Big Brother Rose in Ratings This Week Because America Loves Bigotry
[There was a video here]
Last night's episode of Big Brother nabbed the show's highest ratings since its season premiere about two weeks ago. About 6.25 million people watched; the only network show to grab more eyeballs was 60 Minutes.
The episode finally brought to primetime the racist and homophobic things many of the house guests have said (and/or laughed at) openly, in front of cameras. Things like, "I look, probably, like a squinty Asian right now," "nigger insurance," "Kermit the Fag" and praise for Hitler's speaking ability.
Though previously unaired, Big Brother enthusiasts following along with the show's 24/7 live feeds brought the bigotry to light. That led to a host of TMZ headlines on the slurs and the ensuing fallout: Aaryn Gries was dropped from her modeling agency, GinaMarie Zimmerman was fired from her day job as a pageant coordinator and railroad conductor Spencer Clawson was condemned by his employer, Union Pacific.
For several seasons, many have bemoaned Big Brother's tendency to craft good-guy storylines for house guests who reveal themselves to be shitty humans in the live feeds (Season 11 and 13's Jeff Schroeder is a terrific example), so consider last night's episode one of justice being served. There's your racism and bigotry, America! Bon appétit!
People love racism—just ask Paula Deen, whose book sales rose as her dignity sank. Racists love racism because they are racist. Non-racists love racism because it makes them feel superior to the racists. Racism is like chocolate to reality TV's peanut butter, since feeling superior in general is why many people watch reality TV in the first place. Maybe some non-racists also like the catharsis that comes from just hearing other people saying racist things so they don't have to and their non-racism can stay intact. There are people all over the internet who are ravenous for outrage; they will sniff out and twist and stretch the ambiguous, if not benign, all in the supposed name of social justice. Those people are perverts.
I hate that shit. I don't care what GinaMarie thinks of welfare because she is an idiot, and at least part of why she was hired to perform on this show was in hope that her idiocy would prove antagonizing. So when she says something inflammatory and idiotic, she is actually doing her job. Same with Aaryn, whose anti-Asian and -gay remarks have gotten the most publicity, courtesy of the clip reel above from last night's episode. Same goes for Spencer, who admires Hitler and seems to hate fags.
But overall: so what to all of these ignorant assholes? Despite my interest in Big Brother, I've avoided writing about this story until now precisely because their bigotry is insignificant. It doesn't need amplification. Most, if not all of these people, will be gone from our minds before the season ends. They're idiots and if their hate speech somehow inspires you to follow suit, you're stupider than they are and you will get what you deserve.
If anything I'm happy that this happened. So many of this season's house guests who haven't made headlines by being denounced by their employers, have also contributed to the caustic discussion or laughed along as it carries on in their presence. The house is full of scum. I don't want to spend time with these people, and even for someone who doesn't keep up with the live feeds, this show demands a lot of time (three one-hour episodes per week). By filling its house with vermin, Big Brother has turned me away. And by doing that, it's actually freeing up my schedule. Thank you, racism.
By the way, here is 12-minute "bigotry supercut" of various offensive things that have been said during the live feeds, if you're into that sort of thing.