Maybe, I’m just becoming soft. Since late last evening, I’ve seen dozens of mentions of Ms. South Carolina’s Youtube debut, a painful 48 seconds where this young contestant badly blunders her response to a question regarding the American education system and geography.
I agree with Dean when he says, “Every high school English teacher should show this to their class and
they’ll never have to justify why students need to learn to write, read
and give speeches.” Yet, when I watch this video, I think of the one big “mistake” made by our friend Ghyslian Raza (aka The Star Wars Kid) that will follow him for the rest of his life. Ms. South Carolina is 18 years old, and was obviously not selected to the pageant for her English, history and geography scores. Certainly we expected some level of coherence in her response, yet should we be so surprised that she didn’t give that to us? She’s an 18 year-old girl, speaking in front of a life audience and on national TV … she may have not even heard the question. And, does she get a second chance, or is this the pivotal incident that we will base her character on for the rest of her life? Just a thought … does this make us all cyberbullies?
Well the young girl did get a second chance today, but I’m sure that this interview will not stick as well as her pageant appearance. At least she got the last word in. She says, “I’m a good person. My parents raised me very well.” I believe her, and I also hope they raised her with a thick skin as, unfortunately, I know this incident will follow her for a long time to come.
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Okay, now I feel badly.
Ha … this wasn’t meant to make anyone feel bad, Dean … especially not you. I agree with what you said … and I laughed as well … but I just got to thinking afterwards, “what if that were my daughter”?
“Maybe, I’m just becoming soft.”
Yep. You’re a freak Alec…caring about other people like that. ;)
But seriously, forget what she said. I feel bad for her (and the other 49 contestants) because she participated in the Miss Teen USA pageant.
Thanks Peter … very good point. :-)
I’m glad you pointed this side of the story out. I guess it makes you consider the implications of a “youtube” society where your mistakes can live with you forever. Pretty hard to live this down and it goes from a little goof up that the audience might remember for a few days to a moment that lives on for a long time.
I guess there’s a few lessons here.
Hmmm. er…..hmmmm. I……er………..hmmm.
Good point Alec. And I do have sympathies for people who make one honest mistake that takes people forever to forget. So I understand you point.
The only thing is, I bet that girl is actually like that. No excuses for being an American teen beauty contestant. You cannot be that dumb and walk around without a warning label.
http://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/38931.html
i think ideas around how we listen will become a part of the space we make for social networking and collaboration =)
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