reality...autism?

One of my sons went through a time where he wanted to become famous. For what, he had no idea. He just knew that he wanted to be on t.v. and make lots of money. He didn't like the idea that he actually had to DO something in order to achieve this fame. He just wanted it. I didn't think too much of it at the time, I figured it was something he would just grow out of. Kind of like the time he cried because I wouldn't get the rest of the family together to blow trumpets when he entered the room(that was his "I want to be a king" phase).

I can understand where he gets this celebrity idea from. Our country seems to be inundated with the idea of it. Magazines, television, even the evening news has succumbed to the lure of celebrity. Not a day goes by without hearing the latest "Brittany" foible, divorce gossip, or baby news. The more lurid the news however, the more press it gets. This in turn has spawned a new type of television show-reality t.v. A type of programming where people will do the darnedest things in order to either make a name for themselves, or in the case of dimming stars...keep their name in the spotlights.

We have had "The Osbourne's" "The Hogans" "The Kardashian"s" "The simple life" "American Idol", "Survivor", "Big Brother", "Celebrity mole", "Celebrity fit club", "Americas next top model","Real housewives of Orange county""Celebrity Rehab","The real world",....I think you get my point, and I think I can understand where my son gets his quest for fame from. I am just hoping that his desire for fame simply means that he would rather live his life rather than watching other peoples on t.v.. I can't say that I blame him.

I couldn't imagine having a camera crew following me around. Frankly, I think that people would be bored watching me do the laundry. Although they may find humor in watching me try to vacuum up the 50,000 pounds of Styrofoam chips my son "accidentally" dumped all over his bed. He woke up today looking like a very low budget dandruff commercial for the feeble minded. I fear that I will be cleaning up Styrofoam for the next 10 years or so, as the inside of the vacuum seems to be the only place it won't go. (as a point of interest, it sticks to everything else, pets, body parts, teeth, ceiling fans....the possibilities are endless.) Although I don't consider this "must see" t.v., it is certainly more entertaining than watching a celebrity detox off of opiates. Those silly celebrities...they just don't know how to quit partying! I say just give them a few pounds of Styrofoam and a vacuum, or my household to run..oh but wait-we already have a show called "survivor".

What truly boggles my mind is that these reality shows are deemed acceptable. People actually want to watch them. Somehow, addiction, meanness, jealousy and just pure vile behaviour sells. They wouldn't be on t.v. if there wasn't an audience. What I would like to know is why is there an audience?

When one of my sons started school a few years back, it was noted that he self stimulated. Meaning that he would flap his hands whenever he was distressed or excited. I was asked if I wanted them to "redirect" his hands when he did this. When I asked "why", I was told that some parents find this behaviour embarrassing. Embarrassing. Lets see, he doesn't do drugs, he isn't obese, isn't trying to win a million dollars by slandering and back stabbing everyone around him all in the name of a "game", he's just trying to cope. This is reality and it doesn't sell. Perhaps if I added some Styrofoam?