What Was This Bachelor Thinking?

Yesterday I was interviewed by Channel 5, the ABC affiliate in Cleveland, as to my reaction to the previous night’s episode of “The Bachelor.”  I do not watch this show, so the film crew brought me a clip from the show to help me get caught up on the latest events.  Six weeks ago, the bachelor, whose name is Jason, chose the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, whose name is Melissa.  I viewed the clip of the marriage proposal and the tear-filled emotion that went with it.

Apparently, the office talk around the water cooler yesterday was that Monday night Jason told Melissa he no longer wanted to be with her, but instead wanted to be with the girl, Molly, whom he had rejected for Melissa six weeks ago.

During Monday night’s episode, through her tears, Melissa kept saying, “You mean you don’t want to fight for me.”  Translation:  “You mean you don’t want to try to work on the relationship.”  Jason’s answer:  “That’s right.”

Channel 5 wanted to know my take on this whole thing.  Reality TV and the glamour, fame, and prompting from producers aside, I told them that the message this episode sent to millions of people was just plain wrong.  How many young, impressionable guys and girls watched this man dump this girl on national televison after a six-week trial period?  Yes, we live in a disposable society when it comes to garbage.  But this woman he threw away was a human being, not a piece of recyclable plastic.

What if instead Jason would have been honest enough to say to Melissa that he had some second thoughts, but was willing to get some help for the relationship before making a final decision?  What if he had respected this woman enough to allow her to be part of the decision?  What kind of message would that have given millions of impressionable young people?  But, I must remind myself that this reality television, not reality!

March 4, 2009 | Filed Under Uncategorized 

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