foodconsumer.org: Reality TV:  Have we Created a Monster?

Reality TV:  Have we Created a Monster?
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admin on 11/29/2009 15:18:00
 
By Rachel Stockton
The Secret Service has taken “full responsibility” for the presence party
crashing couple who ended up at a White House gala for the Indian Prime
Minister.  Michaela and Tareq Salahi, two reality star wannabes, managed to
slither into the party and have their pictures taken with President Obama and
his staff.  The two have done their darnedest to become reality TV stars,
leaving creditors and stunned bystanders in their wake.  The tactless duo are
now holding out their hands for a pay-off to tell their sordid, and quite
frankly boring, story.
How was such a fiasco allowed to happen?  Several party goers have told the New
York Times that security was particularly lax that evening.  Guests were not
taking to the guard house where metal detectors were located, but were simply
checked for IDs in the dark.
This story is troubling for several reasons, and it behooves us as a nation to
step back from all of this to learn from its implications.
What Could Have Been
First of all, this story could have ended much more tragically, had the Salahis
been psychopathic instead of merely tasteless and gauche.  Since guest
belongings weren’t scanned (according to witnesses) upon entrance, one
shudders to think what could have happened if the Salahis’ motives had been
darker.
International terrorism notwithstanding, there are plenty of unsavory types that
could wreak havoc at such an event, if given the opportunity.
Un-reality Nation
The incident with the Salahis is simply one more embarrassing stunt that has
arisen among our nation of voyeurs (no wonder the French don’t trust us). 
Let’s not forget the reality star wannabe, Richard Heene, who created what’s
now called the “balloon boy hoax.”  Heene and his wife called 911 claiming
that their son had floated off into the horizon in a homemade, helium filled
“flying saucer.”  The Heenes have since pleaded guilty to attempting to
“influence a public servant.”
Earlier this summer, a Canadian reality TV participant brutally murdered his
wife of six months, then dismembered her body in an effort to hide her identity.
 After leading authorities, both American and Canadian, on an extensive manhunt,
Ryan Jenkins was found hanging in a closet in an obscure, rundown hotel room,
just over the border.
We all know that we must be diligent in protecting ourselves from international
terrorists.  Tragically, the above mentioned incidents reinforce another sad
reality:  we must, just as diligently, protect ourselves from ourselves.