Story

Description

During oral report day at school, Cartman gives a presentation entitled: "Ginger Kids: Children with Red Hair, Light Skin, and Freckles." In it, he discusses the grossness of kids suffering from the "Gingervitus" disease -- the symptoms of which include their inability to go in the sun, and their total lack of soul.

Needless to say, his report pisses off Kyle. Having red hair himself (but not freckles or pale skin), Kyle calls this presentation a bunch of crap. Cartman goes on to correct Kyle, saying that hybrids like himself are called "Daywalkers," and they too are part of the problem.

His denunciation of Gingers is so convincing that soon they're excluded from eating in the school cafeteria. Angered by the discrimination Cartman is causing among the students, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny decide to give him a taste of his own medicine. The three boys sneak into his house in the middle of the night, knock him out, then dye his hair red, bleach his skin and tattoo his face with freckles.

To their delight, the new "Ginger" Cartman now endures the same ridicule he helped foster. Unfortunately, this ironic turn of events fails to teach him the lesson he deserved. Cartman founds the Ginger Separatist Movement, which puts forth freckled redheads as some sort of master race. He rallies other Gingers to his cause, and soon has a loyal army of disgruntled Ginger minions.

Fearing things are spinning out of control, Kyle, Stan, and Kenny decide to sneak back into Cartman's room and change him back into his old self. But before they can do this, they're kindapped by a pack of Ginger kids who, on Cartman's orders, have fanned out across South Park to round up every "normal" kid they can find. The captives are taken to the "Exterminate All Non-Gingers Conference" in the Sunset Room at the Airport Hilton.

The Separatist's plan is to throw all non-Gingers into a pit of lava -- with Cartman's nemesis Kyle (the Daywalker) first in line. But just before he's sacrificed, Kyle begs for a final word with Cartman -- whispering into his ear the truth about Cartman's "condition." Horrified, Cartman instantly undergoes a radical change of heart, telling his followers that violence isn't the answer and that hand-in-hand, we can live together.

After a bit of convincing (through song), all the "normals" are released from their cages. Kyle calls Cartman a manipulative asshole, which Cartman admits is probably true.

What I Learned Today

"If there's one thing I've learned, it's that the only way to fight hate is with more hate."

Memorable Quotes

• "We'll pick up with Clyde's speech about lesbian cheerleaders after recess." Garrison
• "If you really don't want to have Ginger kids, marry an Asian woman. Asians don't carry the recessive gene. I know a guy who's marrying a Japanese woman very soon for just that reason." Mr. Foley
• "Make no mistake! Ginger kids ARE evil. Do you know who was Ginger? Judas." Cartman
• "I'M GINGER!! HELP ME!! HELP ME!!!" Cartman
• "Your son will be Ginger his whole life. You might want to just . . . put him down." Dr. Doctor
• "My dad says each one of my freckles is a kiss from an angel." Ginger Kid
• "We've all seen them. On the playground, at the store, walking on the streets. They creep us out and make us feel sick to our stomachs." Cartman
• "In the meantime, shut your god damn Daywalker mouth!" Cartman
• "Ginger kids eat in the hallway!" Tolkien
• "I'm afraid your son is suffering from Gingervitus." Dr. Doctor
• "We need to let everyone in this school know that we are not inferior! That we are, in fact, beautiful, totally awesome, and super smart!!" Cartman
• "RED POWER!" Cartman
• "But you just said they should all die fifteen seconds ago." Ginger Kids
• "Um, oh but anyway, ohh -- oh wow! I can't believe how great it feels to finally love my fellow man!" Cartman

Characters

Stan Marsh

Kyle Broflovski

Eric Cartman

Kenny McCormick

Tolkien Black

Butters Stotch

Clyde Donovan

Jimmy Valmer

Craig Tucker

Janet Garrison

Ginger Kids

Liane Cartman

Gary Nelson (Hilton)

Betsy Donovan

Roger Donovan

Character Debuts

The Foley family, complete with their three creepy, always-smiling Ginger kids. There's also Jody, Cartman's right-hand Ginger (with the red and white shirt).

The Foleys

The Foley Kids

Locations

South Park Elementary

Original Songs

After his quick change of heart, Cartman unites all Gingers and non-Gingers with his happy sing-along number "Hand in Hand."

Behind The Scenes

Where Did The Idea Come From

Trey is a little bit freaked out by Ginger kids. He'd wanted to do something about them for a long time.

Pop Culture References

Shout Outs

Cartman calls redheaded kids who lack pale skin and freckles "Daywalkers." The term comes from the Blade movies, in which the half-vampire/half-human protagonist is sometimes called a Daywalker by full-blooded vampires.

Right before he discovers he's turned Ginger, Cartman hums the Kenny Rogers hit "You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me, Lucille."

In the library, several posters and books can be seen in the background: The Bear, The Horse, and the Closet (a parody of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), The Backward Beaver, and a book that has Najix (the ice-cream crapping taco from "Cancelled") on the cover. There's also a "READ" poster with Yoda from Star Wars on it.

During the non-Ginger raid, the shot where the boy and girl walk hand-in-hand down the street -- only to be surrounded by Gingers -- is loosely modeled after a similar scene from Michael Jackson's Thriller.

When the Ginger kids protest the casting of a non-Ginger in the title role of Annie, it's a satire of a similar controversy that kicked up when a non-Asian was cast to play a leading Asian character in Miss Saigon.

Pwn'd

When Cartman tries to name famous Gingers throughout history, the only one he can think of is Ron Howard. As his final argument against Gingers, Cartman says: "If you think that the Ginger problem is not a serious one think again." As he says this, a slide of Carrot Top flashes on screen.

Bonus Factoids

Pointless Observations

"Gingervitus" is a disease which causes very light skin, red hair, and freckles, and "it occurs because Ginger kids have no souls." Kids who have Gingervitus cannot be cured. People who have this disease but don't have to avoid the sun are called "Daywalkers." This is not to be confused with "Gingivitus," which is a disease causing inflammation of the gums.

We get our first glance at the boys' new Hispanic-looking bus driver in this episode. The job has been vacant since Ms. Crabtree was murdered in last season's "Cartman's Incredbile Gift" . The driver looks an awful lot like the "Stereotypical Sleepy Mexican" we met in "The Death Camp of Tolerance" .

During production of this episode the staff turned up some interesting information about Gingers. Redheads apparently require more anesthetic than "regulars" during surgery, because they have a higher tolerance to drugs. Redheads in England are seeking minority status. And there are actually a few redheaded Japanese -- the product of long-ago unions between Dutch sailors and the locals.

Season 9

e1 Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina

e2 Die Hippie, Die

e3 Wing

e4 Best Friends Forever

e5 The Losing Edge

e6 The Death of Eric Cartman

e7 Erection Day

e8 Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow

e9 Marjorine

e10 Follow That Egg!

e11 Ginger Kids

e12 Trapped in the Closet

e13 Free Willzyx

e14 Bloody Mary