I’m starting to slowly come out of my news hiatus now that the mono’s going away. It seemed that no matter what I read in the news over the past few months, I would get really agitated and stressed out because it was just so crappy. My body couldn’t take it, so I just shunned everything but ridiculous entertainment news tripe for a month or so. Of course, some of that was pretty irritating too, but nowhere near as irritating as election news. Ugh, I so can’t wait until the riots on November 3rd. At least those will be more peaceful than the constant bickering that we’re forced to endure right now.

Anyway. 🙂 A couple things caught my attention, so here is my news hiatus recap of random news.

– France: Ce Qui le Enfer? Let’s get the really aggravating news out of the way first. I know this is old news for most of you, but it’s new to me (thanks, hiatus…) I’d even gone out of my way to avoid French news simply because I heard a lot of really disturbing stuff from a Jewish friend of mine, and I just couldn’t take it right then. It was too frightening and made me feel like history was repeating. But now, bleugh, sickening, can’t stay blind forever.

So what’s the deal? Nearly one hundred students in France are facing expulsion because of a new law that went into effect, which bans students from wearing conspicious religious apparel. This really irks me. Mormons have their fair share of religious apparel and it would kill me to have a school tell me that I couldn’t wear what I consider to be sacred. Suddenly, wearing a yarmulke or a Sikh turban is worthy of the same punishment as bringing a gun into school. Muslim women are being forced to remove their headscarves because the French Powers-That-Be believe it to be a sign of feminine submission. Nevermind the fact that the Muslim women actually believe in the sacred nature of their head coverings and in the importance of being modest. That doesn’t seem to matter, because some Frenchman misunderstands their faith.

Some people are trying to explain this new law by saying it’s important to protect secularism. I just don’t understand this. If people were tolerant, if people actually made an effort to understand another person’s faith, why would a Jew wearing a yarmulke distract you from secular studies? There is no intellectual reason for removing a person’s religion from their studies. That skullcap isn’t going to change their efforts to learn, or anyone else’s. Prejudice is the only real distraction from secularism, not religion.

I’m worried about France, I really am. Between the Jews being harrassed, the synagogues being burned, and now this, I don’t know if I want to set foot in that country until they straighten themselves out. Laws that strip people of their rights to worship are a step in the wrong direction, steps that lead to serious problems. People seem to forget that the Holocaust didn’t start overnight. It was a slow, meandering process, brought about by a million little baby steps toward racial or religious apartheid.

– Goth Republicans: Fight For Your Right to (Conservative) Party! I’m not sure if this is scary, or really really funny. Turns out Alice Cooper’s a Republican. Rumor has it, Marilyn Manson is too. Again, scary, funny? I’m lost.

I found out about this last night when my brother sent me an interview with legendary shock-rocker Alice Cooper. He was expressing his dismay that so many young people are taking voting advice from rock stars.

“…Rock is the antithesis of politics,” Cooper said. “Rock should never be in bed with politics. When I was a kid and my parents started talking about politics, I’d run to my room and put on the Rolling Stones as loud as I could… If you’re listening to a rock star in order to get your information on who to vote for, you’re a bigger moron than they are. Why are we rock stars? Because we’re morons. We sleep all day, we play music at night and very rarely do we sit around reading the Washington Journal.”

Okay, so for the first time in my life, I’m inclined to agree with Alice Cooper (whoa, now there’s something I never thought I’d say.) I understand that many musicians are working simply to get young people to vote, which is very admirable and I appreciate their efforts. It’s just that… well… I can’t help but giggle when a celebrity actually expects me to take them seriously when they spout fluff for either candidate. I rarely base my life decisions on what the latest IT Boy thinks, I’m not about to vote for President because a plastic pop star tells me he’s cuter.

– South Park Sucks: Mmmmkay I’m tired of Matt Stone and Trey Parker showing up in the news purely because they’re grotesque. I’ve seen more publicity for ‘Team America’ based on the fact that it’s extreme. Hooray! Let’s applaud people for being gross, uncivilized, and offensive!

Okay, that could be said about a lot of celebrities. But that’s not my point. My point is, I’m sick and tired of the South Park guys. I used to watch South Park when I was dating a guy who just loved that show. I’ll admit, some of it was clever, some of it was really funny. Other parts, umm, not so much. But I just skipped the gross stuff and admired the talent it took to create the cleaner, funnier bits.

It’s no secret that they make fun of everyone. In fact, they excuse a lot of their behavior by saying they aren’t prejudiced, they just make fun of everyone. Well, that’s nice and all, but they’re still jerks.

I’m not talking about Sean Penn jokes or inappropriate puppet scenes. I’m talking about a movie they made several years ago that I found out about while my short stint of watching South Park. I’m not going to repeat its name for fear of the inevitable queries, but suffice it to say, the entire film was based around one thing – mocking my religion.

If you didn’t know already, I’m a Mormon. Matt Stone and Trey Parker made a movie that took a lot of things that I consider sacred and important and openly mocked them. They made the film so gross it was – as most of their films are – originally rated X. I’m not going to go into details here, but I’m just sick of them. There are some things that are beyond inexcusable. Taking someone’s faith, dragging it through the mud, turning into something so grotesque that it can’t even be shown in theatres; if that’s not inexcusable, I don’t know what is.

It’s a lot like how I feel about France’s new law. More baby steps in the wrong direction. In this case, I’m sick of seeing my faith – or anyone else’s – turned into a joke or abused in such a manner. As always, I’ll continue my boycott of anything related to the South Park guys. I’d appreciate it if you’d do the same, but hey, that’s up to you. I just can’t fathom giving them any of my money, knowing how they view me as a Mormon.

So there you have it. 🙂 No more news talk from me for a while. I’m half tempted to go back on news hiatus…