Takes

LET’S BLAME THE ‘VICTIMS’: Spotlighting the Low Tastes of Our Fellow Man
“A study by the Surgeon General has determined that idiocy released into the atmosphere by ‘trash TV’ kills brain cells even among people who don’t watch such shows.” Naturally, there is no such study. But it would take something on that order–a television equivalent of passive smoking–to energize the debate about TV’s gamier talk shows. As things stand, it’s hard to sustain much concern for the brain cells (or, for that matter, the souls) of the people who choose to watch the likes of Jerry Springer and his repertory company of exhibitionists.