Humor Fallout

There's nothing humorous about the tragedy that continues to unfold in Japan as a result of the earthquake and tsunami. The scope of damage and long-term effects are unfathomable. The sacrifices and attempts by the "Fukushima Fifty" to contain a potential nuclear catastrophe are nothing short of heroic.

But there comes a point, I think, when one's efforts to refrain from appearing offensive come across as being, well, offensive.

Case in point: Japan Nuclear Meltdown: The Simpsons Episodes Banned in Germany, Switzerland and Austria from the Daily Mail Online

Episodes of The Simpsons which feature jokes about nuclear meltdowns have been banned in a number of countries - as a reaction to the disaster currently unfolding in Japan.

German channel Pro7 was the first to act, vowing to screen footage from the popular cartoon series to make sure episodes which make light of nuclear crises are not aired for the time being.

Austria's ORF and Switzerland's SF networks have also done the same.

ORF has used the most extreme censorship so far, banning a total of eight episodes until a review at the end of April, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

An episode which features scientists Marie and Pierre Curie dying of radiation poisoning and another which has jokes about a nuclear meltdown are among those that have been cut.

[...]

I guess those countries won't be showing The China Syndrome any time soon...

Now, say what you will about The Simpsons and whether it's good or bad, funny or not funny - that's not the point here. The point is that the governments of those nations have decided for its populations that these particular episodes are ban-worthy because of the on-going crisis in Japan. This is a cartoon we're talking about - there's nothing about the show that could be mistaken for reality. Seems a bit overkill, IMHO. Kinda like how residents of Finland rushed to buy potassium iodine pills soon after the crisis started. If that's not an over-reaction, I don't know what is.

Granted, I don't have a dog in this fight, because I live in the US, and for now, the only episodes or shows that get held off the air in this country are those that even mention Mohammed or Islam. Which says something right there in and of itself.

Last time I checked, though, every television has either an 'off' button, or comes with a remote that allows you to change the channel. In fact, they all pretty much have both features. However, the governments of those countries prefer to have control of both. Today it's a few episodes of The Simpsons. Tomorrow? I guess you just have to stay tuned.

Sure would be nice if shows with jokes or stereotypes about the Church sex-abuse crisis were banned as well, wouldn't it? You know, for sensitivity's sake and all that, because there's nothing funny about children being abused. I guess some tragedies deserve to be deliberately exploited for the sake of a few laughs, while others must be shielded with the strength of a reactor's containment facility.