Top 5 Times South Park Really Hated the Government

Published on June 3rd, 2015 | by Faith Braverman

South Park is known for being one of the most controversial shows on television, but that’s part of why it’s lasted eighteen seasons on the air. Show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are not afraid to go there and say what others are afraid to. They often stand up to the establishment and mock government agencies ruthlessly for their incompetence and intrusiveness. Here are the top five times South Park totally pwn’d the government.

1. TSA

In one of its more brilliant episodes, South Park was absolutely relentless with its disdain for the TSA. Referred to in the episode as the Toilet Safety Administration, the TSA spends more of its time harassing and groping innocent people rather than making anyone safer. The episode highlights the inefficiency of government bureaucracy. With recent news that the TSA allowed 95% of concealed weapons to slip through security, it’s no wonder that the TSA has never caught a terrorist.

2. NSA

Cartman goes undercover in this episode to expose the NSA’s warrantless collection of people’s phone calls, text messages and emails. Cartman becomes a whistleblower like Edward Snowden, but no one really cares that the government is spying on them. However, now that people like Rand Paul have helped to kill the Patriot Act, South Park may need to make a sequel to this episode!

3. Medicinal Fried Chicken

In an ode to the film Scarface, Cartman decides to enter the clandestine world of smuggling. Instead of cocaine or marijuana, Cartman smuggles the now contraband Kentucky Fried Chicken. The episode is a real stab at the government’s war on drugs, because it shows how banning a product can turn a peaceful free market into a violent black market.

4. ATF

Few people remember the Waco massacre that occurred in 1993. 82 people were killed when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms laid siege to a compound of the religious group the Branch Dividians. South Park called out the ATF for their brutality in one of the show’s earlier seasons. In it, the ATF thinks that a party Stan is attending with his parents is really a suicide cult. The ATF sets up a blockade and prepares to open fire. A TV reporter in the episode recalls that the last time the ATF did this was at the Waco massacre, where they ended up killing innocent people for false accusation. Stan and the kids discover what is happening and try to speak to the ATF, but are shot at and forced to flee back inside. The kids record a video tape showing that the party inside is not a cult to the reporter, and the ATF flees the scene.

5. DMV

In the same episode where Cartman tackles the NSA, Butters decides to embrace the government. He even treats the DMV like a church and tries to convert others. Butters blind devotion to the government is a critique of those who turn a blind eye to its flaws and treat it like a savior when it is not.

There are many other examples of the government’s ineptitude on this amazing show. May South Park continue to lambast the government for eighteen seasons more!

Tags: atf, cartman, cartoon, comedy, dmv, fried chicken, government, hate, hated, kenny, medicinal, medicinal fried chicken, NSA, south park, tsa