So you definitely aren’t putting American Idol in company with terrorism or bird flu, but it’s definitely “one of the” worst aspects of the modern world, on the short list with terrorism and bird flu. Got it. Sorry I misread you.
Excatly how did this thread get like this? Every other AI thread has been fun and good natured. This one is a damned car wreck.
You said that we should feel ashamed for watching it. You want to feel ashamed, you go right ahead. You want to hate the show, hate the show. Just stop shitting on the thread, okay?
The thread is for people having fun talking about the show. It isn’t for people getting talked down to for liking it, or told they ought to be ashamed. If you want to pit the show or the fans, go pit it or us. But don’t come in this thread and say that I should be ashamed of something.
Dude. My “in the first place” was that it was obviously hyperbole.
My “in the second place” was, even if it wasn’t, I never said it was worse than terrorism. I said it was “one of the” worst things about our modern world. You want me to rank them now before I’m allowed to express an opinion?
You don’t think there are any aspects of our culture that are symptoms of something beyond what they themselves signify? Like Jerry Springer, backyard wrestling, and AI?
I’m not allowed to express an opinion about the coarsening of our culture, and one of the most egregious examples, symptoms of that coarsening, without you godwinning it with–let me shake my head clear and read that again–bird flu?
NOW maybe you see how this thread got like this.
Bird flu!?!?
It seems only timed with yours and Liberal’s entrance into the thread, but I allow everyone to draw their own conclusions.
Bird flu!?!?
[/QUOTE]
I’m glad to see I’ve made my point.
This is what happens when people think their opinions are fact and that everyone should agree with them on the so-called facts, Walter. Mix in a little OCD and there you have it.
Kumbayah, my lord, kumbayah… 
So, is anyone compiling their wishlists for songs, yet?
Who would you like to hear singing what?
Well, I would love to hear Chris sing “Hunger Strike.” 
I’d like Paris to sing something jazzy again, like “Honeysuckle Rose,” the way Anita O’Day did it, though it might be just a little too, er, grown up for her.
I don’t like Melissa, but she has a good voice for “Black Velvet,” and I like that song.
I’d like to hear Bucky sing something by Lyle Lovett. “Which Way Does That Old Pony Run,” or something like that.
Taylor, something by The Band. “The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down,” would be awesome.
Kevin, “I’m a Soul Man,” just for the irony.
Mandissa, “Brick House,” just for the self-effacing humor of it. I’d love her for it.
That’s all I got right now.
To be fair, Biggirl. Walter is one of the primary reasons this thread has gone south. I expressed my personal opinion about some of the contestants, and my personal opinion about AI as a cultural phenomenon–as a symptom of what is, in my personal opinion, a disturbing trend in American culture–and WW reacts with “terrorism” and “bird flu.”
Seriously. “Terrorism” and “bird flu.” And THEN he asks what happened the thread.
Just because he asked the question doesn’t mean he ain’t one of the answers.
ANYway.
Fantasy-world, never happen song choices:
Chris: Jeff Buckley’s “Eternal Life”
Tyler: a swingin’ “Me and My Shadow”
Katherine: Annie Ross’s “Twisted”
Mandisa: “Unchained Melody”
Eliot: Jeff Buckley’s “Dream Brother”
Paris: “Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday”
The rest I don’t much care about.
“Thread shitting” is a specific behavior. Expressing a negative opinion of the subject at hand is not thread shitting. Thread shitting is when someone comes into an appreciation thread and goes “AI sucks.” Thread shitting is NOT when someone who is actively participating in a thread, discussing various aspects of the subject at hand, shares negative opinions of the SUBJECT–not the participants–along with the positive. Subjective discussions in CS will net you both positive and negative opinions. Your choice to ignore or respond.
You need to re-read.
First of all, this thread is for discussing the show, not for “people having fun talking about the show.” There is no loyalty oath required. Read how many posts I contributed discussing the show as an active participant before I expressed my personal misgivings about the show as a personal phenomenon. I said WE should all be ashamed. I’m not talking down to anyone. I’m expressing a highly personal opinion and including myself in the audience for this show. If you have a problem with my opinion, you should address my opinion, and not whether or not I have a right to express it. Or, ignore it; read the posts that make you happy.
. . . about the show as a [del]personal[/del] ***cultural ***phenomenon.