Die Smurf Die

I have no beef with Smurfs. However, someone in Belgium is redoing that old hippie anti-war slogan using the little blue people. Honestly, I’m thinking someone is resolving childhood issues here. I guess dousing your plastic figurines with lighter fluid and having a Viking funeral for Papa Smurf while Smurfette goes all suttee wasn't sufficient*.

I’m also thinking this is another manifestation of a classic lefty trick. Cartoons about dead Smurfs are not going to mean a whole lot to adults. Most people I know are going to find the idea comically macabre. Hell, this may be the party video for the remainder of 2005 in some circles. I’m guessing a certain percentage of children, especially ones overfond of little blue people, will be affected. The old tactic of raising the next generation to think "correctly" is back. Another manifestation is PETA, with a new comic on why daddy is a psychotic mass murderer or something. Nothing like using propaganda to turn children against their parents, is there? Hell, the government has been known to do it on occasion, so I guess it’s all good, right?

Of course, teaching kids to evaluate arguments rationally and draw their own conclusions might lead to undesired outcomes all the way around. A much better approach is to use cheap flashy visuals and emotional content to push the young ones in the "right" direction. Otherwise, the little sprogs might think for themselves or something equally as bizarre.

* Don't try this at home. At least not indoors, anyway. Remember, kids, burning plastic stinks and leaves a hell of a mess as well as a nasty burn. The neighbor's driveway is preferred over your own. For extra added fun, incorporate fireworks. Nothing says entertainment like a shower of molten burning plastic!