Spring and walking are both redemptive for me, since warm weather and atonement go hand in hand and I have a multitude of sins, a lot of them involving refined sugar. Winter. It can send you to some bad places, and most of those serve doughnuts.

I’m an experienced walker, knowing how to nod to neighbors and how to scan the sidewalks for obstacles to avoid, certain dogs having indiscretions, too. It’s important sometimes to keep aware, and a few weeks ago it paid off, at least in one sense. Sweeping the sidewalk ahead of me, I first caught it out of the corner of my eye. It took a few seconds for my brain to register what I was looking at and why I should think about it. But eventually I did, and I smiled. I’m smiling now. Sometimes you have to smile.

On the sidewalk ahead of me, surrounded by nothing, all by itself, was a bright yellow, perfectly splayed and arranged banana peel, a cosmic cartoon, a metaphor for the unseriousness of my life, a message from the universe, a reminder that existence, or at least my existence, can be easily boiled down to a sight gag. There I am, from birth to death, frantically waving my arms, trying to prevent my fate, which is to look awkward and foolish, flailing against the inexorable forces of nature.

I could be overthinking this.

Still, I had to smile at a banana peel in my path. The late Harold Pinter once said, in response to a question, that “Everything is comedy. The thing about tragedy is that it’s just not funny anymore.” This says a lot, mostly about Mr. Pinter, but I take his point. If I define “funny” as anything that makes me laugh, and I do, and all sorts of things make me laugh, then we have the beginning of some sort of unified theory of humor, and life. This is nothing new.

So let’s talk about Matt and Trey.

Matt Stone and Trey Parker are the creative force behind “South Park,” now in its 14th season on Comedy Central. For more than 200 episodes, these guys have bombarded us with toilet humor, profanity, minimalist animation and postmodern irony, most of it aimed at sensitive targets. They defy Political Correctness, in other words, and perhaps most pointedly the world’s major religions. And some not so major. Tom Cruise doesn’t appear to be a fan.
I’m not a big fan either, but mostly because “South Park” arrived when my son was 7, a time when I was desperately trying to manage his exposure to anything that would access his little boy inappropriate side more than just, you know. Everything else. So “South Park” was an inconvenient truth and I resented having to work harder because it existed on my cable box.

The rest you know, if you pay attention to the news. For at least the third time, Matt and Trey have tried to tweak Islam, attempting to portray the Prophet Mohammed as a cartoon character (Jesus has long had a recurring role. Also Santa). This is considered offensive and even blasphemous to many Muslims, which is the point.

Free speech is not the point, although some have tried to make it so. Constitutional protection doesn’t extend to preventing crazy people from getting angry. The guys were threatened. Comedy Central pulled the episode. Outrage has been expressed.

People who make death threats should be taken seriously. They should not, in my opinion, be given any legitimacy by naming their organization in this column. My column, my rules.

Comedy Central can censor programs they pay for; this is too obvious to spend time on. And this will blow over, and “South Park” will continue to offend and amuse, and the scum who make threats will fade back into their crazy obscurity.
And truth? I’m not comfortable poking fun at the religious beliefs of anyone; it can feel personal and mean, and I tend not to participate.

Again, this is more about commercial expression than political speech. I don’t think Comedy Central is shredding the Constitution, please.

But something about Stone and Parker, and their defiance in the face of danger, real or perceived, impresses me. Wealth and fame don’t seem to have dulled their edges. Jokes about Jesus (and everything else) don’t seem to be in danger of disappearing. Good people will be offended, and for good reasons. They will not make threats, mostly.

And I won’t give you some “disagree but defend to the death your right…” nonsense. It’s a cartoon. I can’t worry about everything, or do anything about crazy people.

But I can watch, and lately that’s what I feel like doing. Sometimes I turn it off before I learn Kenny’s fate, but I watch. And more often than not, I laugh. Which also can cover a multitude of sins.