EDITED: I’m self-deporting my own post. If you didn’t see it, don’t worry — you didn’t miss anything interesting or any juicy Firebagger-on-Obot combat. It was just a dumb rant about targeted advertising that vomited up for my consideration a TLC show about an unfortunate dude with an awful medical problem.
Being the cynical, self-absorbed jerk that I am, I focused on the prurient shit and passed right over the fact that TLC is exploiting — and I am helping them exploit — someone who may very well have asked to be in a freak show, but only because that’s the only way he could get the help he needs with this country’s cruel and fucked-up healthcare system.
A couple of comments made me think about this in a new way, and I appreciate that. I apologize for subjecting earlier viewers to the original post. Please transfer the “assholes” and “general stupidity” tags from the targeted online marketing team to the author. Thanks.