OK, who else has been compulsively watching the Gosselin's divorce meltdown? It's hard to believe that people can be that awful. I've been trying to think of life lessons or a blog topic or ANYTHING that will rationalize the inordinate amount of time that I've spent following them. But I'm drawing a blank. Anyone?
15 thoughts on “Open Thread About the Gosselins”
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Apt. 11d 
I don’t know that I have any life lessons for you. But I’m obsessed as well since they live fairly close to me and strike me as similar to many of the people I know around here. Good times. I think everyone likes watching a train wreck and like to think that under similar circumstances, one would behave better. I’ve personally always disliked Kate, but now they both seem just insane to me. You have to think that the spotlight of the tv show was in part to blame for their falling apart. Would Kate have been such a perfectionist were she not in front of the camera? Would she have been nicer to Jon? Would anyone would have looked twice at Jon were he not a tv star? As parents to multiples, I’m there would have been rocky parts of their relationship, but maybe they could have held it together.
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All I can do is hang my head in shame that I’m right there with you. We don’t have cable, so I’ve never even seen their show, but I’ve been reading *everything* about them. š¦ It’s been said before, but I think the kids will bear the brunt of it. What in the world are the chances that those kids will turn out capable, confident,…normal?
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Not I. I’ve been able to ignore it, and find it one of those stories I can easily ignore. I’m proud of myself, too :-).
Do we need to come over there and do an intervention? Talk about id’ing gifted children? inequality in schools within a single school district? religion? something to take your mind off the train wreck?
Can we talk about another reality family? The folks on “swapping wives” and the kid everyone thought had launched himself in a box attached to a helium balloon (but, fortunately, turned out to be safely hiding in his attic)?
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How arrogant would I sound if I admitted I had to Google a few names to figure out who you were talking about? Pretty damn arrogant, I suppose.
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I will make a substantive comment — I do think the Gosselin affair reminds me something about psychology/observation that I’ve always believed. It simply isn’t possible to observe people who know they’re being observed without altering their behavior. Ergo, reality shows will inevitably change the lives of those who participate. That realization makes me pretty much unwilling to watch reality shows, even when I think there might be some good to come out of them.
I am watching project runway now, but don’t see that in the same light, because the people are participating in that show in order to alter their lives.
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Hey, how come Laura/Geekymom & I have the same typepad icon on my computer? Does anyone else see these (designs next to our comments)?
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Hey, how come Laura/Geekymom & I have the same typepad icon on my computer?
It means Laura/Geekymom is in your house hijacking your wireless network.
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“It means Laura/Geekymom is in your house hijacking your wireless network.”
Hmh, maybe I should look outside and she if she’s lurking (but, perhaps, I’m lurking at Geekymoms). She has more internet technical chops than I do, though, so I think we should focus on her.
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Does anyone else see these (designs next to our comments)?
Before today, the only one I ever saw is the one that would show up next to my comments; everyone else’s were blank. I was certain I’d accidentally downloaded some weird app or whatever. I’m not crazy about the icons, but I’m glad to see them everywhere now, as that means it’s not just a problem on my computer.
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Schadenfreude. That’s an explanation more than a rationale, but it’s the main draw, I think. I suppose you could turn the Gosselin debacle into a meditation on how much your life doesn’t suck, by comparison.
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I like my little symbol.
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I watched the show a few times, during the first season. I thought it was boring, so I quit. I then saw it a few time last season, and couldn’t believe how much of a big commercial the show was, instead of that endearing family of 10.
But yes, I did see Jon on Larry King. I did watch The View when Kate hosted. But mostly, I was devastated when I found out that they were breaking up. I don’t even know why.
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I’m bad too…Gosselin obsessed. I’m glad I’m not the only one. I have always been on Team Kate, even before the douchebaggery of Jon.
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My fourteen-year-old daughter used to love the show for watching the little kids. Then the reality of Jon and Kate’s life intruded and we don’t really watch the show at all.
She thinks Jon is a colossal jerk and I have to say that his behaviour really hasn’t impressed me. Nobody looks good under the relentless lens of reality TV, mind you, but he’s gone to a special effort to be really annoying or so it seems!
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Have to say that I’ve never watched any of the show nor do I follow the divorce stuff, although I can’t help but be aware of it going on. I wonder if it’s not having kids? That is, do those who don’t have/want kids actually watch the show? (Just wondering.)
Not sure there’s any kind of lesson that can be drawn from it, other than, don’t turn your family into a reality show.
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