The new season of 24 happens to feature Muslim terrorists as the bad guys. This of course has some Muslim groups getting their panties (or whatever it is that they wear under the burqas) in a bunch.

Now, as much as I feel bad for them, I think their complaint is nonsense. What were the writers of 24 supposed to do? Sci-fi and fantasy writers have the luxury of being able to use nonhuman villains like aliens and orcs, but the writers of 24 have no such luck. The show needs human terrorists, and any human terrorist inevitably belongs to some ethnic or religious group.

Would the Muslims be happier if 24 features Jewish terrorists instead? Maybe they would, but I bet you a bagel that the Jews would be pissed. See, you can't make everyone happy. The writers of 24 had to choose someone to be the bad guys, and this time around, the Muslims are "it." Unfair stereotype? Maybe. But stereotypes don't exist in a vacuum--they have at least some basis in reality. Do you see Buddhists shouting "Death to America" on TV? No matter how you spin it, the next terrorist act on US soil will most likely be carried out by Arab Muslims, so the writers made a reasonable choice. Would 24 "feel" as real if Jack Bauer has to go after suicide-bombing Catholic nuns instead? I don't think so.

Unfortunately, reason and mindless political correctness rarely go together. Every time an ethnic person is cast as a bad guy in a movie or a TV show, PC idiots start foaming at the mouth and scream "OMG that's like so racist!" So now, we're seeing more and more vanilla villains--white and boring. Just wait until the whiteys start complaining about being typecast as baddies. That's right, kids... Caucasian is a race too. And when that happens, they'll probably have to paint all the bad guys purple, which will work... until Barney complains. Oops.

I have a suggestion for screenwriters who don't want to offend anyone: use chickens as villains. Hey, it's a great idea. Think about it. Chickens have neither race nor religion, so no one will be offended even when they're portrayed in a really bad light. Well, no one except the PETA people... but who gives a crap about what those cowhuggers think, right?