"The Death Camp of Tolerance" is the fourteenth episode of Season Six, and the 93rd overall episode of South Park. It aired on November 20, 2002.[1]

Synopsis

Mr. Garrison does what he can to get fired for being gay so he can sue the school for millions of dollars. This turns out to be easier said than done because the parents and school staff feel they have to be tolerant no matter what.

Plot

In this episode, Mr. Garrison is promoted from being the kindergarten teacher to the fourth grade teacher, after having been previously demoted for admitting to being a homosexual. However, realizing that getting fired could allow him to sue the school for millions, he decides, along with his S&M partner, Mr. Slave to do outrageous acts in the classroom, culminating with performing gerbilling with the class pet, Lemmiwinks.

The children's parents, hearing the children complain about their gay teacher, feel they are intolerant and send them to the "Museum of Tolerance" (where, at the end of their tour, the museum guide interrupted a haughty, condescending spiel about tolerating others to viciously castigate a smoker). When this fails Mr Mackey suggests an Auschwitz-like Tolerance "Camp" which uses arts and crafts and painful labor to teach children tolerance. (the story pays homage to Schindler's List). At the camp, the children are first forced to make arts and crafts showing tolerance. Kyle gets in trouble for painting a bear. The only person who understands the children is Chef (who, after they admitted their apparent "intolerance", had asked them why they were uncomfortable around Mr. Garrison - and, when told by Kyle, made it clear that homophobia had nothing to do with their discomfort) and he himself is sent to the same exact tolerance seminar the kids were sent to when he told Principal Victoria.

Back at school, Mr. Garrison is set to receive the "Courageous Teacher Award" for overcoming adversity. Frustrated that he has not been fired, Garrison goes all out at the ceremony in a flamboyant and stereotypical gay manner. Meanwhile, Lemmiwinks traverses the regions of Mr. Slave's digestive system, receiving advice from three animal spirits who have been killed while trying to escape (a Frog King, a Sparrow Prince and a Catata Fish respectively). (They sing The Ballad of Lemmiwinks, a parody of the title song from The Hobbit, along with other songs from the movie.)

At the awards ceremony, Sharon tells Randy that she is ashamed at their son for his intolerance of gay people, as the museum curator announces how Mr. Garrison endured the way everyone ridiculed him for being gay. After she calls Mr. Garrison on stage to receive his courageous teaching award, he appears with Mr. Slave in an extremely stereotypical and flamboyant gay manner, with the kids' parents realizing that they were trying to tell them about Mr. Garrison's disturbing act and not his way of life. As Mr. Garrison and Mr. Slave are trying to put on the same act for the adults that they put on for the students, they clap for them with Mr. Garrison frustrated that his plan isn't working. He finally breaks down in anger, admitting that he's trying to get fired for being gay and that they shouldn't allow students to be taught by someone with that kind of behavior. He also gives a speech on how tolerating and accepting are not the same thing and that the name of the museum should be changed to The Museum of Acceptance because all of the exhibits reveal things to accept, not tolerate because tolerate means that you're just putting up with something annoying, like sitting next to a crying child on an airplane or having a bad cold and it's still ok to get pissed of at it. The parents then realize that they sent their children to the tolerance camp for nothing because they never hated homosexuals, they just hated Mr. Garrison and Mr. Slave's disturbing act, so they head to the camp to reclaim their boys. Mr. Garrison then asks if he can please get fired, so he can get his money from the board, but Principal Victoria says that she has something else in her mind.

Meanwhile, outside the tolerance camp, the parents apologize to their emaciated and malnourished kids for not misunderstanding what they were trying to tell them. As they head home, Principal Victoria decides to enroll Mr. Garrison and Mr. Slave into the tolerance camp for being intolerant of their own behavior. As the owner of the camp tells Mr. Garrison and Mr. Slave that they'll be going through a lot pain and suffering, Mr. Slave comments that this could be kind of fun. He then coughs up Lemmiwinks, who is then congratulated by Frog King, Sparrow Prince, and Catata fish for escaping from Mr. Slave's body and gets crowned the gerbil king.

References



