Posted on 09/07/2012 11:01:54 PM PDT by This Just In
Is Honey Boo Boo A Scam?
In our home you will not find televised programming. No Nightly News (or as some would say-Nightly sNewz), no game shows, no DIY, no infomercials or reality TV. I’ll admit that there are some drawbacks. No golf, no Olympic coverage, no football, baseball, or basketball. There’s no live coverage of any sporting events, but these drawbacks are of little consequence. On each and every occasion in which we travel, and are provided with the opportunity to sit in our hotel rooms and stare at the one-eyed monster, my family and I are reminded of why we dumped televised programming in the first place many years ago.
Case and point: ‘Here Comes Honey Boo’
This program is just one of a plethora of examples as to why we believe detriment far outweighs the benefit public television offers society today. The fact that TLC, as well as Honey Boo Boo’s family, appears to have no problem in exploiting this “6 year old pageant sensation” is reason enough to be appalled and motivation enough to "Just Say No" to tv. What is more striking to me is the fact that many in our society fail to realize that this program is designed to actually ridicule and mock the “country folk“ in “flyover country”, or as some would like to say, “hicks” and “rednecks”, as well as reinforce the stereotype. If viewers fail to see the correlation between the timing of this program and this election cycle-and its historical significance, it’s no wonder America is in over its head.
Such programming has enabled the media to successfully normalize ease dropping, if you will. In fact, they’ve glorified it. A right to personal privacy? What’s personal privacy? Respect for ones space? Who cares about ones space? After all, aren’t we a “community”? The deterioration of the concept of personal privacy has been perpetuated no thanks-in part-to these influences and the mindset by which they are created by.
Americans are more than happy to sit on their couches and allow TLC and the programs creators to mock them. All the while saying that it’s just “entertainment”. Watching a precocious 6 year old strut her stuff down the catwalk while dressed up like Lady Gaga (I use the term “Lady” lightly) on steroids is hardly entertaining. It’s disturbing.
And yet viewers settle into their cozy living rooms week after week, in the privacy of their own homes, and peer into the “personal” business of what has become a very public life. Honey Boo Boo and her family are more than happy to please our curiosity, and their narcissistic naval gazing. I'm sure Momma Honey Boo Boo's bank account is living pretty large as well (no pun intended).
In her comments concerning ‘Here Comes Honey Boo Boo’, Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski stated, “…sums up everything I have to say about America, and what we need to do.” EVERYTHING about America? What-exactly-does Ms. Brzezinski and the “we” she’s referring to need to do? What is she eluding to?
Mika Brzezinski’s comments encapsulates the mindset of those on the Left, and their disregard, if not disdain, for “flyover country” Americans. And reality programs like ‘Here Comes Honey Boo Boo’ attempts to reinforce and justify that mindset, as well as the supposed “need to do” something.
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo is not just about a little girl. It’s about a societies descend into indifference, complacency, and indecency. The mainstream media has been our tour guide and instructor in taking us by the hand and leading Americans down that path of destruction.
It’s time to tell the tour guide to take a hike, and take the lead, America.
The child is actually quite honest and revealing about her life experiences. I’m not on board with those who have decided to exploit that for their own gain. It seems the gain is more on the show producer side. The family remuneration is pretty pitiful. Abuse is
by the show producers and all that gain from distributing it. I do like that little girl by the way. She has a strong spirit. I hope she can survive this exploitation.
THIS is what you were talking about it?
EEEEEghad!
I had a distant relative who married a young woman from Tennessee who grew up in a dirt floor home in a family where she was only one of two girls with six brothers. She was rough, she was not exactly the cleanest person I ever came into contact with, but she was one of the most honest, humorous, REAL people that I have had the pleasure to meet. Not into ALL of her humor (rough growing up with brothers and being one of them.. hunting and providing)... but she was genuine. Met her at a family reunion back in the 1970's... I remember she was really starstruck coming out to California.
Exact same thing here - we dumped Dish 2 years ago and have not missed it ONE bit. We have an antenna which we used to use to watch some football, but even that doesn’t happen any longer. The rare times our TV goes on are usually for watching old movies (7 Brides for 7 Brothers, Captain’s Courageous, John Wayne movies), an occasional kids’ movie, or streaming Francis Chan or David Platt sermons off Youtube.
Our five kids thought it was horrible we were dumping TV when we started... they don’t miss it one bit now! The value of family time, instead of zombietube time, is 1000x higer!
IMHO, there is a huge number of shows out now where the secret draw is the, “Someone is worse than me, so I must be normal” factor.
Someone is more stupid than I am - Someone is more whorish than I am -Someone is dirtier - there is someone who screams like an animal- they have more problems than I do. I must be ok.
My house is cleaner than that, she can’t even walk in it for the dog poo, therefore I don’t have a problem! Isn’t she a dirty pig! And the the viewer feels so much better that, well, they just have dirty dishes in the sink 24/7 and some bugs.
The airwaves are full nowadays of reality shows of people with horrible dysfunctions, and by extension, the viewers are doing just fine. Producers have figured out how this works and keep looking for more dysfunctional people for their audience to laugh at, including,
Gypsy shows where they dress like absolute tarts.
Toddlers and Tieras
Housewives
Hoarders
Bridezillas
Honey Boo Boo
Any kind of redneck show where they are made out to be piggy fools
Say Yes to the Dress (nice to look at for dresses, but so many selfish women on there to mock!)
What Not to Wear
I could go on and on.
I must confess that every time I go to the green box drop and there is a TV that someone has left outside the dumpster, the .410 skunk gun comes out and I revert to being the Dexter of TV serial killers! I love killin’ TVs.
Very thoughtful piece. If you are thinking of submitting this as a professional essay, take a little more care. It’s not ‘ease dropping.’ The phrase is ‘eaves dropping.’ And the word you want is allude, not elude.
Try wrapping it in bacon. Yum.
TV has become the modern day version of the freak sideshows that were part of the circus.
whoa...
I agree about the garbage passing as programming on TV these days but why give ALL of it up? If you like football or baseball, etc why can’t you watch only that?
My TV never goes on unless I am watching a football game, the weather channel (30 seconds or so for the local forecast and longer if there is a severe weather problem. Some shows on the History channel are excellent as are cable shows such as Pawn Shop which I find very interesting for the things people bring in to sell.
I simply refuse to vie,the networks, CNN, MSNBC, CNN or any other programming vaguely political or biased (in my view). There are also some excellent and free movie channels which air the classics. All in all it seems sad anyone would feel it necessary to give up all the good things available on TV because of some things not so good.
It’s all about appealing to the lowest common denominator . We have become the country of the ignorant.
eaves dropping
alluding
a society’s descent
Just a little editing help.
And to comment on the content, ultimately, these people want to send you and the rest of flyover country to re-education camp.
Really.
There are a few shows I enjoy, and a spot of news here and there (FOX, Financial), and movies (well, some of them, anyway).
Otherwise, most programming is just designed to make people less sensitive to the outrageous or perverted, or otherwise subvert decency and faith.
Just my $0.02, YMMV.
In that vein,
I am gross and perverted
I’m obsessed and deranged
I have existed for years
But very little has changed
I am the tool of the government
And industry too
For I am destined to rule
And regulate you
I may be vile and pernicious
But you can’t look away
I make you think I’m delicious
With the stuff that I say
I am the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
I am the slime oozin out
From your TV set
You will obey me while I lead you
And eat the garbage that I feed you
Until the day that we don’t need you
Don’t go for help...no one will heed you
Your mind is totally controlled
It has been stuffed into my mold
And you will do as you are told
Until the rights to you are sold
That’s right, folks..
Don’t touch that dial
Well, I am the slime from your video
Oozin’ along on your livin’ room floor
I am the slime from your video
Can’t stop the slime, people, lookit me go
Live version on SNL, with help from Don Pardo.
This show sounds terrible. It was funny when I first heard about it. I’ve since realized, after seeing some videos, this is a terrible show She looks and acts like mini-Anna Nicole.
What is "ease dropping"?
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