don’t care who they offend. I applaud this courageous, irreverent show.
440
@CP And China's all like, "Respect our Authoratay!"
10
This aggressive censorship by the Chinese government is a sign of its weakness, and of the severe instability of Chinese society. The West is ruled by money and so power is diffuse among many players. No matter what anybody says, business continues as usual, and any damages can be dealt with in court. In China all power is concentrated into the hands of the CCP, so anything that threatens its legitimacy threatens to unravel the entire society resulting in chaos and anarchy, and combined with the thin margin of survival, can result in societal breakdown and civil war. This scenario has occurred frequently throughout Chinese history, in which the CCP is just the ruler of the latest dynasty.
9
““Like the N.B.A., we welcome the Chinese censors into our homes and into our hearts,” the show’s creators said in a tongue-in-cheek response. “We too love money more than freedom and democracy.””
Ouch! Politics and sports. What a combination!
Like a T-shirt being worn in concert, ‘Art is Truth.’
8
China loves democracy when its extracting cash, but not when it comes to human rights and freedom. Time to stop letting them have their cake and eating it too?!
14
Good for Matt and Trey for sticking up for their ideals. I may have to start watching South Park now.
25
@Calliegirl I would recommend you start with the 2016 season. One of the best things I saw on TV that year.
4
Would Americans ever boycott the NBA on principle, or are we as selfish and lacking in compassion, perspective and empathy as this organization?
9
The slippery slope of hypocritical democracy. I do understand why the NBA would support hushing Houston Rockets GM for making comments against the Chinese government regarding its Communist stance. I further understand how the NBA in the same breath, claims that its players/representatives are free to address and condemn anti-democratic values. However, it all comes down to the bottom line (profits). What will the NBA do? Take the players/reps position and risk losing out on billions or accept the fact that in order to do business in China, the NBA will have to accept and acquiesce in constitutionally repugnant values. The NFL tried to silence Colin Kaepernick’s social commentary because it had potential to alienate, divide and most importantly, cause loss of profits. Will the NBA, follow suit and silence players/reps in order to continue doing business in China? What if the issue was apartheid and the country was South Africa - - - would NBA take same similar position? Money over freedom? I wonder.
1
Yes indeed. Apartheid was an easy call... South Africa was not a major power/market. However if they were then no one would have stood up. This is the problem in treating the PRC as a western power. The Communists shouldn't have the right to sit at the table with us. However, we believed that the system would collapse. It only became stronger and made our resolve weaker.
6
No one wants to be forced into a moment where one must choose, where one must reveal one’s character, but this is such a moment. Do you value money over morals and freedom? Can you be bought, knowing that every decision that compromises integrity makes it harder to stand up for the rest of humanity? What kind of world do you want to live in for yourself and your family and the whole of life on earth? This is the moment to decide.
#NotMeUs #Bernie2020
10
The CCP does itself no favors with these self-serving actions. They merely expose themselves as the cowards they are. That organizations and politicians in the US mimic and/or condone these actions is revealing. Money talks, morals walk.
14
Last week I watched a live stream of run of the mill HKers from all walks of life ( not the rampaging kids) wearing surgical masks and taunting the police to shoot them. " Open fire! Open fire! What are you waiting for!" There were some choice obscenities thrown in as well.
The NBA, a multi billion dollar enterprise, won't even defend one guy's freedom of expression tweet from the safety of their corporate offices in the US. Craven doesn't even begin to describe it. The US is no longer a free country if the Chinese government can make us self-censor. Ashamed to be American right now.
19
Long live Parker and Stone! It’s not easy to maintain your bite and brilliance over such a long run. Go get ‘em.
86
Boy they'd go apocalyptic if Xi were to be cast in the role of Kenny ...
7
What is worse: China banning free expression and bombarding people with political propaganda; or Google and Facebook spying on private speech (computer searches) so they can profit by sending you economic propaganda (advertising) to make you think you need something you had not heard about a moment earlier?
4
@Peeking Through The fences
Banning free expression is way worse than advertising...just because you asked.
10
@Peeking Through The fences
Well... you’re free to enter into those agreements with Facebook and google, or not. Your choice. It’s not that difficult to ditch FB and use a different search engine or email platform if you so choose. And even if you do use those, you then have a choice in whether you want to pay attention to the advertising. Don’t act like you don’t have free will over this.
On the other hand, the people of China, including Hong Kong, don’t really have a choice.
The answer should be apparent.
8
That depends on we we whether your focus is confined to human beings and the here and now, or whether you include the whole planet, and the future of human society.
Advertising is needed to convince already bloated people to consume more. Excess consumption leads to environmental cataclysm. Environmental collapse will destroy freedom. So, in the long and broad view, sales propaganda is as great a danger as political propaganda.
And, you have not even addressed the point about spying by private industry in service of more persuasive sales propaganda.
2
if it wasn't for Parker and Stone and a few others (very few) we could finally conclude the Comunist have won!
7
South Park used to be funny. Now that's moved to politics, it isn't and I quit watching.
@Loyd Eskildson yep, it's even better.
6
@Loyd Eskildson I'm sure they'll miss you, Loyd!
7
@Loyd Eskildson
That will give you more time to yell at the kids on your lawn.
7
As consumers, we all should be doing our part and boycotting everything Chinese-made. Tell Apple to build their stuff someplace else. Don't watch any NBA games until the league stops capitulating. In 20, 30 years, do you think China will behave better, while we continue to financially underwrite the most populous country's repression? The time to act against China's government's totalitarianism is now.
71
@Maureen as a Canadian, I'm also boycotting American products since Trump.
5
If the satirical geniuses want to go for the coup de grace, then they need to draw the connection between Chinese censorship and “Cancel Culture” thought-policing in America.
14
If that’s the equivalency then I guess Democracy is already meaningless in America.
2
@Absolom, South Park regularly makes fun of PC “thought policing.“
Indeed, their brand is built on it.
Of course, there’s not much equivalency between Chinese state censorship, detention camps, organ harvesting of prisoners, cultural genocide, et al., and individuals and businesses in America making decisions that they don’t want to do business with certain people.
12
So Western democracy and free market ideals won out over communism in the great ideological struggle of the 20th century, only to surrender its commitment to free speech to a 21st century communist superpower in order to ensure access to its lucrative market. It takes a while to entangle all the ironies here.
230
@short of time
But, of course, that didn't really happen. No commitment has been "surrendered." You're simply exaggerating.
2
@short of time
Just visit any academic institution, for example, any science department, in the US, to see fully the extent of American surrender to China.
8
@short of time
Why would you be surprised that a market can weigh moral values versus cash value and decide to go for the cash if the pile is big enough?
The irony you see goes away entirely if you view the entanglement of free speech and capitalism as either coincidence or good domestic marketing as opposed to a hard requirement. Clearly the existence of modern China shows that to be the case.
2
Good for the producers and writers of South Park. Finally, some is showing some spine.
106
Fans must demand freedom of speech, fans must demand freedom of expression... we must make sacrifices for our values and cannot compromise our fundamental belief in human rights. People in Hong Kong are like us and hate the boot of the police state on their throats. I stand with them for human dignity and justice. Where is the voice of the players for justice?
106
@Scott: Ask Colin Kaepernick.
15
Consider:
“the players for justice” have to contend with the “fans” of complacency. Complicity.
Family members, neighbors, friends, work colleagues, fellow students, those on a treadmill next to us, fellow shoppers, those praying to...who somehow transmute in preyers on...who have CHOSEN
to BEcome:
Willfully blind about what IS which should not BE. Not THEN! NOW! Tomorrow?
Willfully deaf to the experienced existential pains of “the other.”
Willfully indifferent to dehumanization. Exclusion. Discrimination. Institutionalized inequality.
Willfully ignorant of available and accessible generalizable FACTS;sating on lies, fantasies, fictions.
Willfully forgetful of Mr. Welch’s disdain for Sen. McCarthy’s faux patriotism;”Have you no sense of decency, sir?” A rhetoric question.
The players for justice CAN BE anyone of US who choose to risk making a contribution to making a difference which can make a sustainable difference for menschlichkeit.For equitable sharing of human and nonhuman resources so critical for “seeding,” growing and harvesting sustainable wellbeing and health for ALL.
The self-empowered “censors” will continue as long as each of us enables them to do so.
In the many battles, small and bigger ones, to create needed changes, many will be maimed. Traumatized. Killed. In choosing not to challenge ummenschlichkeit ALL of US are surviving-victims.
1
Every move we make is monetized, by Amazon, by China, by political parties, but mostly by sales persons and industries. If I say the wrong words around my computer, even if my keystrokes are a certain way, of if my expression from the webcam on my phone, watch, or laptop, or home security system is different from the norm, it is big money to find out. Elite reporters sometimes don't realize this.
If I have been away from the ocean for a decade, by my wife and I discuss being on the shore, or me trying surging, guess what they try to sell me? Surfboards, sunscreen, weekend getaways.
China is the Communist/Socialist big brother. The West has its authoritarian corollaries.
10
@4AverageJoe
Has anyone from the FBI, CIA, or Homeland Security showed up to arrest you for your criticism of President Trump or the fact that you have the "wrong" religion or politics?
Because that is what can and does happen in China. There is no comparison to that in the US although there are of course people on the left and right who would be delighted to exercise that sort of power.
3
@Jan Being in prison is not that much different from being prevented to have a home and a job solely because of your bad credit rating. NY is the only state that legally prevents employers from discriminating candidates by their credit rating for jobs that have nothing to do with handling money.
Just watched the episode. While I’m not a huge fan of South Park in general, that one hit the issue on the nose. Shame on the NBA.
I’ve noticed a VAST decrease in writing quality in blockbuster Hollywood hits in the past decade. I wonder what other aspects of American life will cave to Chinese interests.
Btw, Winnie the Pooh is indeed banned in China because the character looks like Xi. Think about that.
146
@Russell
I guess this means he and Trump are in a tie for thinnest-skinned, most insecure world “leaders.” (Air quotes)
17
@Russell "I’ve noticed a VAST decrease in writing quality in blockbuster Hollywood hits in the past decade."
This is also the reason why you don't see as many comedies as you used to in theaters - comedies other than slapstick are highly culture specific, and so don't do well (and don't bring big returns for stockholders) in the Chinese market.
11
@Russell
Correction: Xi looks like Pooh; Pooh got there first. Pooh should sue Xi.
16
Nothing conveys the insecurities and tender sensitivities of the CCP & it’s little tyrant Xi Jinping more than the ban on the children’s story character Winnie-the-Pooh. The ban based on a perceived resemblance to Xi is so ridiculous that I would have taken it for parody had I not read otherwise. It seems that tyrants regardless of cultural backgrounds are uniformly devoid of humor or humility and whose humanity is so lacking that they are threatened by the most innocent of human behaviors. This is a sad thing, perhaps if Xi had been exposed to some innocent Chinese children stories instead of the rhetoric of that truly unique and self destructive act the cultural revolution Xi wouldn’t find it necessary to build concentration camps and crush self expression. We have Trump and China has Xi, we are both diminished by these men.
274
It reminds one of Erdogan and his fury over being compared to Gollum in a meme. It shows how thin the veneer of toughness is with these strongmen. Including you know who.
32
“The censorship occurred as the N.B.A. was unintentionally demonstrating how protecting business interests in China can chill speech back in the United States.“ There was nothing unintentional about this, that is the goal of censorship.
204
@Terry Grosenheider
"Unintentional" in this statement modifies the NBA's demonstration of its priorities, not censorship.
11
Not too long ago, the president of the USA told three congress women of color to go back to where they came from just for speaking up for what, rightly or wrong, they believe. Judging by those remarks, apparently not everyone free to speak up in the USA either, some may be told to get out of the country. Democracy is also highly curtailed (and overated) in the USA through gerrymandering.
156
@Jos
"Judging by those remarks, apparently not everyone free to speak up in the USA either"
Let's not forget all those self-proclaimed "patriots" so incensed by athletes failing to make the necessary obeisance to a band of colored cloth and a song.
...Andrew
16
@Jos Everyone is free to speak their mind in the USA; not even the president of this country can stop free speech. That is not true in China where citizens and even lawyers (e.g., Jiang Tianyong 江天勇, Wang Quanzhang 王全璋, etc.) disappear when exercising and protecting their supposed rights in the Chinese "constitution". So much for freedom in China. I will take the flaws of democracy over dictatorship any day...
41
@Jos were they removed from congress or country? put into re-education camps? freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from reply. And freedom of speech doesn't mean that reply won't be asinine, racist, etc. the sad part is the seat it comes from, not the fact that anyone is free to say what they please.
23
As the world gets smaller, our differences get more revealed.
31
@Mikeyz
The primary differences revealed are those of people of small mind and large ego.
3