Three Horrifyingly-Bad Reality Shows

Every so often, I take a flip through the channels and try to watch the television shows friends or acquaintances are raving about. While some reality shows such as Deadliest Catch or Ice Road Truckers are educational to a certain point and marginally interesting, the other reality offerings on television are simply horrifying. Here are my picks for the three worst offenders.

Jersey Shore

First of all, local residents have been complaining for years that cast members do not actually live on the Jersey Shore. A quick Google search reveals that Snooki graduated from Marlboro High School in Marlboro, NY, JWoww is from Franklin Square, NY, and Vinny graduated from the University of New York at New Paltz. While lots of people live in Jersey and commute to New York City to work, this is not the case. These folks are New Yorkers and have no problem embarrassing the real inhabitants of the Jersey Shore for profit.

Secondly, the use of the word 'Guido' and 'Guidette' and the huge over-exaggeration of Italian-American stereotypes is simply appalling. There are hundreds of ethnic slurs that are simply not used in polite conversation, let alone on television. One slur is not somehow 'less bad' than another. This show isn't just low-brow and vapid, it's offensive.