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Tuesday, December 18, 2007

That damned Teddy Bear

What's Mallard raving about today?

Teddy Bears, Sudan, Islam.

Man, that is one scary-looking teddy bear.

Apparently Mallard's Great-Gift Idea #22 (which is not only unnecessarily hyphenated, but is also suddenly moving backward from gift #35 last week) is to give Sudanese children recurrent nightmares about evil teddy bears.

12 comments:

GeoX, one of the GeoX boys. said...

So does that bit of doggerel actually MEAN anything? Seriously, what the fuck is he on about? Love the "religion of peace" thing, though. Ah, Mallard. Still racist to the core, I see.

Michael Foley said...

He might have had a point if he hadn't put quotes around "religion of peace". Now it's just bigoted.

Funny that the genocide in Sudan was never noteworthy enough to make it to Mallard, but once the teddy bear scandal happened? Bam, Mallard to the rescue.

Good god, look at the bear's left hand. Did someone stick that thing in the microwave?

BillyWitchDoctor said...

It's been mentioned before, but in light of this strip, this story bears* repeating.

I'll make a deal with you, Tinsley. You don't judge Islam by its extremists, and I won't judge all of Christianity by its extremists.

Heck, I'll be big about it: I won't even judge all of Christianity by you.

After all, I seem to remember reading that Jesus had an opinion about judging others. (But he was just a stupid liberal hippy. Who cares what he had to say?)

Happy Holidays!

*oh ha ha HA!

Kaitlyn said...

They're lives have gone to hell, and a TEDDY BEAR will make it better?

I'm reminded of the Bloom County storyline where Steve Dallas sues Santa. His client's brother got a toy machine gun. Anyways, after the trial, Santa says he can't give him a ball because they're in great demand in the Middle East (and other places with lots of fighting).

This comic? It just hurts, man.

No smart person would call a gift in December a Christmas gift if Christians will be shot or left to rot.

Except Mallard the Martyr.

Michael - he doesn't care about the genocide, except to find examples to back up his views on Islam.

Matt Ramone said...

Christ, even when Tinshley has even the slightest shiff of a valid point, he has to shit all over it by being smug, sanctimonious, and self-righteous.

Yes, the reaction of some in the Muslim community to the teddy bear thing is ridiculous. And yes, it's completely WTF? when other certain members of the Muslim community riot and kill people because they were offended by a cartoon...that depicted them as violent.

Well, Tin Man, good thing there's a better way than "the religion of peace." Christianity has never been responsible for any of the horrors of the world. Except the Crusades. And the Inquisition. And the cultural repression that kept europe mired in the Dark Ages while their Muslim counterparts were flourishing and inventing algebra. And the Christian terrorists who attack abortion clinics. And making sure that the impoverished of the world have ten starving kids apiece, rather than the unthinkable horror of teaching them about birth control or their own sexuality. Other than all that stuff.

Every religion, when taken to an absolute extreme, will produce nuts who go too far or do horrible things. It happens. Just don't throw stones in your stained-glass house.

As a parting thought, I like to point out that many members of Charles Manson's "family" became born-again, fundamentalist Christians* after being separated from their notorious leader. I wonder if there's a link involving personality types...


*Source - a book

Matt Ramone said...

Oh, and grain alcohol was invented by a Muslim. I would love to see a filmstrip starring Tinsley that takes cues from that old one we saw in school every February about that old racist guy who tries living in a world without things invented by black people.

Of course, Tinsley without alcohol is basically just Chuck Asay, so maybe it's good he swims in a sea of Golden Grain.

Kaitlyn said...

Matt - do you know if that film is online?

Matt Ramone said...

Kaitlyn, I haven't seen it in years. I don't even remember what it's called. Google video might have it. There're a few good sites out there that compile old educational filmstrips. (The sex-ed and gay panic ones from the 50's are particularly hilarious, if you try not to think that there are still people who think like that.)

Scott H. said...

Echoing Matt's point, I'm pretty sure there have been points in history where not being sufficiently pious in a Christian sense was punished by imprisonment and torture. And in this country there was a time when folks would hang someone for whistling at someone of the wrong race. The Sudan teddy bear caper had me shaking my head, but not with that self-satisfied smugness with which Brucie imbues his "comic."

While we're at it, I wonder if the story would have gotten as much attention - both from the local side and from Western press coverage - if the teacher in question has been Sudanese instead of British.

Anonymous said...

Wait, it's wrong for another country to throw a woman in jail to rot for naming a teddy bear after a prophet in a society that strives to strictly prohibit idolatry...

and not wrong for the US to throw them into a jail to rot simply because it's rumored they expressed discontent with the USA and were Muslim?

Am I missing something?

Anonymous said...

Oh, and on that list of wrongs of Christians:

Anything Puritan. Salem witch trials anyone?

Anonymous said...

Let's not forget the religious wars between Catholics and Protestants.