Oh, I know your right; if the friends and family of the non-talented would tell them to "get real", when they are too blind to admit it themselves, the early portion of the show could not be sold as the circus it is.
In spite of the fact that that will not happen, I could not be that greedy if I were Simon and Fox; of course that means I would disappoint either the Fox investors or my own bank account or both, because someone else would not have my scruples.
The fact that I understand these facts does not mean that I have to appreciate them or support decisions that indulge them. We can have a different world if enough of us want one.
I don't think it's greedy. That's their job. Fox's job is to put on hit shows and make money for the investors, and when it comes to AI Simon's job is to be the mean guy. And this section of AI is popular, it's the section without synthetic pop. Given that these people all voluteered for this I really don't have any sympathy, maybe during the first season when nobody knew what the show was all about, but after that everybody in that line has to know that if they're bad they'll be insulted.