Honey Boo Boo

[DainBramaged]

[ProdigalJunkMail]

1. fact in evidence #4,565,394,083

that our society is doomed...

sP

[HappyMe]

2. You're being too kind.

[hobbit709]

3. I watched about 15 seconds of that before I decided a test pattern would be more intelligent.

[DainBramaged]

4. 10 seconds

[Atman]

7. I tried watching...lasted 10 minutes.

The fact that these people were speaking English, but the show still required subtitles for them to be understood, is amazing. But what really kicks you in the gut is that you KNOW this family represents a large segment of America. Scary, scary stuff.

[Spider Jerusalem]

17. "needed subtitles"? REALLY?

I had a look at a clip, since I haven't seen this and had no idea what this was. And...I understood what they were saying just fine. No need for subtitles at all. I think that's more about the producers assuming people will need subtitles (I've seen people speaking British English dialects subtitled for Americans, too, though, who were perfectly understandable).

[Atman]

26. I didn't need them myself...

I grew up in Florida...I know the southern accent very well. But my wife would be one who would have trouble with it. She has some sort of block when it comes to accents and dialects. It's kind of funny...when we travel I frequently have to act as a translator. Films with heavy British accents will often wind up with Closed Captioning turned on so she can follow along. OTOH, she is learning French, and is doing pretty well at it. She'll be able to translate for me if we ever make it to Paris.

[DainBramaged]

5. 'Honey Boo Boo' finale ratings tie 'Animal Practice'

TLC’s rural reality cringefest Here Comes Honey Boo Boo aired its midseason finale to strong ratings Wednesday night.

HCHBB was seen by 2.8 million viewers, up 27 percent from last week, just shy of the show’s series high 2.9 million. Among household ratings, it was the show’s biggest night ever. The performance comes on the heels of TLC ordering more episodes (including holiday specials) of the polarizing-yet-popular show. The new episodes will air sometime later this year.

Incidentally, Honey Boo Boo‘s adults 18-49 demo rating was a 1.4 — matching last night’s rating for NBC’s Summer Olympics-promoted comedy Animal Practice. Should NBC hire Boo Boo and ditch the monkey?


http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/09/27/honey-boo-boo-finale-ratings/

[flamingdem]

33. We live in an anti-intellectual society

It's not so cute anymore

[SoCalDem]

49. Really sad when I think about how TLC was a main reason we first got cable

but back then TLC, A & E and Nat'l Geographic channels WERE about learning... sad to see what "conglomeration" has done to these once-great channels..

[NotThisTime]

59. What exactly is Honey Boo Boo?

[A HERETIC I AM]

90. A device designed by evil scientists to painlessly extract IQ points from your head without your....

realizing it.

[chemenger]

96. If you honestly do not know ... consider yourself very lucky!

n/t

[leveymg]

6. Child Protective Services.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

8. indeed ... n/t

[Oilwellian]

9. What?

You're implying there's child abuse in this family. Can you give us some specifics?

[ProdigalJunkMail]

11. yes, giving your 6 or 7 year old child Red Bull mixed with Mountain Dew

to 'juice them up' for a pageant should be considered child abuse...

sP

[obamanut2012]

35. Not even close

And no different than affluent families letting their small children drink Red Bull and coffee or soda.

Lots of families feed their kids horribly, but only the poor ones get accused of child abuse.

The show is crazy, but the family is loving and supportive of one another, and they have turned the Let's Laugh At The Dumb Poor Tacky Southerners "hook" of this show into something quite different. Also, Honey Boo Boo is the Anti Pageantchrist.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

67. it isn't about how they FEED them

it is that they are using it as a drug to amp up their kid... and i have a problem with ANYONE who does it. it is horrible for the kid. if you gave your kid cocaine it would abuse... this is just a milder form of the same mindset.

sP

[Jamastiene]

87. They also love Uncle Poodle.

They know he is gay and still love him. If only other families could learn to be so loving toward gay relatives. Honey Boo Boo said we are all a little bit gay. The kid loves her uncle and so does the rest of the family. If they are not bigoted, I can't work up any animosity toward them for just being themselves.

[FrodosPet]

91. What do they think this is, the 1970s?

When parents today treat their kids like our parents treated us on a regular basis, they end up as front page news.

"Sorry you had to wait so long in the car. Here, have a glass of wine to cool down. Now go out and play, just be back before 11pm." - Not an exact quote, but real facts from my preteen years.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

94. funny... while I may have spent some time in the car (on cool or cloudy days)

i was never given a glass of wine... and time to be home from playing was generally dinner time or dark if playing outside after dinner. i was never given high caffeine and sugar beverages EVER as a young child and we didn't even keep sodas in the house until I was in my teens. these parents are essentially drugging their kids, and if it happened to you in the 70's it was just as shitty.

on the other hand, we have gone too far the the nanny-bullshit. leaving your kid in the car on a cloudy, cool day is not dangerous... especially if it is just a couple of minutes. and i am not sure why kids don't go out and play. my kids are outside all the time... playing with the neighbors... in the creek... trying to figure out how to fish with kernel corn. they just come in when we call them or when it gets dark.

sP

[Atman]

12. Seemed like a very loving family.

(BTW, I made it through ten minutes by shear virtue of the "train wreck" factor. It was absolutely fascinating, I couldn't look away. I pretended to be looking for something else to watch, but I was actually watching it in the little Preview window on the channel guide.

In my brief encounter with the Boo Boo family, the emotions were all over the map. Do I despise these people? Do I pity them? I wonder if they vote? Why do I need closed captions to understand English? But I couldn't really see any reason to pity or despise them. Okay, maybe despise, but I got over that quickly. After all, they seemed like a very loving family, and they seemed pretty happy. They certainly didn't seem to be "harming" the child, not physically, at least, and I doubt they were doing her emotional or mental harm, either. In fact, maybe they're doing a good thing for the child (didn't she just die, or was that an internet hoax?) by helping to get the family out of their situation.

Out of what situation? Again, they probably would stand out at your wedding or a bar mitzvah up here in New England, but they were makin' it work. And they hooked up with a TV show and are making some bucks. Good for them. Pity on America, but good for them. Now excuse me while I go wash out my head. Ouch...that was painful.

[obamanut2012]

36. Honey Boo Boo Chile isn't dead

[lumpy]

47. I agree and well said Atman

n

[obamanut2012]

34. Why?

[Jennicut]

10. My daughter is the same age as Honey Boo Boo aka Alana.

She is fed red bull and mountain dew by her mother to get fired up for a pageant and she obviously is fed really unhealthy food. The family is probably earning some money from this which will help them but putting a 7 year old in the spotlight like this makes me really uneasy. I think she is actually a cute kid, does some things that remind me of a normal 7 year old. But that mother...she is a strange one.

[Atman]

15. Okay, maybe I spoke too soon.

As I said, I have only seen ten minutes of the entire series, so I obviously don't have the complete picture. If they're feeding Red Bull and Dew to a 7 year-old, oy. That's fucked up.

Still, though, does it really cross the line from horrible parenting to child abuse? I think it is a tough call, and not so cut n' dried. But I do think that family needs to make their next big bucks by going on as a team on The Biggest Loser.

[Jennicut]

21. I don't think she is an abusive parent deliberately.

She needs some help. But she does seem to love her daughters. Maybe ignorant parent?

[Atman]

25. Ignorant parent.

Not well educated. Really only knows what she sees on TV and on the shelves of the local 7-11 -- Red Bull and Mountain Dew, and twinkies and snack food. Big brand names that permeate her life. This may be a bit presumptuous, but if she reads anything, she probably got it on a rack within close proximity to People Magazine. Or on down t' the beauty shop. So she's seeing the same ads. The crap she watches on TV (like Honey Boo Boo) is all sponsored by these same mega-brands. Oh, and look! There's the Red Bull Swamp Buggy on display at the mall! She probably doesn't think there is anything unusual about it at all...she's not reading "Parenting" magazine, or checking the American Association of Pediatrics online in her efforts to raise little Miss Boo Boo.

ON EDIT: Sadly, I watched part of the clip posted below. I still couldn't make it through ten minutes...barely five, I think. Anyway, I was surprised at the huge stashes of toilet paper and detergent, but I noticed something I wouldn't have expected -- the TP was all Seventh Generation, or whatever it is...recycled TP. I would have expected a Charmin or some top-tier brand. Just goes to show. And shows to go to the Boo Boo's house when the apocalypse comes!

[HiPointDem]

92. i'd rather have that woman for a mom than kate gosselin. the boo mom at least seems to have a

generous spirit and not to be hung up on impressing other people or conforming to the tightest-ass version of middle class culture going. and that family (at least on-camera) laughs real laughs when they're together and seem to like each other.

but yeah, i only watched it once & i didn't want more.

i enjoyed the gosselins when it started cause they kids were young & cute & there were money-saving tips and it seemed like the story of a family with a lot of kids trying to make it.

then they went hollywood, quit pretending to be religious, and it turned into a voyeuristic exploration of a family going down the tubes and again, i didn't want to watch.

i hope this family will maybe escape that fate...just take the money and run.

[LynneSin]

16. Have you seen these kiddie pagaents - the kids do Pixie Sticks like they're snorting cocaine

Yeah I've seen the show and it's wretchedly horrible.

THey had a seen where some mommy showed up in a room full of tots and the mom had these giant Pixie Sticks. For those who don't know what pixie sticks are they are these straws filled with color sugar. You'd think you were in some VIP backroom at Studio 54 circa 1977 the way these kids gathered around and downed their pixie sticks.

This obviously cannot be healthy for them!

[Jennicut]

20. Those are reserved for Halloween night for my daughters.

Sugar makes them bounce off the walls. I have watched Toddlers and Tiaras with my daughters a few times. The parents are so abysmal. The controlling and yelling at the kids makes me cringe. Watch Dance Moms for some really crappy parenting though. And a terrible, abusive teacher.

[eShirl]

53. and it's not just any sugar, either

it's the same type of sugar (dextrose) they use in "glucose tablets" for diabetics to quickly bring up their blood glucose level when they have hypoglycemia. because it's that fast-acting!

[HiPointDem]

93. omg -- sugar. clearly child abuse.

[LynneSin]

13. Oddly enough if you compare Honey Boo Boo to Mitt Romney - she would look like this

[trumad]

14. Holy Shit...just watched it.

Turned it off when they got to the neck crust. Puked in my mouth.

&feature=related

[progressoid]

23. I should not have watched that.

No no no no no.

[Atman]

27. That was disturbing.

People watch this every week? All the way through? OMG.

[Comrade Grumpy]

43. Joel McHale on "The Soup" refers to her as "the human thumb."

[cthulu2016]

44. You didn't make it to the pig shitting on the dining table?

[hifiguy]

60. Mother of God!

I need a shower.

[Baitball Blogger]

18. I'm afraid her pagent days are counted.

[HopeHoops]

19. Well THAT can't end well!

[kctim]

22. The expected responses here

are why small town and rural folks don't vote for liberals/progressives.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

24. you win this thread ..n/t

[Oilwellian]

28. Indeed n/t

[DainBramaged]

32. I don't think it has ANYTHING to do with the responses here

[kctim]

42. It has everything to do with it

Liberals/progressives see a white, small town lower class family and they automatically label them as dumb-ass rednecks who vote against their own interests. They attack the family for how they live their lives and the things they do. They do this based only on typical stereotypes they have created in order to disparage people who dare not fall in line with far-left beliefs. They do this having not watched the show or lived such a lifestyle.

Who should they vote for? The people mocking them and mandating how they should live their lives? OR The people who tell them to live it however they choose?

It is funny, however, watching all the excuses pop up when actual facts tear down the stupid stereotypes. I guarantee hearing how this family lovingly embraces their gay uncle made many go WTF.

[eShirl]

55. also, please don't speak for all liberals/progressives either.

[hifiguy]

62. Letting a pig take a dump on the dining room table

and laughing about it has nothing to do with politics.

Ye gads.

[DainBramaged]

63. You really have a shitty attitude towards 'us liberals'. Your assumption makes an ass of you not me

Most of the people here where I live (including myself) are white small town lower to middle class families.


How fucking dare you compare US to your jaded view of Liberals.


Those who vote against their own interest aren't just rednecks, they are simply ignorant, and they come from EVERYWHERE and all classes in America.


get a clue.

[obamanut2012]

37. Yup -- contempt, ridicule, and unneeded pity

[Cali_Democrat]

38. Ya...people don't vote for liberals/progressives because of what they read on Democratic Underground

[kctim]

40. Um, no

We don't vote for them because of their "WE know better than you" and "WE are better than you," high and mighty elitist attitudes that they display everywhere.

Your weak narrow minded attempt at a sarcastic remark only confirms that.

[Cali_Democrat]

41. As far as I'm concerned, conservative hillbilly rednecks can go pound sand

Fuck 'em.

[kctim]

46. Hence the reason for my initial post, Einstein

[Cali_Democrat]

48. Conservative rednecks are a danger to this country

They're also shrinking dramatically in terms of their numbers. As the country becomes more diverse and more progressive, they will be relegated to the dustbin of history.

It's funny...if you go Canada and Europe, they also deride conservative hillbilly rednecks...especially those from the South. Maybe the issue is not with those Canadians, Europeans or liberal Americans, maybe the problem is that conservative hicks are dumber than a sack of hammers.

Well they always have their guns they can clutch tightly as they go to bed at night.

[DainBramaged]

72. Go piss on "us" in some other thread.

Honey BooBoo and her family are the extreme end of the political spectrum. If it wasn't for TLC going off the deep end to gain viewers they'd still be in their own little toilet and you wouldn't have us to lecture.

[Spazito]

71. "We don't vote for them..."

Interesting turn of phrase. Who is "we" and who is "them" I wonder.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

73. Seems pretty obvious. Doesn't it? nt

[Raine]

76. Voting against your own interest because you let other people's attitude influence you

is being stupid and I don't care who you are or what part of the country you're from it makes you ... STUPID.

[eShirl]

54. small town, rural liberal/progressive here

please don't speak for all small town and rural folks. mmmkay?

[snooper2]

61. you can be trashy wherever you live...

I have seen the nicest places in the country and shitty trash living in the middle of a condo...

It's all in the person's self respect

[trumad]

65. Well OK...

Then I guess I'll embrace the Neck crust.

Rural folks who vote against their best interests are fucking idiots.

[JI7]

66. and Negative REsponses to KArdashians and JErsey Shore ?

are you saying this honey boo boo family is representative of most small town rural people?

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

68. Oh horse shit! There are lots of complex reasons rural folk vote for right wingers. This has nothing

to do with it. What you think poor whites don't sit around making fun of ''hoity toity pussy ass gay bitch'' liberals? It goes back and forth. Ever since so called "reality TV" blew up. People on this site have been ridiculing it. Regardless of the freak show featuring rich or poor people. You never fail to show up with your right wing talking points on hand.

[2ndAmForComputers]

82. Thank you for your concern.

[MadrasT]

29. What the fuck is a Honey Boo Boo?

Something tells me I don't want to know.

[Atman]

31. There is a clip upthread a bit. BEWARE!

It's worth trying to see how long you can make it through. Like one of those electricity things at the state fair, where you see how long you can hold on as you get slowly electrocuted.

This really is one of the hottest new "hit" shows on television right now. Really.

I dare you, try and watch some...

[Initech]

30. A dollar doesn't make you holler???

[Duer 157099]

39. No, *this* is a honey boo boo

Sticky situation: Truck spills 14 MILLION bees and their honey in crash

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2013995/Truck-spills-14-MILLION-bees-honey-Idaho-road-crash.html

[Alduin]

45. They're from a small town?

I thought they were "special."

I feel bad.

[DisabledAmerican]

50. My Uncle banned that name in our Household

Whatever you do not mention that show or the other TLC show with Todddlers and Crowns. The only thing worse then that is Dance Mom's and Larry The Cable guy having a history channel show.

[pansypoo53219]

51. like jersey shore.

only thru SNL do i have any idea or this crap.

[Arugula Latte]

52. I know I'll get flamed as being an elitist scum for this but

wouldn't you think if you had a severe weight problem (related to your diet and apparently not to a medical condition) and were likely headed for diabetes and/or stroke and/or heart attack territory, you'd do everything in your power to ensure that your child did not go down that road?

I know my son got a bit chubby at one stage in his life several years ago and his pediatrician warned us to watch it. We changed his diet a bit. Now he is very athletic, muscular and healthy. Doesn't H.B.B.'s mom wish the same for her daughter? And you can find foods that are healthy and affordable at the same time, especially if you can afford big bucks for pageants.

on edit: Of course this is equally the father's responsibility!

[porphyrian]

56. Isn't that a summer camp song?

Little Honey Boo Boo, hopping through the forest, scooping up the field mice and bopping them on the head.

Maybe I dreamt it.

[frogmarch]

57. I think the song is

Little Bunny Foo Foo. Now look what you've done. You've ruined Bunny Foo Foo for me forever! lol

[porphyrian]

58. Oh, right. Sorry about that.

[DainBramaged]

64. One of my daughter's faorite kid songs, got sung to her often

[onethatcares]

69. and this is why our country is farked

beyond all hope, all sense of reason.

[tblue37]

70. And yet she has given us my favorite nickname for Mitt: "Money Boo Boo." nt

[DainBramaged]

75. I LOVE IT

[tblue37]

79. Great--help spread it around! I think ridicule can be a very

effective way of defanging dangerous people like Money Boo Boo.

[Raine]

74. I tried to watch a couple episodes but it was literally so stomach turning

I had to change the channel.

[lonestarnot]

89. LOL

Me too! The one I saw was them eating roadkill.

[Historic NY]

77. It should be RMoney boo boo.

[tblue37]

80. Adding the "R" kinda blocks the immediate identification of him with the Honey Boo Boo nickname. nt

[Comatose Sphagetti]

78. Small Town

I'm a progressive from a small, rural town in Indiana. We liberals are very, very rare here. For the most part I'm surrounded by Obama hating, Fox News followers.

Any discourse involving politics quickly degenerates into Hannity/Beck/Savage sound bites. Little old ladies on Hoverounds and farmers paid by the Government not to grow crops bitch about socialism. The regulars at the local diner rant about, "that ni##er President." Anyone believed not to proclaim Jesus Christ as their personal savior is suspect. Some are stockpiling weapons and eagerly awaiting the day they can join in with other true Patriots, kill liberals, and take their country back.

I don't know about your small town, but mine is an island unto itself. Intolerant and fearful of "outsiders" and "the other." A place where gay, minority, free thinking and progressive youngsters get the hell out of as soon as they become of age.

[ancianita]

83. I lived around people like your Indiana example, as well.

Also, families just like this one in various places in North Georgia and North Florida. Something just objectively seemed "off" about their obsessions with guns, or food, or coupons, or just hoarding stuff in general. They almost to a person lived on properties and houses cluttered up with old stuff they just couldn't part with. It seemed ignorant and disorderly on a level I just couldn't accept. There's a kind of insularity in low population density areas that seems to invite these "interests," for lack of a better word.

If I ever, ever said a kind word about anyone black, they'd angrily turn on me, and tell me that I was lucky the South wasn't lynching "n****r-lovin' " whites anymore. Whites in these places will verbally bitch-slap you in a heartbeat if you say one liberal thing. You're always 'suspect' afterwards, never are never accepted into their world, and constantly poked when they outnumber you, to provoke and dare you to stand up for your non-racist or progressive ideas, so that they can have a group har-dee-har.

I guess seeing this video reminded me of those places and experiences. Nice people in light exchanges, but irrationally hard over race, morals and gender rules.

[brettdale]

84. Any parent who gives a young child Red Bull

Is puting their child's health at risk.

Why the hell would this channel give air time to these parents.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

85. just look to the OP to see why

train wreck and all...

sP

[ThatsMyBarack]

99. Welcome to DU, Comatose Sphagetti!

Sorry to hear you're stuck where you are.

[Throd]

86. It is OK to pass sneering judgement and contempt for them as long as they are white.

[HiPointDem]

95. +1.

[obamanut2012]

98. Seriously

This thread is really kinda bad, and wouldn't be allowed if it was about a poor and tacky nonwhite family.

In other news, TLC begged for another season, and the Honey Boo Boo Family are reportedly getting six times more money an episode, with an educational fund also being set up for the kids, so yay for them.

[L0oniX]

88. A great movie was made to address this sort of thing ..."God Bless America"

Yep it's on Netflix. Well worth watching.

[Atman]

97. I thought you were going to say "Idiocracy."