Our Taste For The Questionable

Everyday in the news we are shown how badly people can act.  It isn't that other people don't act well, it's just that on the whole we really don't care about people who arent' misbehaving.

Charlie Sheen is a prime example.  He's partied some hard for so long that he's lost his looks & his teeth.  Now he looks more like this.

Charlie had a lot going for him & still he opted for some seriouslly poor choices. I"m not trying to judge him.  I don't know what's going on in his life, but I will say this type of a behavior is unacceptable for man who has children.  Sadly, as bad as the behavior might be, it's perfect for getting all the wrong kinds of attention.

Between 24 hour news, online tabloids, Twitter & Facebook we now have the ability to know way too much about other people's lives far easier & quicker than we ever did before this age of  twitter hounds.  

Paris Hilton, Briney Spears, Lindsey Lohan & a host of other fallen stars & celebutantes are fodder for the news & our sick desire to see people fall in demoralizing ball of flames.  I don't blame any of the tabloid websites or TV shows.  It's not there fault.  This is a business & we as a people have been willing to pay the seedy side of life for centuries.  As long as people care what this star did to that one in bed, what drugs that singer did with this model's husband or any other garbage being displayed by some sort of celebrity then this business will be profitable & in this economy, any way to make a buck is better than none.

People gripe about this all the time.  They say they don't like this behavior or these actions taken by people they usually have absolutely no association with at all.  If they really don't like it, then they should stop paying to see it, stop buying the magazines or stop supporting the advertisers that supports these shows or publications.  You as a consumer hold the purse strings & you can cut these people off.  Take away the $ & you take away the interest to produce these materials.  

Do I think that will ever happen?  No. This will never happen because most people are actually pretty base & enjoy the perverse as long as it's not too near them.  It's their spectacle, their circus & they're nothing more than a immoral mob waiting to see the next car wreck.  As long it doesn't affect them personally they'll cheer it on & call for more, more sex. more drugs, more blood, etc...  The media is the coliseum of the modern world & the people shown are little more than would-be social gladiators getting thrown to the lions.