Get a Grip, America

I don’t watch too much regular TV, I generally watch movies; and I really don’t watch reality TV if I can help it. Occasionally I’ll watch a talk show if I find something interesting; and, if I’m flipping channels and see a reality TV show on that catches my attention I may watch it for a minute or two. I’ve seen “American Idol” once, a couple of years ago, and when the girl got voted off the show her tantrum just irritated me so I never watched it again. I’ve never watched “Survivor” because I can’t understand how “real” it can be with 500 crew people all standing around filming. I’ve seen one show with Kara about people trying to become chefs; I’ve seen “Bridezilla” once; and I’ve seen that show about the really expensive sweet 16 birthday parties once.

So when Kara asked me tonight if I’ve ever seen “The Bachelor” I had to say I haven’t. I know the premise of it but I just can’t get interested in a show where women meet a guy and vie for his proposal in just a couple of weeks. Kara said she’d just put on the premier of the new season and they began the show by bringing out two of the contestants from last season’s show and that they were angry at the guy. Then all the new contestants were coming out to meet the guy and one came out and slapped him “for all of America.” Okay. Since Kara didn’t know what happened at the end of last season she was asking if I knew. I didn’t so I Googled it for both of us. I was curious.

It didn’t take but a few minutes for me to find the answer to the question. While I was searching, though, Kara kept calling out that all the women were commenting on what this guy, Brad Womack, had done to the two contestants from last season. She was really curious to know what he’d done since it seemed to be a huge issue with all of these women. Okay, so I found out and I don’t get it, but maybe I’m missing something.

I thought the idea of this show was that these women are supposed to get to know the guy, and vice versa, and that he is to gradually weed out those he doesn’t like by giving roses to the women he wants to continue on the show. I may not be exact but I think I’m pretty close. Then he is supposed to whittle the group down to two final contestants and, on the season finale, give a rose to the one he wants to marry. Well, this guy, Brad, is back for an unprecedented second season because of his “mistake” at the end of last season.

Folks, maybe it’s just me but I don’t see what Brad did wrong. According to everything I read tonight in my search, at the end of last season he told the two final contestants that he didn’t want to marry either of them so he didn’t give either of them a rose. Then he walked away still single. Why is that a mistake? If he wasn’t interested in either of them, why in the world would he commit to one or the other only to have the relationship break apart within the next couple of weeks? Seems to me that he made the best choice for himself and the women involved. Why is everyone so angry about this? I don’t get it.

Maybe there are behind-the-scenes issues that I don’t know about, or maybe there are production issues that Brad was supposed to take into consideration. I don’t know. Did these women lose money from the show because neither of them was picked? Were they each promised endorsement deals by outside companies if they were chosen as Brad’s new fiancée? What gives? If Brad didn’t want to marry you, so be it. I wouldn’t want to be engaged to anyone who didn’t want to marry me.

To make matters worse, Kara was telling me, on tonight’s show Brad kept apologizing to all the women who brought up the issue, telling them how sorry he was and that he’s a changed man. Why is Brad apologizing to anyone? He has no reason to apologize; he made a choice and that’s that. If the two contestants from last season can’t handle the rejection, maybe they ought to keep their personal lives personal rather than broadcasting on television for all to view. The way I see it, Brad did what Brad thought was right and that’s what matters. It’s his choice and nobody has the right to make him feel like he made any sort of mistake.

Whether Brad’s decision from last season was staged for ratings, or whether it was his honest choice, the rejected need only move on with their lives and get over it. Don’t make the guy feel bad for what he did, or didn’t do. Had the rejection not been televised, would America still feel the same way about him? Oh, not at all. Why? Because nobody but the two involved would know about it. Get over it, people, there are worse things in happening in the World; Brad rejecting two women he didn’t want to marry is not a big issue. Maybe you should be angry at the women for actually putting themselves in that position in the first place. When they signed on to the show they took the risk of being rejected; and now they’re making a big stink over not being chosen to marry a man they hardly knew. Such a shame, but then, this is why I don’t watch reality TV. The unreality of it all just irks me.

Until next time…peace to all.