Apple, Wal-Mart, Southwest Air, Ford Motor, Johnson & Johnson, Mars Inc., Citigroup, MetLife, Heineken, L’Oreal and McDonald’s have been threatened by the Citizens. They have two weeks to notify the religious zealots of their intention to pull ads from Viacom's Comedy Central or else they will be “outed” at a June 17 press conference as supporters of “blasphemy” and financial of supporters of “an abomination purported to be entertainment.” Talk about that old time religion. It’s not clear if a stoning is in the works.
The Citizens, in its “extremely urgent” letter to Comedy Central advertisers, claims a “situation comedy about God and his son, Jesus Christ” is “offensive to the 83 percent of Americans who identify themselves as Christians.”
That statement is offensive to the majority of moderate and liberal Christians in America. They are more open-minded and tolerant than Citizens members such as Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council, Bill Donohue’s Catholic League and James Dobson’s Family Talk.
This blogger thinks its neither Christan nor American to follow the lead of fanatical Muslims who promise mayhem for media that show an image of Muhammad. Advertisers on Comedy Central should ignore the threat. Or better still, tell them to buzz off.
There is a two-faced aspect to the Citizens quest to censor Comedy Central. A prominent member of Citizens is Brent Bozell’s Media Research Center. The Citizens' petition in support of the boycott provides a link to MRC Action site. MRC is running a “free speech alliance” program that claims the political left is trying to silence “conservative and Christian talk radio hosts we love and count on every day.” MRC Action says the Obama Administration is trying to “rempose the Censorship Doctrine also mis-known as the Fairness Doctrine.” Says Bozell’s group: “government intrusions on free speech must be stopped. Apparently, it’s only okay for evangelicals to intrude on free speech.
The Citizens are brought to us by PR firm, Creative Response Concepts—promoter of gems like Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, National Abstinence Education Association and Discovery Institute, promoters of “intelligent design" vs. evolution. In a nice bit of irony, Viacom’s Paramount Pictures used CRC in 2006 to build support among conservatives and evangelicals for Oliver Stone's World Trade Center movie.