EDITORIAL – Isaac Hayes: Scientologist, hypocrite

Isaac Hayes, you’re damn wrong.

Hayes is mostly famous for his voice; he sang the theme to… Isaac Hayes, you’re damn wrong.

Hayes is mostly famous for his voice; he sang the theme to the 1971 movie “Shaft,” and for the past nine years has acted as the voice of Chef on “South Park,” both in the television episodes and the feature film.

Recently, Hayes announced his resignation from the show. He is quoted as saying, “There is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry toward religious beliefs of others begins,” and this is true. What’s surprising is that it took Hayes nine years to decide that “South Park” is an offensive show.

The show has featured just about every religion, ethnicity, political ideology and lifestyle in existence today. Mormons, Jews, Catholics, Muslims, Republicans, Democrats, Boy Scouts – one of the reasons the show works so well is that it manages to be an equal-opportunity satirist.

Hayes never voiced any qualms about the show’s portrayal of stereotypes until one particular group came under fire: Scientologists. Hayes is an avid Scientologist, and last fall, “South Park” aired a few episodes mocking the religion. Or the philosophy. Or the life strategy.

Whatever you call it, it seems like Scientology is the note that struck too close to home for Hayes.

There are a few things wrong here. If Hayes is so sensitive to religious issues, he should never have signed on to the show, which admittedly requires a bit of a thick skin to enjoy, in the first place. He did sign on, though, and has been dishing out various forms of satire for years – if Hayes can’t take it himself, he’s either a hypocrite, someone who isn’t completely comfortable with his beliefs or both.

Hayes also said that the show contributes to a “growing insensitivity toward personal spiritual beliefs” and cited the controversy over the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad as another example of this insensitivity. This is not only faulty logic, it’s offensive to anyone who was offended by the Mohammad cartoons.

There is a difference between a cartoon that directly ignores a longstanding tenet of a faith – not depicting the Prophet – and a cartoon that uses satire to question current events. Only one can be taken as legitimately offensive – the right to free speech aside, it’s easy to see why people were upset about the printed cartoons.

The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, another group that disapproves of “South Park,” supports Hayes’ decision. The League, like Hayes himself, seems to be missing the bigger picture. “South Park” may be ridiculous. It may say and do things that make people cringe. It may, at times, come dangerously close to crossing the line of decency.

At the end of each episode, though, there’s always a moral. There’s always a reason why a group or an extremist is mocked. If the show has a goal, it isn’t to divide people or isolate them – it’s to make everyone just get along.

Hayes’ Chef was a fantastic character; it’s a shame that he couldn’t stand the heat in the kitchen.