CAMPAIGN AGAINST JON STEWART BEGINS

[ZombieHorde]

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:

Jon Stewart refused to apologize last night for the unprecedented assault on Christian sensibilities he launched on April 16. In that episode, “The Daily Show” featured a naked woman with her legs spread and a nativity scene ornament placed between her legs; with the picture on the screen, Stewart laughed at what he called the “vagina manger.” To see the picture, click here. (I couldn't get the hyper link to work well, sorry. --ZH)

Our effort against Stewart includes asking his most consistent sponsors to pull their advertising (if necessary, we are not ruling out a boycott of their products), and a lengthy public relations campaign. The goal? To get him to apologize. If that doesn’t work, we can guarantee that his reputation will never be the same.

Today we will contact Kraft, one of whose products, MiO Energy, was one of the five sponsors that advertised on both the April 17 and April 18 episodes. Moreover, we will contact those on our “Allied Organizations” list (over two days) to join this campaign. They will be asked to contact Steve Albani, Senior VP of Comedy Central Communications, and Kraft.

more at the link: http://www.catholicleague.org/campaign-against-jon-stewart-begins/

[seabeyond]

1. yes. i saw. was cute of jon to defend women by objectifying them

just a bit of the stupid male privilege of doesnt fuckin get it.

edit... oooops, in religion. dont want to be offensive. but, my gripe isnt the manger but stewart being stupid

[2ndAmForComputers]

5. So...

I guess you're on board with the valiant Mr. Donahue and his most honorable Catholic league in this wholesome and righteous quest for justice?

[seabeyond]

9. right. cause that is what my post said

oh wait... not.

dont give a shit about the manger.

put me right there with donahue

brilliant.

[eqfan592]

7. *sigh*

[laconicsax]

10. C'mon seabeyond, you know you just hate men, sex, women, happiness...

Did I leave anything out?

[seabeyond]

12. lol.....

prude, asexual, anti sex, pearl clutcher, swoonin

yada yada yada

ya, you left stuff out.

[2ndAmForComputers]

13. I love you, man.

In a brotherly fashion, of course. NTTAWWT.

[DirkGently]

14. I rather thought he was mocking the Republicans' doing that.

Stewart didn't start the national argument over what women can do with their bodies. He pointed out the galactic inconsistency of FoxNews' huffing about how calling it a "war" was over the top, despite their unending practice of waving the "war" flag over such trivial things as Christmas decorations.

Putting the two together was edgy, maybe, but it wasn't off base.

[seabeyond]

18. using a naked woman with her legs spread on a gynocologists bed for a laugh

is offensive. so yes, he was kind enough to stand up for women as he totally did it at the woman's expense. and yes, i get it, men dont get it.

[DirkGently]

21. No, I think you don't get it, and your dismissal of Stewart is sexist as hell.

Like it or not, Republicans have brought the debate to the crotch. There was nothing sexually gratifying or debasing in the image, and suggesting that American conservatives would only be happy with a woman's body if it contained a manger was deadly accurate.

[eqfan592]

24. Nailed it. (nt)

[Starboard Tack]

37. My wife thought it was hilarious

What exactly did you find objectionable? That a woman should be naked? Spread her legs on a gynecologist's table (or bed, as you say)? Or the manger? How was it at the woman's expense? Don't you think you are being a tad over sensitive?

[darkstar3]

17. I kind of agree with you, but they did a good job of satirizing that this week.

The segment where Jason Jones "interviews" a group of women (and one man) to find out what it is that women are looking for in this election was a brilliant piece of satire. Darkspouse and myself laughed our asses off, and I think it did a great job of showcasing how prevalent male privilege is, and how ignorant some men are of it.

[seabeyond]

20. jon stewart proved himself his privilege and ignorance with what he did first show.

and those women on the panel were pissed, even though they got it.

wouldnt it have been absolutely fuckin grand if that man who kept getting the questions actually said.... hey, ask the women.

instead he just allowed it. which was another example how regardless, even if the man gets it, when with men, they will stick with their buddies and not call them out.

[darkstar3]

22. That was the best part: The fact that he didn't even get that HE was being satirized.

[2ndAmForComputers]

23. I wish you displayed the same indignation about sexism...

...when it comes from right-wingers.

For example, that dumbass Wisconsin legislator a few days back. Or any one of the hundreds of other Republican politicians waging the War on Women.

I don't read much from you about that.

[Voice for Peace]

25. I just didn't like it. Stewart said he hadn't seen it

when it appeared on the screen, then he went with it.

Most people are clueless until they've learned how things are. Little bit at a time, we get there.

I don't know what's what about it, but it didn't feel right. It rudely distracted me from the excellence of a moment earlier. Poor decision. It seemed like a frat boy prank.

[eqfan592]

26. Wow, really????

My wife and I both thought it was funny and did a great job of driving the point home. It's obvious we are coming from two completely different places on this.

[K8-EEE]

28. Um hello this is COMEDY and SATIRE! He is pointing out THE ABSURD.

You have to have a sense of humor to even address it....to say that JS is "ignorant," that's just incorrect.

[cbayer]

35. Agree. That was one of the funniest bits I've seen on there for awhile. Brilliant.

[Yavapai]

46. My wife didn't like it too much though...

I accidentally spit popcorn bits all over the recliner and floor. Had to clean it up before she let me continue the show.

[Goblinmonger]

32. You do know that satire

makes fun of its target by exaggerating the target, right? You satirize objectification by blowing objectification up and making it look ridiculous.

Don't let satire die, seabeyond, it's a great literary form.

[seabeyond]

33. and you are saying they could not be sensitive toward women, who they were defending,

in the process of using satire?

i dont agree. it may take a bit more thought, understanding and creativity, but i think there is a greater outcome for the effort.

[Goblinmonger]

34. Would you say the same to Norman Lear?

He certainly could have tried to be more sensitive to women, Jews, blacks, Polacks, etc., etc., etc. when he created All in the Family but then it would have sucked as a satire.

[seabeyond]

36. absolutely i think lear used sensitivity and there were lines he did not cross to make his point. nt

[Goblinmonger]

38. He used everything they would let him use on the network.

He wrote things that would get his posts hidden on DU. Spic, Kyke, Jiggabo to just start the list.

[seabeyond]

39. 70's was different than 2010.

and i saw no hanging for a joke, or gas chambers or sticking a camera up a womans crotch so we could all have a good laugh learning our lessons.

[Goblinmonger]

41. He wasn't satirizing lynchings,

or the holocaust, or cameras up crotches. He was satirizing racism and sexism and he pulled no punches showing it to us.

And the DS didn't stick a camera up a woman's crotch. There was a nativity scene in front of it. Which adds to the satire. And it makes a very good point. The uproar from the left about it is the same as those that didn't like the New Yorker cover with Mulism Barak and Militant Michele. It's mocking the point of view pretty solidly.

[seabeyond]

42. they were mocking the reproductive laws and "war"

not a woman spreading her legs. no more than lynching or gas chamber for racism and anti semitic.

[Goblinmonger]

43. There seems to be a straight line path between reproductive laws

and the image of a woman on an examination table. The conservatives want to put themselves in that exam room by proxy with the laws. That is what the DS was satirizing and the image fits that with the nativity adding the religious component that the right uses as the basis for their argument. That visual is dead on for what they are trying to satirize.

[rbixby]

44. I think your indignation is misdirected

And that republicans' goal is to make a woman's crotch public property for government to watch over. Yes, the picture may be offensive, but what it stands for is much more offensive than the picture.

Its obviously partially had its intended effect on you, but you're missing the point. I guess all humor is going to somehow offend someone.

[MichiganVote]

2. what is so hard for people to get about respect in our society

[Suich]

3. Haven't heard much from Donohue lately...

this ought to be good!

[rurallib]

4. bet TDS can really make him an object of humor.

[earthside]

6. Why is Catholic League 'offended'?

I didn't see anything in the piece that mocked the Roman church in particular.

Donohue is just trying to gin-up some outrage on behalf of his Repuglican cronies and his all-male church hierarchy superiors.

And ... who the hell is Bill Donohue to demand an apology? He doesn't speak for all or even very many Christians, and I suspect not even very many regular Roman church members.

Here's the link to the segment: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-april-16-2012/the-battle-for-the-war-on-women

[laconicsax]

11. The Catholic League is always offended. Donahue just attributes it to different things.

[laconicsax]

8. The Christian "fish" had it's origins as a vulva.

Overlapping crescents representing the mother goddess' vulva. Several goddesses from different cultures were also represented by the vulva fish.

So really, Bill Donahue is just upset over the substitution of one Christian image for another one.

[daligirl519]

15. Thank you!

Somebody else knew this. The original Christian church was a female cult!

[onager]

16. Catholic League = Bill Donohue & a fax machine

n/t

[DirkGently]

19. Donohue was so excited to be on Cenk's show tonight. He wasn't even that rude.

I thought he came off as someone trying desperately to drum up attention for himself and website, but strangely, he wouldn't bite on Cenk's invitation to scream about Stewart going to hell (despite depicting him surrounded by flames on the website). His positions are certainly extreme, but he was a remarkably calm guy.

[Gregorian]

27. REPUTATION! Imagine that. It'll never be the same. I'm heartbroken.

What about Fox propaganda and lies. And the millions of dead Iraqis that they helped us drop bombs on. Will they ever apologize? And does that have anything to do with vagina mangers? Well does it?!

I don't think Jon is concerned about his reputation. If he were he'd probably be a talking head on Fox news.

[trotsky]

29. "unprecedented assault on Christian sensibilities"

Similar claims are made in this very forum. Seems to be a common Christian thing, being offended.

[mr blur]

30. Well, they don't seem to enjoy much else. nt

[deucemagnet]

31. Here's a link to the show for context.

The joke is at about 11:50, but it's part of a much larger bit comparing the "war on women" to the "war on Christmas" that starts after the first break at about the 7:30 mark.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/mon-april-16-2012-jane-goodall

Anybody jumping on Donahue's bandwagon ought to watch the whole bit, but of course that will never happen.

[cbayer]

40. While I didn't find this a particularly funny or clever joke (in an otherwise very

funny and clever bit), this response seems really OTT. Boycott? Ooooooh, I bet Jon is really scared.

[brooklynite]

45. Bill Donohue does not a "campaign" make...

...I doubt his mailing list ever generates much of a positive response to his calls for action.