Do you hate it when people say "yeah but he got paid a lot of money

[Bouncy Ball]

to do it?"

I hate it when people say that. Like that's the end all be all of everything.

You say something about some crappy twisted sick shit someone did and someone has to say "yeah but he got paid a lot of money to do it" like that justifies everything.

It doesn't. It's bullshit. Anyone who can put a price on their life, on their soul, on themselves, well, that's just sad.

I think people should get back into the idea of dignity. Of feeling like they're worth more than whoring themselves out for a quick buck. Someone asked me, hypothetically, would I do this totally disgusting thing on TV for a million dollars and I said fuck no. It was REALLY disgusting, I can't even say it here. My God, the person I was talking to said THEY WOULD. On TV!! For a million bucks. What the fuck is wrong with people? Sure you've got a million bucks, and you're a sad sack of shit who will forever be remembered as the person who _______________ in front of everyone. Gad.

[evlbstrd]

1. That's the premise of all reality teevee, ain't it?

I really wonder about the families who trade mommies or have the nanny come save their sorry dysfunctional asses.

[Bouncy Ball]

2. Exactly.

See that trading mommies shit would NOT fly in this house, I don't care what kind of $50,000 they want to give us. I won't do that to my daughter, it's kind of messed up, you know? I mean, I know it's not permanent, but the cameras and all the weirdness, no, I won't do that to her.

Or my husband, as he's an intensely private person and NEVER wants to be in front of a TV camera.

[evlbstrd]

10. Albert Brooks made a movie in 1979 called "Real Life."

His character invented a helmet-cam and used it to completly invade and destroy a family to make a film. He even went with the wife to Gyn. It was hysterical.

[Bouncy Ball]

12. And this family put UP with it??????

[evlbstrd]

17. It was fiction, a comedy.

But PBS had alread done a documentary, following the implosion of a real family.
It was called "An American Family."

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/realitytv1.html

PBS debuted An American Family, an unsettling, yet fascinating documentary series, in 1973. The members of the Loud family opened up their home and lives for seven months to producer Craig Gilbert, who shot 300 hours of footage. Only 12 of those hours made it to television. An astonishing 10 million viewers watched the marital breakup of Bill and Pat Loud and the coming-out of their son Lance. The family complained that the hours chosen for broadcast misrepresented their lives.

[barb162]

4. that five minutes of fame is really important to them which shows

how totally and utterly shallow they are

[Bouncy Ball]

19. I guess that's what it is, a lack of depth.

[barb162]

25. and I forgot to mention, a very pathological sense of self-worth

Some poster a few days ago mentioned a woman she kneww who wanted to go on Maury Povich and talk about her multiple partner sex life (while she is married). And she called that show and they wanted her on it. Now IMHO every single person who goes on that show is fucked up to the max. They are truly disturbed sick people (duh, who is the father of my babies). Almost every show I have ever seen is filled with people with histrionic personality disorder and various other personality disorders or worse. None of them are getting treatment. It is like a circus freak show. And the audience is laughing like they are in the ancient Roman Coliseum. Can you imagine that kind of show 20 yrs. ago?

[Bouncy Ball]

27. Ick. I got chills just reading that.

I had surgery back in 1998 and had to lie on my back for three weeks recovering and often I would turn on the TV in some vain hope that SOMETHING was on that was worth watching (nothing ever was, I don't know why I kept trying) and found myself sucked in to those nasty shows a few times. After several minutes, I'd sort of shake my head quickly and think "WHAT THE HELL? Was I actually WATCHING THAT crap???" and I'd turn it off and read a book.

The books were always way better. Or sometimes my husband would come home with some old movies on VHS (we didn't have a DVD player back then). I got to know Doris Day and Bette Davis pretty good back then, LOL!

[barb162]

29. this reminds me of when I was in the ER about a year ago and they

kept trying to get me to calm down (ha, a person who HATES hypodermics,hospitals, etc) and it wasn't working. SO the RN puts on the TV for me as a way to get me to concentrate on something else. Okay, every single station had on the Abu Graib story with those nude photos of the prisoners and my blood pressure and vitals just kept getting worse till I turned the TV off.

What I was also getting at was what many of us are watching as a country. These reality shows where people are eating live bugs and things like that...what is that saying about us as a culture and nation? It is like the Ancient Coliseum with people screaming at the gladiators to kill other people and animals. We are as a country into this very "uncivilized" entertainment, of no redeeming social or any other value. I think it shows the decay of our society. Anyone who tries minimizing it is sadly mistaken. What astounds me is how many people I know who find nothing wrong with these kinds of programs and think of them as entertainment

[skygazer]

3. Oh, I absolutely agree

Like those damn reality shows - I've heard people say, "well, I'd marry someone for a million bucks."

Well, I wouldn't. I would not sacrifice my integrity for money. I would not make a fool of myself on national television for any amount of money.

I was married to a man at one time who was a major criminal (didn't know it at the time I got involved with him). He once asked me to take $50,000 and hang onto it for him. I flatly refused. At the time, I was barely scraping by.

He thought I was nuts and many subsequent people have thought the same. I still think I was right. I didnt want anything to do with that. I had three kids - I didn't need to be a part of that - no way.

Money is not the be-all and end-all of the world and I think that's one of the things that's wrong with this country - corporations who care more about the bottom line and less about what's good for communities and the people who work for them.

[Skittles]

5. disgusting - like cashing in is a noble thing

cashing in is RAMPANT these days

[Bouncy Ball]

8. That's exactly what I'm getting at.

It's like NO ONE has any freaking dignity anymore. What the hell happened to that? My husband cannot even watch those reality TV shows, because he literally cringes at people screaming while eating live bugs and agreeing to be smeared with monkey shit just for a quick buck. He finds the complete lack of dignity worse than the act of eating bugs and I'd have to say I totally agree.

[Skittles]

39. I am right there with your husband

I resent when I am flipping channels having to catch the pathetic sight of people eating bugs. Know what's even worse? The g.d. people who find such utter garbage entertaining. At least the people degrading themselves are being paid - the people watching ACTUALLY ENJOY IT. :puke:

And don't even get me started on people cashing in on tragedy - just disgusting. I could not spend a dime of blood money.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

6. No! I hate it when they say" but it was legal"

Like that makes greed and averice acceptable.

[Bouncy Ball]

13. That bothers me, too.

Not everything that is technically legal is ok.

[jobycom]

7. I say that all the time

It's usually a sarcastic dismissal, though, meaning that's all they got.

[Bouncy Ball]

11. Well, that's different.

I've heard people say it with complete admiration like "how can you SAY that? HE MADE MONEY!!!!"

And I always think "who gives a shit? He's lost whatever bit of self-respect he might have had and you can't buy that back!"

[jobycom]

16. Yeah, used that way, it's dumb

[disgruntled_goat]

9. well said, bouncy

upper trigram: CRAP
lower trigram: CRAP

I ching hexagram: crap on top of crap.

the superior man does not appear on reality TV



//king wen sequence humor. cmon in *:P

[Bouncy Ball]

14. Ok you're gonna have to explain king wen sequence humor!

LOL

[Zomby Woof]

15. gawd I hate that

They use it to justify bad music too. Someone makes a crappy album (like Britney Spears, to pick a random example), and the comeback is, "So what? It sure sold a lot of copies and made them lots of money!" Drives me nuts anytime someone values quantity over quality.

[Bouncy Ball]

18. OMG that drives me BATSHIT.

I hear that so often I want to claw my eyes out.

It's like money is the verification of worth. It's not. We all know people will hand over hard-earned cash for crap, this is AMERICA, for crying out loud!

So how is money any indicator of value or worth if we'll part with it to buy total crap?

[MrSlayer]

20. Who cares what people think when you have the cash?

Only people who have money think money is meaningless in my experience. There's quite a number of things I'd do for the opportunity to never have to work again. And there's a whole lot of things they'd have to raise the price substantially for. Everything has its price, just don't sell yourself short.

[Bouncy Ball]

22. I don't think everything has its price.

Remember that movie with Robert Redford, Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson? Something about how Redford's character would pay Harrelson's character a million dollars to have Moore as his wife for a month or something?

I would say hell no and my husband would say fuck no. And we aren't exactly rolling in money over here.

[MrSlayer]

30. Yeah a million isn't enough for that.

You'd have to go to amounts that no one is going to pay.

[bettyellen]

21. we used to play a game "how low would you go?"

i remember drinking a bowl of spit was often the jumping off point. people would negotiate and ask questions about the spit, disease free? who's spit? etc and price accordingly... some people swore they could do it for under a grand. i never named a price becasue i honestly don't think i could. usually there's be something gross but mundane enough like stepping in shit for $6 that some one goes and does it or at least offer to.
with some guys there's almost a badge of honor to this stuff.
this fella i know only slightly offered to take the dead cat out of my shed. said it would bother him not in the least. he might have been looking for a little somethin though.

[MrSandman]

23. As in Indecent Proposal...

[Bouncy Ball]

24. That's the name of it!

I was just describing that movie up above. I mean, how can you put a price on your marriage, on your wife???? Why not just sell each other to the highest bidder in that case?

[MrSandman]

26. It was a disgusting premise IMO...

I guess that was the whole point of the movie. I only saw bits of it, wasn't interested enough.

on edit...I realized you were describing it, didn't know you were trying to find the name.

[Bouncy Ball]

28. Oh I watched it.

Wanted to see what all the hubbub was about. It wasn't worth my time, though. Disappointing. And OF COURSE the husband and wife regretted ever doing what they did.

How predictable.

[NMMNG]

31. The old "everyone has a price" premise

Some people have a price, but not everyone.

[Floogeldy]

32. For example?

B-)

[Crazy Guggenheim]

33. I love this quote.

I think people should get back into the idea of dignity.

Perfect!!

[Floogeldy]

34. Are you saying that you would not accept $2 Million to pose in Playgirl?

B-)

[Crazy Guggenheim]

35. That's right.

[Floogeldy]

36. Nice to meet you, Mr. Liar.

B-)

[Crazy Guggenheim]

37. Bigger smile when you say that!

[NawlinsNed]

38. Let them think what they want...

... within a year, nobody will remember it anyway. The local people will think it's the coolest thing ever that you were on national tv, and your average guy on the street won't know you from adam.

And you'll STILL have 600 grand to put towards retirement or pay off your house. Financial security buys a whole hell of a lot in my book.

Let's see... work and save for 20 years, foregoing vacations and nice dinners, or eat bugs on TV for a minute and a half?

[Bouncy Ball]

41. I'm not talking about eating BUGS for a million.

My acquaintance was talking about eating something FAR more disgusting on national TV for a million.

[Blue Diadem]

40. Around here they did it at a fair to win a stupid contest

I saw an article with pictures in the paper last summer about some fair that ran a worm eating contest. :puke:

Imo, people are throwing their self respect right out the window..doing anything to win, anything for money. I'd rather be poor than compromise my standards.

[bettyellen]

42. BB! what do you think of doing something repulsive (but useful)

in order to get laid.
i'm just wondering because i had a dead cat in my shed, and three different men offered to get it out. i know that two of them were hoping for a roll in the hay. i was kinda suprised. i got it out myself, and am currently puzzling over guy #3. LOL.

[Bouncy Ball]

43. I'm not real hot on the idea, LOL!

[bettyellen]

45. it's a slippery slope, ain't it?

i have mixed feeling about it myself. i'm not so good at letting people do me favors anyway.

[bliss_eternal]

44. Yes, I've always hated when people say this--funny story for ya'

I was a server at one of the most awful places, and worked for horrible, racist, sexist, assholes in Chicago. Anyway--

One weekend the owners daughter was being about as unbearable as she could possibly be. If memory serves me, I think I'd had enough and told her so. She started in with me about how much money I made... I looked her in her eyes and told her, "no amount of money is worth this insanity and abuse--I quit." I calmly walked away from her.

This wasn't enough for her. She followed me, saying we had to talk.
She sits me down. Again, she starts in about how much money we made and alluded to the idea that we should be willing to do put up with anything for it.

I said, "Well, if that was the case, why don't I just go walk the streets or be a topless dancer...At least then I know what the degredation and humiliation is and it isn't something that comes later. You know right away." She just looked shocked.