Disgusted.

I’m disgusted right now. There’s no other way to describe it. I won’t give too many details, because I don’t want to promote the work of evil people or to invade the privacy of those they are harming. But I need to share my feelings.

Much of my disgust is directed toward a television personality, one of those ones that populate daytime syndicated TV, who trades in sordid tales of cheating husbands and whoring wives (or vice versa), baby-daddy DNA tests, abusive relationships, and other outrageous situations. This person represents both our legal system (through their former career) and journalism (through being a television host). This person SHOULD have strong ethics. This person SHOULD have a sense of justice. This person SHOULD search for truth, and report only truth, without sensationalizing it. But instead, this evil and misguided person is directly profiting form the emotional trauma of grieving persons. They are setting the stage (literally) for a televised shouting match that will undoubtedly cause further harm. They are recording and preserving for all time a dispute that should be a private family matter, and allowing a public forum for some individuals to unjustly accuse others of inconceivable, immoral, criminal acts (without a shred of evidence or proof, since if they actually HAD any, the matter would have been handed over to police and tried in a courtroom).

I understand that these types of shows might possibly, indirectly serve some purpose (though I would argue this purpose can be fulfilled by better means). I understand people enjoy watching them, and I’ve sometimes watched myself (though I will never again watch one produced by this individual). I understand that most of the time, the people they show are adults, who willingly go on television, get paid for their appearance, and they may also receive some form of counseling or advice (though I would argue that it isn’t enough money or counseling to truly help or to offset the damages caused by their scandalizing.)

However, in this instance, I am absolutely certain that some of the people they have taken advantage of did not possess the ability to consent. They could not understand all the possible ramifications of appearing on television this way. They could not anticipate the emotional, legal, financial, or social effects that may haunt them for the rest of their lives. They were not of sound mind when they made this decision, due to grief. And frankly, even before the tragic incident, I believe they were subject to years of abuse and neglect. I don’t believe they had the capacity to deal with the situation.

An old friend of mine is the accused person, who, after suffering a great tragedy, is now being targeted by persons he/she once loved, and wrongly blamed for a tragic incident out of his/her control.

I don’t know all the specifics of what happened. I haven’t been in touch with my friend in several years. I haven’t yet watched the full program (because it hasn’t aired yet). But I know enough to know that airing this “dirty laundry” on national television will serve no good purpose. It will not stop this tragedy or any other from happening. It will not help anyone heal from the tragedy, in fact, it will undoubtedly cause more emotional distress. Justice will not be served.(I suspect that there is not even anyone to blame for the tragedy, that it was just an unexplainable “act of god” situation, and I don’t believe my friend is capable of intentionally doing anything that he/she may be accused of. I believe he/she is a good person who has been dealt an extremely tough hand in life, and who is doing the best he/she can. Obviously, I was not a witness to the events, and I know that people can surprise us. However, even if anyone is to blame for the tragedy, this is not the proper way of finding the truth nor of dealing with the situation.)

There are so many things wrong in the world right now, and this is just a “minor” tragedy that barely makes the local news. There are people being harmed and killed every moment; more than we can count. It’s gotten to the point where it feels insurmountable and utterly impossible to stop these bad things – maybe people being monsters is just nature, and maybe fighting nature is futile. I don’t know. But I know my overriding emotion is disgust.