I couldn''t believe this when I read it...

[MakingTheGrade]

I'd venture to say that many of us have laughed at comedy shows that tell jokes at someone else's personal expense. And for those that enjoy reality TV shows, some of those judges are pretty mean. In fact, I'd say many viewers love Simon Cowell's harsh but honest critiques on American Idol. And over in the Hangout and in forums all over, people discuss shows like So You Think You Can Dance or Top Model, and call certain contestants ugly, stupid, etc and those contestants are generally teenagers too.

And a lot of people start threads on this forum calling their MIL's or relatives "crazy", "neurotic", "cheap" etc. Or vent about what an "ugly" dress they picked to wear for the wedding. Aren't those mean and judgmental comments? And it's possibly the person talked about could ID themselves based on the comments, and many of us post wedding pics here that can identify us. So they could be hurt too if they fond out they were being talked about in such a manner.

I'm just wondering if this case is different because she's a young teenager? Because it's her wedding?

Of course, it's entirely possible some people think ALL potentially hurtful comments are bad and shouldn't be said/written, regardless of the person in question. If that's the case, then I guess there's no difference here.

I'm not saying comments like that aren't mean, they certainly could be hurtful. But do you think they should never be said/written publicly about anyone? Just curious.

ETA: I'm not trying to attack anyone, I just think it's an interesting discussion on where "the line" is.

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 11/13/2009 2:21:58 PM
Author: MakingTheGrade
I'd venture to say that many of us have laughed at comedy shows that tell jokes at someone else's personal expense. And for those that enjoy reality TV shows, some of those judges are pretty mean. In fact, I'd say many viewers love Simon Cowell's harsh but honest critiques on American Idol. And over in the Hangout and in forums all over, people discuss shows like So You Think You Can Dance or Top Model, and call certain contestants ugly, stupid, etc and those contestants are generally teenagers too.

And a lot of people start threads on this forum calling their MIL's or relatives 'crazy', 'neurotic', 'cheap' etc. Or vent about what an 'ugly' dress they picked to wear for the wedding. Aren't those mean and judgmental comments? And it's possibly the person talked about could ID themselves based on the comments, and many of us post wedding pics here that can identify us. So they could be hurt too if they fond out they were being talked about in such a manner.

I'm just wondering if this case is different because she's a young teenager? Because it's her wedding?

Of course, it's entirely possible some people think ALL potentially hurtful comments are bad and shouldn't be said/written, regardless of the person in question. If that's the case, then I guess there's no difference here.

I'm not saying comments like that aren't mean, they certainly could be hurtful. But do you think they should never be said/written publicly about anyone? Just curious.

ETA: I'm not trying to attack anyone, I just think it's an interesting discussion on where 'the line' is.

I was thinking the same thing, MTG. There are plenty of threads on PS that could possibly hurt someone's feeling some day if they came across them. I find it a little hard to believe that everyone in this thread hasn't participated in some of them! I said it earlier in this thread, but putting your wedding in a magazine makes you a semi-public figure. Doing that is really opening yourself up to comments that aren't necessarily going to be nice. I don't get where the outrage is coming from.