Poor and Stupid

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"Crippled Summer"

"Poor and Stupid"

"It's a Jersey Thing"

"Poor and Stupid"
[[File:File:CartmanDrivingWEB.jpg|250px]]
Episode no.	Season 14 Episode 8
Production no.	1408
Original airdate	October 6, 2010
Episode chronology Previous Next "Crippled Summer" "It's a Jersey Thing"
List of all South Park episodes

"Poor and Stupid" is the eighth episode of Season Fourteen, and the 203rd overall episode of South Park. It aired on October 6, 2010.

Spoiler warning! Plot details follow.

Synopsis

Cartman wants to race with the pros and he's ready to do whatever it takes to make it happen. He's afraid that no matter how hard he tries, he'll never reach the the level of the other NASCAR drivers. Working with Butters as his pit boss, Cartman pulls out all the stops to compete in the race of his life - but Kenny will put his own life on the line to stop him from ruining NASCAR's reputation.

Plot

The episode begins with Cartman crying in front of his locker. When Stan and Kyle approach him, he explains that he is upset over the fact that Mr. Garrison assigned an essay about what the students want to be when they grow up, and he does not like to think about that subject. He then explains that it is his dream to become a NASCAR driver, and that he believes that this could never happen to people like him. Stan and Kyle, believing him to be talking about his excessive weight, try to comfort him. He reveals that he was in fact referring to the fact that he is not poor and stupid, as he believes all NASCAR fans and racers are, using Kenny for proof. The other boys, now disgusted at Cartman as he yet again reveals his tendency toward prejudice, effectively convince him that he is, in fact, very poor and very stupid (while trying to insult him).

Cartman takes their "encouragement" to heart and recruits Butters to be his pit boss, and sets out to become poorer and stupider than ever. He gives Butters all his money and watches Charlie Sheen in Two and a Half Men upside down, and by chance sees a Vagisil commercial. One of the side effects of Vagisil is that it may cause temporary memory loss. Seizing the opportunity, Cartman eats many tubes of Vagisil at a pharmacy, claiming that it makes him "feel stupid".

On race day, Cartman manipulates his way onto the track by having Butters convince one of the racers that his wife was raped. The resulting catastrophic accident leaves 11 people dead and Cartman reconsidering his decision to be a racer. The doctor at the hospital tells Cartman that his accident was among the stupidest he'd ever seen, and Cartman is hopeful again.

Kenny, meanwhile, has been reading NASCAR 2010, when he sees a newsflash that NASCAR fans probably are poor and stupid given Cartman's accident. He gets angry and storms round to Cartman's for the primary reason to yell at him. He discovers Cartman, to make himself "poorer", has been buying tons of sumptuous things in debt with no money down for two years so he would always be poor. The creator of Vagisil gives Cartman a new car fitted for kids because he promoted his product accidentally, much to Kenny's annoyance.

Cartman races again and is dumb as before. The Vagisil creator Geoff Hamill, one of the announcers, frequently references his wife's odor.  Cartman's "bigoted and ignorant" statements on his podcast, and resulting media conclusion that "NASCAR really is just for the poor and the stupid", pushes Kenny to try and stop him at any costs. Kenny arrives and tries to smuggle in a sniper rifle, but this is confiscated by a security guard since this is what is making NASCAR look stupid - but he then mentions they are available in the gift shop. Cartman drives badly at his next race, crashing into drivers and mowing down spectators. Cartman leads in the beginning by disabling many other cars, but Kenny jumps onto his car to try and stop him. Cartman throws him off by braking suddenly, and Kenny narrowly escapes being run over and killed by two of the other drivers. At this point, Cartman becomes the sole driver left in the race. Eventually, the Vagisil creator's wife, Patty Hamill (tired of Geoff's condescending remarks towards her), takes one of the wrecked cars and uses it to knock Cartman out, and promptly wins the race (being the only car Cartman hadn't smashed), much to Geoff's dismay. In the end, Cartman thinks that he wasn't poor and stupid enough to be a NASCAR driver. He gives a rare apology to Kenny before demanding Butters gives back his money while Kenny watches in disbelief and confusion.