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Monday, December 15, 2008

That damned heresy

What's Mallard raving about today?

Heresy, Christmas, Oprah.

Today's panel falls squarely into the Creepiest Unintentional Self-Revelation category, with a touch of Dog Whistle politics thrown in.

Based on the structure of today's panel, Mallard is drawing an clear equivalency between "Oprah" and every other religion on that list (except, of course, Christianity).

What he is really saying, of course, is that other than Christianity, all religions are heresy. But even he's not stupid enough to actually say this outright.

He is too stupid to choose Oprah, rather than something like Scientology, which claims religious status but everyone enjoys making fun of.

Mind you 300-400 years ago, Mallard would have been burned at the stake as a heretic and a warlock, since Dark Age Christians frowned upon talking waterfowl and not wearing pants.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is it wrong that the most off-putting thing about this comic for me is the way the word "heretic" was written? I mean, the dot for the i is above the t, and the exclamation mark isn't even in line with the word. A five-year-old could do a better job with it.

Anonymous said...

Freaky. 3 weeks ago, I made a comment about Limbaugh to be told it must "frost me" that he makes so much money. I then pointed to Oprah as someone worth more who was pro-Obama.

And now we have Tinsley accusing her of being an irrational religious head of fanatics.

I think I need some quality time with a tinfoil hat.

On a less conspiracy theorist note, while I don't actually watch or listen to Oprah, I do have to give her credit for using the free market to establish herself in America. It apparently bothers a certain libertarian that she has been picked by consumers to be a dominant marketplace force.

Anonymous said...

So, despite their preaching about "tolerance" and "diversity", liberals are all secret bigots who think that anyone who disagrees with them is a heretic, just like Mallard.

Of course, the Onion did Oprah better.

Anonymous said...

I have worked in newsrooms across the country, and I have never run across Oprah worship. In fact, I can't recall one time when her name was mentioned, positively or negatively.

chrisgally said...

I don't like seeing Tinsley referred to as a "libertarian". It seems like it's becoming the "cool" thing for conservatives to call themselves libertarians despite not actually having a "live and let live" or "let people do as they please as long as it harms no-one" worldview.

rewinn said...

Factinista: There you go again - complaining about quality!

exanonymous: The "free market" counts only when its results are consistent with reichwing ideology. If kids today like Oprah to the great Anita Bryant, it's because Hollywood liberals warped their minds with acid-laced reefer cigarettes.

12sxuser: You are correct; Tinkley and his ilk can see the liberal anti-toleration conspiracy concealed behind the mask of tolerance, even if you cannot. Perhaps you need stronger beer goggles so you can see it too.

editdesk: I hope you are not introducing a so-called "fact" based on "experience".

Factyism is just another religion, the most dangerous religion of them all since it threatens the primacy of faith. You have been warned!

Kaitlyn said...

Wasn't Oprah the basis of a religion in Futurama?

It is very bad to not want to offend people, because it's fun to have people pissed off at you.

Michael Foley said...

Once again, Tinsley turns right wing bigotry on its head. It's the liberals who are close-minded and judgmental! Right. I guess 90% of voting American-Americans just haven't been paying attention the last few decades, and the Palin rallies were staged by NAACP plants.

Tinsley manages to encapsulate right wing hypocrisy all in one cartoon: in panel one, he accuses liberals of being heretics because they are inclusive. In panel two and three, he claims liberals are bigots because they accuse people of being heretics, and are noninclusive.

Andrew Johnston said...

Kaitlyn: "...a mainstream religion, like Oprahism or voodoo." Yep.

chrisgally: Honestly, you'd be shocked as to what belief structures fall under the mantle of libertarianism. Tinsley's brand is what one blogger refers to as "glibertarianism": the belief that taxes are evil and companies should be allowed to do whatever the hell they want but the government can and should keep its nose squarely in everyone's business. In other words, they want to be the PRC really, really bad. I'm sure that none of them see the irony in this.

rewinn said...

"...they want to be the PRC..."

ZING! Ow, that'd leave a bruise, if only Tinkley had the brains to understand what you just wrote.

It's kinda funny how the imaginary unfettered capitalism of Ayn Rand & the libertarianism ALWAYS turns into state capitalism every time it's tried ... almost as if libertarianism is incompatible with human nature.