I stopped watching South Park long ago.  Crass and insensitive, it would be safe to assume that I should in fact like the show, and I did for quite some time.  After enjoying four seasons of it, however, I simply lost interest.  Catching a show here and there since then would still cause me to laugh uproariously — sometimes.  Mostly, I would giggle and snicker and find other things to do while I watched.  It got boring, I guess.

Isaac Hayes, the singer whose voice has been the audio incarnation of Chef since the show’s inception, is leaving the program.  His reason?  He believes the show is bigoted.  His proof?  He cites the insensitive way Scientology was handled in an episode.

Like me, you’re undoubtedly asking yourself where his sensitivity derives from considering he laughed all the way to the bank as they manhandled Christians, Mormons, Jews, and Muslims.  Hayes said, “There is a place in this world for satire but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry toward religious beliefs begins.”  That appears only to apply if the religion is one to which he belongs, and Scientology is his faith of choice.  Until the parody and ridicule struck home, Hayes was unable to muster any sensitivity or care, yet now we’re to believe he was stricken suddenly by misguided and overactive conscience.

It is Hayes who is hypocritical in this regard.  What a sad little man.  He participates in the roasting of faiths which vastly outnumber his own and that have been around much longer.  He cashes his paycheck on a regular basis and goes back for more.  Then, when the focus turns to his own religion, it becomes insensitive and bigoted.

While I’m sure many will miss him, and I have difficulty imagining Chef with any other voice without sounding like a cheap fake, the show is better off without him.  It is a shame to think that for so long we believed him an open-minded individual when in fact he is a selfish cretin.  Equally important is that he’s clearly demonstrated his own insincerity.  How can anyone respect him or his opinions after this?