“Are you entertained?”

October 1, 2011 | Filed under Celebrities,Exploitation | Posted by

Ann Barnhardt is asking the question that ought to be cause for pause for us all (the link is to her main page, she does not have links to individual posts, you’ll have to scroll to find what follows):

Chaz-bono I don’t have TV, but I have seen on the internet two things that have happened on TV within the last week that terrify me. TV is now the direct analogue to the Roman “games” and “circuses”. If you are watching TV, or financially supporting it in any way by paying for cable or satellite feeds, you are now no better than the drooling throngs of Romans.

The first thing I saw was Chastity Bono appearing on “Dancing With The Stars”. Chastity Bono is Sonny & Cher’s daughter who is claiming to be a member of the non-existent category “trans-sexual”. She has mutilated her body and is taking male hormones in order to “appear” male.

Chastity Bono was sexually abused as a child by her lesbian pedophile nanny for years. She has spoken and written about this openly. This sexual abuse was what caused Chastity Bono to develop serious psychosexual disorders. When lesbianism didn’t “cure” her psychological problems, she sunk deeper into mental illness and began this process of self-mutilation. And this won’t “cure” her either.

My question to you is: ARE YOU ENTERTAINED? By watching and/or passively supporting this monstrous usury of Chastity Bono’s childhood trauma and resulting mental illness ARE YOU SUFFICIENTLY ENTERTAINED? Or will you be needing more?

Fast-forward to the four-minute mark of this video and behold a sweet, precious, smart, super-cute little girl who would lose her innocence just a few short years later. This is whose torture and pain you are watching for your evening entertainment:

I have not watched a single episode of Dancing with the Stars this season (and only snippets in past seasons).

I think I’ll keep it that way.

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Posted by on October 1, 2011.
Filed under Celebrities, Exploitation.
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  • Anonymous

    I don’t watch shows like that, period.
    The ‘entertainment’ value just isn’t there and AB is dead on about Bono.

  • Anonymous

    Rick,

    Back in my Texas hometown, when I was growing up, a recidivist child molester was on trial.  The Mother of the poor child came to court with a 45 hidden in her purse.  She closed on the perp, drew her pistol and proceeded to empty it – rapid fire – into him… in front of a completely stunned Judge, Bailiff, and courtroom full of witnesses.  While simultaneously screaming, “You will never molest another child again!”  Then she slammed her weapon down on the bar and released it.

    Epilogue:  The local DA refused to bring charges against the Mom… saying no Grand Jury in the state would indict her.

    Semper Fidelis-

  • Anonymous

    While the background is sad, I wouldn’t heap vitriol on CB.  He/she has had enough trauma, and as an adult has chosen a path that is NOT hurting others, in an attempt to find some peace and happiness in a ruined life.  
    Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.  
    Wow rich, I didn’t know you were so perfect.

    And I have no desire to watch CB or anyone in dancing with the stars.

    • http://www.brutallyhonest.org Rick Rice

      Wow rich, I didn’t know you were so perfect.


      In the off chance that rich here means Rick… I’m far from perfect and regular readers will know this… I’m not seeing anyone heaping vitriol on CB here… so put me in the I’m not getting your comment group…

  • Anonymous

    A related story – Our local sheriff had a tradition of putting pictures of convicted crack dealers up on a huge billboard in our hometown, with their name and address prominently displayed below their mug.  One of the convicted drug dealers didn’t like that.  So he hired a slick lawyer, who went to JB (our sheriff) and said, “if it didn’t come down, he’d get sued.”  

    The next day – the lawyer’s picture, name, and address appeared next to his client on the billboard.

    Semper Fidelis-

  • Anonymous

    If ya knew JB, you’d know he didn’t give a rats ass who you were, or who your mommy or daddy was.  If he busted you and you were convicted – your crime, mug, name, and address went up on the town billboard.  Drunk drivers, child support scofflaws, drug dealers… it didn’t matter.  Up there you went, and so the whole town would know who you were, where you lived, and whatcha done.

    Semper Fidelis-

  • Anonymous

    Typical tripe story. Your ignorance shows and there is a reason why you live cold and alone in the basement of your mother. 

  • Anonymous

    Typical tripe comment, ignorance, moms basement etc.

  • Anonymous

    You and this Barnhardt character should be ashamed of yourselves for your ignorance and arrogance. Are you (and she) some kind of expert on what “causes” the “non-existent” phenomenon of transgenderism?

    Are ALL transgender people the survivors of sexual abuse? Are there survivors of sexual abuse who are NOT transgender? Does the scientific/medical community consider transgender people “mentally ill?”

    Where do you and Barnhardt get off with your oh-so-superior judgmental prudery? This kind of crap is the reason I don’t go to church. I can’t stand lookdownyournose pantysniffers like you and Barnhardt, and every church I’ve ever attended is full of ‘em.

    Way to witness, Rick.

    • Oysteria

      Bruce, I think you have it all wrong.  I also think you went off the deep end there unjustifiably.  I got the distinct impression that Ms. Barnhardt actually sympathized with Chaz and was more disgusted with those who would gawk, as if someone elses troubled life were a form of entertainment.

      For the life of me I cannot understand why anyone sees this show (not to mention many other shows) as entertaining.  Where Barnhardt and I part ways is that I’m more of the “Hey it’s your life!” kind of person. 

      • http://www.brutallyhonest.org Rick Rice

        Bruce misses the point completely… completely… and then fires shots at Ann and at me…

        You don’t go to church for many reasons Bruce… and they all have everything to do with the guy who stands in the mirror looking back at ya…

        Have the integrity and the accountability to lay the blame where it belongs… and not the cowardice to point fingers outside of yourself…

        • Anonymous

          You’re partly right in that there are many reasons I don’t attend church, Rick. But one of the chief reasons is my inability to tolerate priggish ignorami  making moral and factual pronouncements about subjects of which they are completely ignorant.

          Oh, and I get your point, and Barnhardt’s — if I watch DWTS, I’m tacitly endorsing “this monstrous usury of Chastity Bono’s childhood trauma and resulting mental illness,” right? This despite the fact that until I saw Barnhardt’s piece, I had no idea there ever was any trauma, and you have not offered any evidence that this abuse caused Bono to embrace the “non-existent” phenomenon, which you call “mental illness” (again with no evidence) of transgenderism.

          AND, if I do endorse “this monstrous usury” by watching a TV show, I’m a bad person and should be ashamed of my creepy voyeurism, right?

          Well, I say you and Barnhardt are the ones who should be ashamed, for asserting facts without evidence, and for insulting millions of fans of a TV show by insinuating they are less-holy-than-thou.

  • Anonymous

    My mother loves the show and never misses it to see who is sent home. I told her the fix is in and not to bother watching this season.

  • Oysteria

    I’ve never watched an episode of dancing or any other show like it or reality shows or lots of other shows.  They hold no interest for me.  That said, Chas, Chastity, or what ever she/he wants to be would be a private matter except Chas has *chosen* to be in the lime light and many people watch  not as if it were a circus, but out of simple curiosity. 

  • http://www.rustedsky.net Anonymous

    Oh, stuff it, Bruce.

    Gay, bi, straight, tri-, trans, whatever – I don’t flippin’ CARE what direction someone else’s plumbing points, until someone else starts blathering that I SHOULD care, because of this, that, x, y, z, and this other reason which I don’t give a fuck about either but someone thinks I SHOULD care about because, dammit, THEY care about it, and I should too!

    At that point, I start to get pissed off.  

    So if someone wants to be judgemental about an issue that doesn’t concern me?  I don’t care.  They’re entitled to their opinions.  You’re all for freedom of expression, right?  Until YOU get offended by someone, and then how dare they express themselves!  Ignorant savages, the lot – because THEY aren’t as sensitive and caring as YOU are, you can feel all happy and justified by slamming them about their intolerance – you fatuous hypocrite.

    If some child molester started coming on and insisted that I accept them because of whatever trauma or psychological malfunction makes them unable to resist the charms of children, I’d tell THEM to go take a fucking hike also.  To the nearest shrink.

    ————–

    Short form?  You’re entitled to your opinion.  You’re not entitled to dictate other people’s opinions.  If you’re offended by that, too bad.  Maybe you need to crank up some of the tolerance you demand everyone else show your pet causes. 

    ————–

    But back to Chas – Yeah.  Poor Chas.  Psychosexual trauma. It’s an excuse, I guess. Trouble is – in Hollywood, ‘normal’ isn’t ever sufficient. And when you’re the kid of a high-level celeb like Cher and Sonny? Yeah, good luck with the ‘normal’ part of your life.  (Gives thumbs up, sarcastically.)  

    So, because of the confusion Chas changed who she/he was.  Drugs, therapy, surgery – if it weren’t for those, he’d had to have done things like they did in the old days, and sucked it up and coped with it.  But now?  

    Why attempt to cope? Write a book pour your heart out. Go to the extremes…  Good luck in your new life.  Reinventing yourself is hard enough, without having it displayed on a reality show. Maybe you would have done better working it through in private. But in Hollywood – all the information you can give isn’t enough – the public wants more.

    In the end, though – no matter how much you spraypaint the exteriors, you’re still carrying the same ol’ baggage with you.  Until you unpack it and discard what you don’t want any more, you’ll still have the same ol’ shit bothering you in your new form.  And what will you do then – switch back to female?

    But if you weren’t Cher’s offspring… nobody but your friends and family would care, and for damn sure you wouldn’t be on Dancing With The (Wannabe) Stars.

    Poor kid. You really got a rotten deal. Then again, it seems like the ‘normal’ kids of famous parents in Hollywood get the short end of the stick more often than not.

    • Anonymous

      Well, you have a point, Lawson. It is, after all, Rick’s and Barnhardt’s right to be  ignorant blowhards spouting off about a subject neither one of them knows jack shit about. I should have just kept quiet, and not pointed out how incredibly arrogant I find that kind of bloviating.

      Two points, Lawson. One is a question: who cares at what point you start to get pissed off? Is one supposed to be afraid?

      And two, I plead guilty to being intolerant of bluenosed churchladies like Rick and this Barnhardt woman. But the whole point of Rick’s piece, and Barnhardt’s seems to imply that people shouldn’t watch a TV show that has a guest on they disapprove of. If you do watch, you’re a BAD PERSON, apparently. Screw them.

      I don’t watch DWTS, or really care that much about transgender issues for that matter. It’s holier-than-thou braying that makes me angry. If that’s intolerant of me, then please, I beg your tolerance for my intolerance. Just as you tolerate theirs.

      • http://2011.ak4mc.us/ McGehee

        It is, after all, Rick’s and Barnhardt’s right to be  ignorant blowhards
        spouting off about a subject neither one of them knows jack shit about.

        And yours too.

        I should have just kept quiet

        Oh good heavens, no! Your every utterance is a blessed little pointer that helps us all find the truth.

        • Anonymous

          I do what I can. You’re welcome.

          • http://www.rustedsky.net Anonymous

            As a contrarian indicator, I’d say you’re darn near perfect!

      • http://www.rustedsky.net Anonymous

        Bruce – I’d hate to live in a world you controlled.  

        Somehow, by your attitude it seems like it’d be a lot like Orwell’s 1984 – a citizenry which is deeply stratified, where if you’re in the Party it becomes a thought crime to ever have a dissenting opinion.  Of course, that doesn’t count for the upper Party, who have managed to convince all the lower Party that what they’re doing is right and essential to the proper functioning of society.  Get into the Upper Party, and you can do what you please with no repercussions.  Of course, for the Lower Party that doesn’t quite hold true.

        Freedom is Slavery, Bruce.  We must free the people from that slavery by taking their freedom to think and choose and opine from them, right?  Only the proper thoughts are allowed, only the proper tolerances given on the proper subjects.  What isn’t forbidden is mandatory.

        And then you complain about the intolerance of others, spouting your two-minute hate screeds, usually never acknowledging the dichotomy of your intolerance.  (At least you admit to seeing it. Progress is being made!)

        You don’t like what Rick says?  Ignore it. You believe you’ll change his (or anyone’s) mind by coming on here and posting stuff like “Where do you and Barnhardt get off with your oh-so-superior judgmental prudery? This kind of crap is the reason I don’t go to church. I can’t stand lookdownyournose pantysniffers like you and Barnhardt, and every church I’ve ever attended is full of ‘em.”?  I’d say the odds are pretty low on that.

        Gotta admit though, every time I think you’ve started to mellow a bit and you’re starting to tolerate thought that isn’t ‘proper’, you come back and disabuse me of that notion.  

        As far as churches go, you might want to try something other than your one visit to the “Holy Roller You’ll Go To Hell If You Don’t Believe and Act Just Like We Expect You To Act Church.”  Might I suggest a Methodist church?   They don’t sniff panties, at least not that I’ve ever noticed.  

        Or not, as you choose. It’s a free country.

        At least, for now.

        • Anonymous

          I think it’s hilarious that you feel the need to lecture me — at length — for expressing anger at Rick’s and Barnhardt’s prudery. People come on these boards every day and tell others they are wrong, misguided, stupid, brainwashed, whatever…and that’s fine with you. As it should be; it’s a blog comment section, for chrissake! But let Bruce Henry do the same and suddenly it’s a Hate Crime?

          “Hate Crime?” Really? Because I object to, and am angered by,  being told I’m a bad person if I watch a TV show Rick doesn’t like? Seems a little over the top to me. Then again it’s easy to attribute nefarious motives to someone one has a personal animus against. My question is Why Me?

          And it’s not just Rick’s and Barnhardt’s attempts to play holier-than-thou I find annoying. It’s the fact that they are talking out of their asses. As I asked, what makes them experts in the field? Do psychologists and other medical professionals consider transgender people “mentally ill?” Is the surgery considered “self-mutilation” by doctors? Do they know for a fact that the alleged sexual abuse “caused” Mr Bono’s “psychosexual disorders?”

          “You don’t like what Rick [or Bruce] says? Ignore it.” Hmm, sounds like good advice for you as well. The thing is, you KNOW this Hate Crime crap you’re attributing to me is pure bullshit. You’re being dishonest as hell, Lawson.

          But thanks for the opportunity to clear up one thing I said. I don’t go to church because I usually find a lot of bluenosed pantysniffers in every congregation I’ve tried (including St Andrew’s Methodist, where I endured 3 years in the 1990s). That being said, church folks do a heck of a lot of good in the world — including some of those same bluenoses! I acknowledge that, and appreciate it. (Watch the movie “Of Gods and Men.”)  I just don’t care to spend much time in the company of people like Rick.

          • http://www.rustedsky.net Anonymous

            “You’re being dishonest as hell, Lawson.”

            Projection.  It’s so interesting watching those who indulge in it.

          • Anonymous

            “I know you are but what am I?”

            Really, Lawson? Really?

          • http://www.rustedsky.net Anonymous

            Can’t even cut and paste correctly, can you?

            “Psychological projection or projection bias is a psychological defense mechanism where a person subconsciously denies his or her own attributes, thoughts, and emotions, which are then ascribed to the outside world, usually to other people. Thus, projection involves imagining or projecting the belief that others originate those feelings.[1]”

            Let’s see… who comes on a thread with no mention of racism, and then tries to make it all about the Melanin? Bob Armstrong. Poor sap – for him, we’re all racists BECAUSE we’re not talking about race, which proves we’re racist.

            “Projection reduces anxiety by allowing the expression of the unwanted unconscious impulses or desires without letting the conscious mind recognize them.

            An example of this behavior might be blaming another for self failure. The mind may avoid the discomfort of consciously admitting personal faults by keeping those feelings unconscious, and by redirecting libidinal satisfaction by attaching, or “projecting,” those same faults onto another person or object.”

            So – everyone’s dishonest except you. Yet – it would seem like you’re the one being dishonest, Bruce. I call you on your hypocrisy, you accuse me of being dishonest.

            Or to put it another way –

            “He who smelt it, dealt it.”

            Maybe you should check out EBay and pick up a screen to go with that projector you’ve got.

          • Anonymous

            Well, I CAN spell “paste” correctly, Lawson.

            Oh, and I’m rubber, you’re glue.

          • Anonymous

            And I never said everyone’s dishonest except me. I said YOU were being dishonest, when you try to conflate simple disagreement and anger with Two Minute Hate from 1984. And you are.

            As I said, I admit to being bigoted against bigots like Barnhardt and, apparently in this instance, Rick. But your only problem seems to be with the guy calling out the bigotry and ignorance! I’m supposed to be tolerant of bigoted, ignorant tripe like Barnhardt writes and Rick endorses, but I see no call from you for Rick to be a little more sensitive to transgender people, or for that matter millions of DWTS fans who just watch the show to see which “celebrity” is the best dancer.

            Hey, maybe someone should hesitate a little before calling people “mentally ill” whose sexuality he doesn’t understand — or insulting millions of viewers by implying that they are creepy voyeurs. That’s all I’m saying, but you find it objectionable that I would, you know, post an opinion in a comments section of a blog. How Orwellian of me!

            You really had to stretch, Lawson, to come up with that criticism, but congratulations, you found one.

          • http://www.rustedsky.net Anonymous

            Bruce, what I find objectionable in you is your attitude.  You come across as smugly superior, deigning to educate us in what’s correct behavior and thought.  It reeks of condescension, and that’s not a pleasant smell at all.  

            Maybe you don’t mean to be – but “You’re bigoted!  And ignorant!  And hateful!”  - Yeah, that’s a great way to open a dialog, isn’t it?  Doesn’t it just show what a pleasant, tolerant person you are?  

            As far as reality TV goes… I think a lot of the reality shows require voyeurs.  Folks willing to watch while something happens.  (This occurs everywhere from HGTV on out.)  And when the biographical details lend themselves to a great deal of ‘creepy’ speculation, then you’ve got to wonder just why someone would subject themselves to that.  Money?  Fame?  Sex?   Seen the promos for ‘Love In The Wild’?  Throw 10 single men and 10 single women into wilderness situations that pair them up, and record all the goings on.  Oh, assign them to bunk together as couples.  (And don’t forget the makeup people – those good looking girls can’t stay that way without help!)

            It’s not one of the better ideas for a show I’ve ever seen.  And if it isn’t voyeuristic, (at least in the ads – got no desire at all to watch the program) then it’d be hard to find something that is.  

            Now, back to Yard Crashers.  They’re about to tear down the deck!

            (Thanks for the error correction, BTW.)

          • Anonymous

            Well, now we’re getting somewhere. I haven’t posted anything on Wizbang in a few weeks, (pent-up?) and, OK, maybe it was a little confrontational to open with “You should be ashamed of yourself…”

            Point taken. I’ve been trying to be less of an asshole on Wizbang the last few months, but hey, as Popeye would say, “I yam what I yam.”

             And this one just set me off. “Mentally ill.” “Psychosexual disorders.” “You’re no better than the drooling Romans.” Nah, I wasn’t gonna let that crap go.

          • http://www.brutallyhonest.org Rick Rice

            In the end Bruce, your hatred of Barnhardt or me and your linking of that hatred with reasons not to go to Church are a cop-out… straight up and simple… a convenient excuse… I won’t worship God because His followers are so much lamer than me… His followers are so unlike me… His followers are such dolts, such pantysniffers (whatever the hell that is)… if only His followers were more like me, by golly, then I’d worship God in a church… but until then, I’m not going to go…

            How incredibly shallow… how narcissistic… how holier-than-thou…

            Grow up Bruce.

          • Anonymous

            Oh, no, Rick. As you said, and I agreed, the reasons I don’t attend church are manifold, and the fact that the pews are filled with bluenosed hypocrites is only one of them.

            But I agree, the shot at churchgoers was gratuitous, and I should have left it out, and just concentrated on the incredible holierthanthouishness of your (and Barnhardt’s) thinking.

             I hereby apologise to any and all non-bluenosed churchgoers I offended. I’m sure many of you are lovely people, really.

    • Anonymous

      Well, let’s separate out the criticism for being on the show – using “celebrity” to get on DWTS – I suspect a female or a male Chastity could get on the show about as easily.  The transgender issue is being played up – so what?  No different that using Charlie Sheen or Alec Baldwin notoriety to boost your ratings and morality be damned.  That’s the Entertainment Industry.

      The self-mutilation that folks in the entertainment industry subject themselves to at what I suppose could easily be called dysfunctional reactions to mental illness is not limited to transgender surgery.  I don’t see the same level of moral disgust from Rick or Ann et al for people like Joan Rivers (though maybe for Michael Jackson) though I think they are much more heinous.  Lord, even the VP’s Hair Plugs are abominations of nature and a huge red flag for his mental state.

      How many trannies have you met, talked to or worked with Rick?  You and Ann seem pretty certain of yourselves on this matter to make vivid moral and psychiatric judgements from afar.

      • http://www.rustedsky.net Anonymous

        Joan Rivers’ face has been lifted so many times, it’s a wonder her skin doesn’t snap…

        I think that the Entertainment Industry’s got a really warped sense of Reality.  Maybe it comes from creating illusions all day long…

      • http://www.brutallyhonest.org Rick Rice

        My disgust are with people who are entertained by the spectacle that Chaz Bono has become… nothing more or less…

        The rest of your spewing Doc can rest quite nicely in your ear…

        • Anonymous

          Anybody else here characterize anything DocEpador said on this thread as “spewing?” Didn’t think so.

      • http://www.brutallyhonest.org Rick Rice

        A little girl is sexually abused by a lesbian… and grows up to decide to surgically remove certain organs and presumably have others ‘installed’…  I consider this thinking to be disordered and yes, a sign of mental illness…  can we tie the sexual abuse to her actions as an adult… I see no reason not to… 

        And I don’t have to meet any ‘trannies’ to come to this conclusion…

        And oh by the way Doc… my judgments from afar are as valid as any that you’ve made of my thinking… wouldn’t you say?   After all, have you met me?  Or Ann?

        Freakin’ nonsensical thinking…

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_UG44B3BSUSA2IKDMLCB2AMJ4OM Porkulus Chopius

    Never have watched this program and avoid all reality trash on the air, all of it.

    From what I have heard it’s more like a carnival side show and this Bono “thing” is a carney freak show, a the fat lady at the circus that had an addadicktome procedure. 

    I disagree with Ann. There is plenty of quality programming. All one needs to do is look for it and avoid this shit.

  • Anonymous

    Such a cute little girl. Such a shame. 

  • Anonymous

    A couple things.:

    1) The modern bread and circuses are indeed disgusting; it’s hard to justify maintaining a cable subscription.

    2) A child’s Gender Identity Disorder is a hideously complex thing for a family to deal with. And I honestly can’t judge any family (or any person, for that matter) who faces it.

  • Anonymous

    I like DWTS. It is rare for a performing art to have its own TV show, especially something like ballroom dancing. It can be graceful, beautiful, funny and sexy when done by skilled practitioners. What’s wrong with that?

    However, I could not watch more than one show this season. I have sympathy for Chaz Bono, and bear no ill will towards him. However, I watch the show for the dancing, not for political or social statements. There is too much of that on this season of DWTS, so I will not watch another episode. Bono is a bad dancer, and so are Grace and Lake. It is painful to watch.

    But I’ll tune in next time and hope they get back to what makes them so popular.

  • Anonymous

    Chastity is a 1969 film directed by Alessio de Paola and starring Cher in her first film role as a solo. It was written and produced by Cher’s husband Sonny Bono
    as a star vehicle for her. It flopped badly and deterred Cher from
    acting in films for more than a decade. Sonny and Cher’s child Chastity Bono was conceived during the making of the film, and was named after it..

    Cher also recorded a soundtrack to the film, which was also a commercial failure.