This may be a clear indication that I am not the young precocious man that I perhaps once was but despite every blogger trying to convince you they never watch trashy television and spend every waking minute listening to Nick Cave and going to awesome gigs with awesome bands you've never heard of, I found myself watching Dancing with the Stars. Not a once off really either, while it was my first viewing this season, I have watched it quite a bit over the 8 or 9 seasons it's been on. Like anyone else who watched the show, the inclusion of blind Paralympian Gerrard Gosens heightened my interest.
Previous to appearing on this show, I had no idea who Gerrard Gosen was and clearly he is a man who has achieved more in one day than I will in a lifetime. Fattering cliches aside, I was honestly deeply disgusted by the conduct of everyone else on the show. This could be where I'm losing my young and free thinking but I thought some of the jokes regarding Gosen's lack of knowledge of the moonwalk and other things bordered on being offensive. Then the judge Todd Mckenny's comments that Gosen's performance was appauling pushed me over the edge.
Now I have to tell you, by no means am I one of those Perez Hilton fucks that uses my blog to make a comment about everything I see on television but I thought this went beyond that. This isn't my audition speech for Miss Universe (i got great legs though) and I'm sure this probably didn't faze Gosen in the slightest with what he has overcame in his life, but there have got to be more appropriate targets. Like maybe Layne Beachley... CAR CRASH!
I know Gosen would insist on being judged on a level playing field with everyone else and obviously he is doing Dancing with the Stars as a means of both challenging himself and raising money / awareness for his selected charity. My God though, if Dancing with the Stars needs ratings so badly it must excessively hack on a blind man who is clearly achieving the impossible, I personally thing there is a line of common decency and respect for Gosen not as a blind man or any other label you want to throw out there but as a human being. Am I right?
In my opinion the comments he recieved were ones that not even Red Simmons or Pauline Hanson were subjected to and I can only then be led to believe it was in the pursuit of the "shock factor" so ridiculous hacks like myself would blog about it.
Mission Accomplished.
Now I couldn't find a youtube of the episode in question, but here is a sample of what the man can produce.
I hope this will be my first and last journey into blogging about the world of trashy television.
