Sharon Osbourne etc.

Temper often brings out true colours

So The View is off the air for a while. My spouse watches this every day and often I overhear the content. I heard about the latest hissy fit on another network.

I wrote a separate post about Meghan, Oprah and Piers (see "Harry and Meghan with Oprah" in this Blog) and expressed my views on Piers. But apparently he is a friend of Sharon and that gives her a much different perspective than his own viewers. I have seen clips now of the "incident" and I really didn't see what all the fuss was about from either Sharon or Sheryl. I did think that Sharon over-reacted and it did sound like "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." She was almost saying "How could I possibly be racist - after all I am here with you every day" - that's how it came across without being stated.

If I have a friend who is in trouble over comments made or views expressed, that does not make me guilty of anything. I should also be permitted a "no comment" approach. For example I sympathize with Chris Cuomo not weighing in on his brother Andrew even though they often shared opinions and their brotherhood on air in the past.

I worked in London for almost three years in the early '70s and for sure there was a sometimes not so subtle racial attitude. They had their own derogatory slang for non-whites. Let's face it, British Colonialism fostered racism everywhere once upon a time. It was not as blatant and violent as racism in America has been but it was systematic. Black people practically ran public transportation and held a lot of servant/charwoman/cleaner types of roles. Entire cities were predominantly black.

Where it really became unacceptable however is just before the break when Sharon started to drop the "F" bomb. That is when one's true nature shows itself. She is a very smart woman and can speak properly with the best of the educated British class. She has no doubt put up with more than most women could with Ozzie over the years but stayed for the most part. Good for her. I never watched an entire episode of their show, however,  nor any of the "reality" type shows. They were all staged with cameras and crew on site - no more "reality" than Judge Judy or the OJ trial. Everyone was performing for ratings - literally. Once again Sharon in particular dropped the "F" bomb every chance she could and so did her family. For me that defined their true audience.

It is tough to play hurt feelings and insult when you react with instinctive vulgarity. One's true colours come out in those moments. You didn't hear Sheryl use such language - not on camera at least.

Many of us left that behind in the school yard or at least know there is a time and a place for it. Public TV and its unknown audience is neither.

#thebrewsterblock