10 Oddly Wholesome South Park Moments
2. South Park Accepts Homosexual Pets
Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride (Season 1, Episode 4)
When Stan’s dog Sparky (barking provided by George Clooney) exhibits notable gay tendencies at the school bus stop, his owner is humiliated. Stan seeks advice from the flamboyant, but at this point still closeted, Mr. Garrison who rants that "gay people are evil" and refers to them as displaying “Nazi-esque patterns of violent behaviour”.
As a result of more terrible advice from the adults of South Park, Stan drives Sparky away with wishes for a “butch dog”. Seeing his error, Stan shuns his responsibility as South Park Elementary’s star quarterback and locates Sparky at Big Gay Al’s Big Gay Animal Sanctuary. Big Gay Al uses his gay menagerie and Big Gay Boat Ride tour to educate.
Stan returns and leads the team to an “almost” victory. When called upon to give a speech, he uses his moment to highlight that it’s “okay to be gay”. It is “part of nature and a beautiful thing”.
The simple speech was, during the episode’s original airing,
rather radical. South Park often hits home using the Boys, and their simpler understanding
of their world, to make sense of complex, adult issues.