:strum: (^.#
Big Brother 6
An Open Letter To "The Friendship"
Commentary by Eleanor Meilinger
September 16, 2005
Dear Maggie, April, Ivette et al:
When you elected to participate in this season of Big Brother, you probably weighed the benefits and pitfalls of exposing yourselves to public scrutiny under such extreme circumstances. The drawbacks of becoming instantly recognizable for what is becoming a more and more dubious endeavor must have occurred to you. Yet, knowing that the negative aspects far outweigh the benefits for all but the ultimate winner, you chose to place yourselves under the microscope and invited the American public to pass judgment on your appearance, your character and your value as a human being. This should not come as surprise. It is the very nature of reality television. You put yourselves out there for whatever reasons seemed logical at the time and now you will reap the rewards of the pseudo-celebrity you so readily embraced. To paraphrase Robert Burns: "Oh, the gift of God to give us, to see ourselves as others see us."
Apparently, members of the so-called "friendship" feel cheated and manipulated because you are learning that this gift is not all it's cracked up to be. I don't envy you the further discoveries that await your crew once you exit the Big Brother world for good.
Throughout the summer you have gotten hints of how you are being perceived and obviously, none of you are too happy about the verdict. Your reactions to the little bit of information you have gleaned and the assumptions you have made only serve to support the conclusions that we viewers reached early on. Despite all of your protests to the contrary you are not saints. You may be fine, upstanding members of the community and hold admirable, grown-up jobs (pharmaceutical sales is a calling?) and be well-liked by everyone in your immediate circle of family and friends but through your actions, and more importantly, your words, you have revealed your true colors and they are dark indeed.
Some of the bitter utterances that have been recorded when things did not turn out in your favor are destined to become reality TV legend. The foul and vicious nature of some of the conversations rival anything ever conceived by Howard Stern. The vitriol unleashed by such self-proclaimed "good" people is inexcusable. You can attempt to blame stress, alcohol, emotional warfare and unfair representation for your words and actions but in the end, we stupid, uneducated, unemployed "assholes" were clever enough to see through your sham long before you confirmed our suspicions. As a group you created such a bad initial impression that people were quick to cast aside their prejudices and rally to support Kaysar. Never before has one group generated so much animosity. Soon you will learn just how misguided your decision to "play the game" truly was.
A few members of the initial alliance are already on "the outside" and enduring the stigma of being linked to your continuing descent. They have to watch helplessly as you further degrade yourselves. On September 21st, you will all discover the high cost of being a contestant on a reality television show. For your particular group, the struggle to regain some semblance of normalcy after you return to your "real" lives will be more difficult than any in the past. Make no mistake; the animosity you encounter will be due solely to your own words and actions - not skewed perception or misrepresentation due to creative editing by the producers. In fact, you should consider yourselves lucky that all of the viewers were not privy to the revelations and conversations witnessed by those who subscribed to the live-feeds. You'll find that years of altruism and serving the greater good will count for nothing once you have declared "F*** you, America!"
No amount of prize money will undo the damage caused by your own sense of self-importance and holier-than-thou attitudes. Regardless of who wins the prize, you are all losers. Something tells me that the money will run out long before you live down the animosity generated by the mean-spirited attacks you launched while doing time in the Big Brother penitentiary. Even the people you called "friends" in the house bear the brunt of your actions and will likely try to disassociate themselves from "The Friendship" as quickly as possible. I can hear the denials and excuses already. I only hope for your sakes that the relationships you had before entering the competition will be strong enough to endure the upcoming repercussions.
Instead of returning as local celebrities you can expect to be considered public pariahs; instead of being welcomed with open arms you will more likely be considered persona non grata at most social events. And yes Ivette, people will recognize you and want to say "hello" - and they will remember what you threatened to do when that happens! Maggie will return to the label "maggot" and will be hard-pressed to live that one down -especially considering her manipulating in the final days of the game. April will be haunted by her contradictions and crude remarks. Ivette will have to suffer the consequences of her bad decisions. Janelle on the other hand will exit the house dignity intact, with plenty of true friends (and a pretty large number of admirers). She'll get the offers and reap the rewards of being on the show. One more blow for you guys I guess.
Then again, I am one of those Americans you have cursed and condemned - so what do I know?
I know what's in store for the remaining members of what has been aptly dubbed the "Fiendship". There will be consequences for all that has transpired. America does not take kindly to the kind of insults and threats thrown out by your little clique. Fans are very outspoken and take their shows seriously. One glance at the message boards confirms that tempers are running high. Things are bound to get ugly and when they do remember:
You started it.
Eleanor has taken the summer off to work on her own sit-com "Reality Rehab" Anyone interested in signing up for treatment can reach her at:
escapefromreality@verizon.net.
http://www.realitytvcalendar.com/commentary/em/em-bb-09-16-05-p3.html 
