Via Don Surber, we learn the London Daily Mail reported that BBC director-general Mark Thompson said that mockery of Christianity on British television was acceptable because Christianity was "an established part of our cultural-built landscape" which meant it was "a pretty broad-shouldered religion."
Thompson made these remarks after large Christian protests of the 2005 BBC2 broadcast of "Jerry Springer: The Opera." He conceded that the British broadcaster would never have aired a similar show about Mohammed because it could have had the same impact as a piece of "grotesque child pornography." Let's review just how badly the Springer show mocked Jesus, Mary, and God:
Brent Bozell explained in a 2008 column the Christianity-trashing plot points:
1. Springer is shot by accident by Ku Klux Klansmen dancing around a burning cross, and he’s then transported to Hell to do a Springer show. A disclaimer is shown that reads in part, "It may not be suitable for viewers without a strong grasp of Judeo-Christian mythology."
2. Jerry reads one of Satan's cue cards to introduce the next guest. Jerry hesitatingly reads that the guest is, "The hypocrite son of the fascist tyrant on high, Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus is fat, effeminate, and wearing a diaper.
3. Satan sings, "So he turned the water into wine, oooh! So he walked across the freaking seas, oooh! So you got yourself crucified. Here's a little biscuit from me." Satan holds up an off-white cookie that resembles the Eucharist. Jesus then grabs the biscuit from Satan and holds it above his head before throwing it down as he sings: "I am Jesus, son of man, son of Mary, son of God. So do not, do not, do not f--- with me. I do not want your biscuit. I want your love and your respect, for I am love and I love all mankind."
4. The chorus then sings, "Jesus is gay, Jesus is gay." Jesus yells at the choir to stop, but then admits, "Actually, I am a bit gay.”
5. Eve sings to Jesus that she shouldn't have been cast out of the garden for one simple mistake. Jesus responds that Eve had her chance, and she blew it.
6. Eve reaches under Christ’s diaper and fondles his genitals. Jesus sings that he was crucified and Eve didn't even care. Eve and Jesus continue arguing and come to physical blows.
7. Springer introduces Mary, and the choir sings, "Raped by an angel, raped by an angel, raped by an angel, raped by God!" The Blessed Mother enters. She is angry and pointing at Jesus. She sings a song to him asking things like, "Where were you when I was getting old? Where were you when the children cried?" Satan sings back, "Jesus wasn't there. He didn't care."
This same BBC director-general Mark Thompson objected when one newspaper counted the number of swear words and multiplied by the number of cast members who proclaimed them, and came up with 8,000. Thompson claimed the profanity wasn’t offensive because it symbolized the “moral and linguistic poverty” of Springer’s universe. “It certainly didn’t feel gratuitous.”
All this was acceptable for British TV because Christianity is a "broad-shouldered" religion. Mr Thompson said: ‘Without question, “I complain in the strongest possible terms”, is different from, “I complain in the strongest possible terms and I am loading my AK-47 as I write”. This definitely raises the stakes.’ He elaborated:
"The point is that for a Muslim, a depiction, particularly a comic or demeaning depiction, of the Prophet Mohammed might have the emotional force of a piece of grotesque child pornography.
‘One of the mistakes secularists make is not to understand the character of what blasphemy feels like to someone who is a realist in their religious belief.’
When asked by his interviewer, the historian Timothy Garton Ash, if it was the case that the BBC wouldn’t dream of airing something ‘comparably satirical’ as Jerry Springer: The Opera about Mohammed, he said:
‘Essentially the answer to that question is yes.’
He added: ‘The idea you might want to… think quite carefully about whether something done, in quotes, in the name of freedom of expression, might to the Jew, or the Sikh, or the Hindu, or the Muslim, who receives it, feel threatening, isolating and so forth, I think those are meaningful considerations.’
This is, in short, the media discriminating against tolerant religions and favoring violent ones. How that makes liberalism look right or just is anyone's guess.
