"Oh, mama, I'm in fear for my life from the law, life from the law...hangman is coming down from the gallows..."

It is always freaky when South Park predicts something. Doctor Who has predicted a few things (the London 2012 Olympics, the meteor hitting Russia, etc), but South Park has always been much more extreme than Who. What are the odds that a fat kid paints a cow ginger and this will bring about great peace in the Middle East? Many of the other odd things in South Park seem just too far-fetched.

That was why, right after George Zimmerman was arrested again, I had to rewatch World War Zimmerman. Since I am uncertain whether my readers are familiar with the plot of this episode, I will offer this brief summary. A take on World War Z and the recent George Zimmerman trial, this episode involves Cartman fearing that black people will rise up like zombies and kill everyone after the verdict. After murdering at least three planes’ worth of people, Cartman decides that Patient Zero for the “virus” is George Zimmerman. He tricks Zimmerman into shooting him by putting on “black face” and then, when the authorities discover that Cartman is white they give Zimmerman the death penalty.

My first reaction, before the recent events, was that this was sadly ironic. Our justice system undervalues minorities and then punishes anyone who hurts a white person, particularly a male. The idea is that “if a white person shoots a black person, it is self-defense” (an idea exhibited at the end of the episode when Cartman shot Token). However, “if someone shoots a white person, then that person should be punished to the full extent of the law”. It is a sad but true commentary on the state of our society.

After the recent arrest, I went back to rewatch the episode. My laughter at Zimmerman’s death was more ironic, because I felt like Matt Stone and Trey Parker had in effect imagined this to happen. I hate the idea that he “got away with it” because Trayvon Martin was black. I hate the idea that somehow, it is okay to attack “secondary citizens” because society considers them less important. Martin was so insignificant that the police gave Zimmerman his gun back…only for him to brandish it again.

It disgusts me. Perhaps, although this is a completely different case, some justice may be sought. I certainly hope so.

http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s17e03-world-war-zimmerman