This little girl must surely have a message of some sort that needs to be imparted to America. A message far too important for only the ears of law enforcement and a personal therapist:
A sheriff's department employee is charged with paying a woman for sex with her 8-year-old daughter, and a special judge was called from out of town for a bond hearing Wednesday because the accused is engaged to a Memphis judge.
I tell you, I can just never get enough of those writhing-in-horror reaction shots from a kid as adults participating in group-therapytainment chat about the most personal, hideous events of the kid's life in front of him on nation-wide television. I admit it's a bit of a double standard on my part, as I personally thanked God for the magic age of 18 when I become an actual person and was granted the ability to tell people to fuck off at will -- but hey, everybody's got to do their time as an object.
After watching the Oprah interview today, I got an account on her message board just so I could tell her how wonderful it was of her to serve up on national TV the deliciously damaged 15-year-old Shawn Hornbeck. Surprisingly I found myself wading through pages of silly "Boycott Oprah" messages. I guess some people's palates aren't sensitive enough to appreciate the exquisite taste of a child's pain.
Posted by floridacracker at January 18, 2007 10:57 PMRatings must be hurting for Oprah to do something as tawdry as that.
Then again, I've never watched her show so who am I to criticize her or her producer's judgement, or lack there of...
No one says you have to be a member of her fan club to criticize this particular show. Being a member of the human race is valid membership enough.
Posted by: Donnah at January 19, 2007 03:51 AM What is it about Americans? We still love our freak shows and have absolutely no empathy for the "freaks". It says something about us that is humiliating and shameful. Why are we so fascinated - - and why do we revel in- - the misfortunes of others?
BTW, my wife and I saw part of the interview; what we saw was sick.
There is a "right" to privacy that some will trot out to cover their own behavior, if brought into question. Amazingly, this "right" is seldom if ever extended to children when day-time TV programming must readied to please the salivating audiences. I wonder if Oprah would have had a child of her own on the show if this had happened to her.
Posted by: tfhr at January 19, 2007 08:33 AMThat was fucking televised child abuse.
Posted by: Donnah at January 19, 2007 08:49 AMAMEN, Sistah Crackah, aMEN.
Posted by: tree hugging sister at January 19, 2007 09:40 AMI'm glad I didn't see it. I watched O'Reilly layout some pretty crappy stuff on the Hornbeck kid's situation - all speculation too. I don't know what he was thinking but he's getting blasted for it now. For the life of me, I cannot understand why these families just aren't allowed the privacy to attempt to repair their lives. It is sad and I turn it off when it comes up - including O'Reilly.
Posted by: tfhr at January 19, 2007 12:00 PM"child abuse"
Yes it is Donnah, it's even child abuse times two. They have to go through the first to make it to the bright lights of Oprah for round two. Sick. Sick. Sick.
Oprah should go back to giving away hundreds of cars to her affulent white audience members- and months later preaching to us about about how we let New Orleans down. Before and after Katrina. Great hindsight and moral stand there Oprah!
About the post subject:
I have lived in Memphis, or it's Metro area, most of my life. Still work in the Medical Center area to this day. This case no more surprises me then when the sun comes up each morning. The leadership is a cesspool of slease. Ask me about the Ford Family! Or the Mayor! Etc.!
Posted by: AmeriDan at January 19, 2007 01:21 PMI didn't watch it, but I heard they had the other kid back at the hotel while the parents (loosely) appeared on the Op.
I wouldn't leave my kid for years if they were kidnapped..must be the fame and fortune just got em by the short hairs.
Posted by: csason at January 19, 2007 01:39 PMOur leadership may be corrupt, and we are second only to New Orleans in the nanny state type mentality- but we're a great place to visit!
Party on Beale Street (Home of the Blues), tour Graceland, Sun Records (Birthplace of rock and roll) and many more things.
Posted by: AmeriDan at January 19, 2007 01:43 PMExploitation.
They are allowed the privacy(the parents)...they can say no.
I want to say that to ask them to appear, or to use them as a topic is tackey, and using the baser things in life as a hook for an audience and ratings is sleezy.
But I'm sure they are thinking, or they have been told........(you'll recognize this bull-shit)
"Think about the greater good to thousands of others that may be experiencing simular circumstances, and how going through, and talking about this issue, will touch their lives and help them in ways...bla, bla, bla-bla, bla"
And someone will write in..." I was going to kill myself but at that moment I saw on your show...bla-bla bla"
Like that's justification for exposing a child's most painful, humiliating events. It is child abuse because it is exploitation.
I was willing to let Oprah live her life, with her minions...doing the greater good and all, but now, I
join many who will tune her out. She just joined the
Jon Kary Club of idiots.
I'll bet within a week she fires someone over this, and retracts (in some special way) her interviewing this kid.
I bawled my eyes out when they found these 2 kids. Then I watched the first press conference with the Akers and Shawn. First thing I noticed when they came in, Shawn was holding a chair for his mother who was to busy socializing to even notice what her kid that has been gone for 4 years was doing! He finally just sat down and waited for her to set beside him. Later on he said something in her ear and was trying to hug her and she moved away from him. He was looking at her like someone just ripped his heart out of his chest.
What ever happened to this kid, I don’t need to know the details to know it was horrible. But what his parents are doing to him now is just criminal and like you said it is child abuse.
Welcome to the Church of Oprah! I didn't watch the show either. But I must admit, I periodically look at the descriptions of her upcoming shows to prove to a friend of mine that used to be a church member she's just another talk show host spewing out sensationalism. She's just one step above Jerry Springer. The only difference is the denizens in Jerry's world are proudly uneducated trash and The Poprah's minions are seemingly educated housewives in touch with their feelings. They're all still voyeurs. Its the "I was repulsed, but yet, I could not look away" syndrome.
But don't tell that to any Church of Oprah member. "Look at all the good she did for the Katrina evacuees!" If The Poprah were truly altruistic she would have quietly donated a small percentage of her bazillions instead of taking her traveling freak show on the road to show us how generous she was. Or she could have anonymously paid for Shawn's therapy for the next 20 years.
Posted by: hamous at January 20, 2007 11:53 AM"retracts (in some special way) her interviewing this kid"
CHEESEBURGERS made her do it!!
Posted by: tree hugging sister at January 22, 2007 11:10 AMlol..@ treehugginsister