Political Correctness on "American Idol" (or Simon Cowell is NOT Evil)

I was watching "American Idol" last night (not something I normally do, except for the beginning auditions where most everyone is terrible), and a thought occurred to me. Every time Simon Cowell is brutally honest with a performer, the crowd boos, as if he's doing it for shock value. Paula and Randy are always extremely generous, and seem to find the good in every mediocre performance. But when Simon calls things as they are, the other 2 judges, along with the audience, is outraged. Why?

I think a lot of this is symptomatic with what is wrong with society today. It seems that these days, you can't be honest and say someone did something wrong, or badly. To do so is seen as being "unfair" or "tough" on the person, when really it's just about being honest. People make mistakes. They sing songs badly. They do their jobs poorly. Great authors put out bad books. Why should we walk on eggshells around people when they goof up? It's what makes us human, and it's why we have competitions. These little fumbles are what inspire us to do better next time. If everyone on "American Idol" was great, then what's the point of competing? They're all even, give contracts to everybody. God forbid anyone's feelings get hurt. We as a society are becoming weak. We can't take jokes anymore. We can't take constructive criticism. People are offended by everything. Nobody is at fault anymore. Spill that hot coffee in your lap? It's not your fault for being STUPID, it's McDonald's fault for making it too hot. Go sue them for a bazillion dollars. It really makes me sick.

Does Simon Cowell go a little too far sometimes? Sure. Is it done for shock value? Partly. But it's only because he has our number. He can be a lemming, like Randy, Paula, and that abomination Ryan Seacrest, and tell everyone that they were wonderful, we love you, blah, blah, blah. But he tells the truth. And sometimes the truth hurts.

Personal Space

Why do people on a relatively non-crowded train feel the need to stand right on top of you? It seems like every day, I get on the train coming home, and no matter how much room is in the car, some moron has to stand right by me. I'm not even talking close, I'm talking very close. It's maddening. Today, some woman stands right in front of me, practically stepping on my shoes. I gave a not-so-subtle hint that she was a bit too close, and all she does is turns and smiles at me. Maybe I wouldn't have minded so much if she even approached attractive, but either way, it just pissed me off.

All I know is, I was raised right. I'm polite, hold the door for people, etc. As angry as I get, I rarely let it show. And I'd never invade someone's personal space like that. After 9+ hours a day working with the public, the last thing I want is one of them sitting in my lap on the ride home.

Welcome...

I'm planning on keeping this blog fairly humorous, with my daily rants, observations, insight, whatever comes to mind. I spend most of the past 3 days fixing various issues with my computer, so I'll post more either tomorrow or Monday.