To set the scene, I was driving and my youngest son was in the passenger seat beside me. He was biting into his bacon and egg muffin. The radio was on; not on my usual channel because my daughter had borrowed the car and naturally she changed the radio channel. Although trained in classical music to a high standard, she loathes my choice of music.
On any other day, my son and I would have been listening to the guest weather and some calming and refined classical music. Today, we were listening to a panel of people with strong, Aussie voices discuss whether Seal was cool or a sleaze. Apparently, this all came about because he kissed Ricky Lee on the show last night (his "mentor" on our version of 'The Voice') at an inappropriate time. After the panel all gave their thoughts on the matter, they turned it over to callers, some of whom were a little "grossed out" and others who thought he was "totally cool".
I try not to talk on the way to school. The young man is usually chowing down on some breakfast and unless we need to talk we often don't say much. Today, he looked up from his English muffin to say,
"Is this what people really care about? Is it that important to them who kissed who at what time and for how long and in what manner? Who are these people?"
For a young man who is immersed completely in a variety of activities and who enjoys 'The Voice', this sort of public discussion of a minute detail as to what a person did at a given moment is not worthy of discussion in the media.
Also, the school he attends works hard at fostering a spirit of co-operation and increasing empathic skills through an almost limitless array of activities and opportunities for growth, so pillory of someone, passing judgment by the media if you will, without a very good reason goes against what he thinks is right.
Personally, I don't like this sort of thing either. Why should anyone have to wake up and overhear people talking about him like that just because he is on a television show? What ever happened to the 'fitness of things'?
On any other day, my son and I would have been listening to the guest weather and some calming and refined classical music. Today, we were listening to a panel of people with strong, Aussie voices discuss whether Seal was cool or a sleaze. Apparently, this all came about because he kissed Ricky Lee on the show last night (his "mentor" on our version of 'The Voice') at an inappropriate time. After the panel all gave their thoughts on the matter, they turned it over to callers, some of whom were a little "grossed out" and others who thought he was "totally cool".
I try not to talk on the way to school. The young man is usually chowing down on some breakfast and unless we need to talk we often don't say much. Today, he looked up from his English muffin to say,
"Is this what people really care about? Is it that important to them who kissed who at what time and for how long and in what manner? Who are these people?"
For a young man who is immersed completely in a variety of activities and who enjoys 'The Voice', this sort of public discussion of a minute detail as to what a person did at a given moment is not worthy of discussion in the media.
Also, the school he attends works hard at fostering a spirit of co-operation and increasing empathic skills through an almost limitless array of activities and opportunities for growth, so pillory of someone, passing judgment by the media if you will, without a very good reason goes against what he thinks is right.
Personally, I don't like this sort of thing either. Why should anyone have to wake up and overhear people talking about him like that just because he is on a television show? What ever happened to the 'fitness of things'?
Sounds like you have instilled the young man with good judgement and sense already; who cares indeed.
ReplyDeleteDavid: Very kind of you to say so! He's always been a most caring and compassionate person from a very early age.
ReplyDeleteYour son is correct and obviously pretty thoughtful, even when he's chowing down. It's still petty gossip even if it's about a public celebrity.
ReplyDeleteMick: Yes, it just strikes me that it has become a habit to treat people's feelings as if they didn't matter. I'm all for having a bit of fun and jokes are common on commercial radio but this stuff can get very petty and thoughtless.
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