Four reasons to love this Go Go Juice loving, pageant crown winning spitfire.
By Geoffrey Kidwell (actor)
Honey Boo Boo Child.
The words alone make my spirit sing with rhapsodic joy.
I'm sure you remember from a previous post that I am a huge devotee of Honey Boo Boo Child, AKA Alana Thompson, the wannabe pageant beauty from McIntyre, Georgia.
In fact, I think it's fair to say that I basically discovered her. (Read: totally NOT fair to say).
It's true!
Marvin Gaye discovered Stevie Wonder.
Diana Ross discovered The Jackson 5.
Geoffrey Kidwell discovered Honey Boo Boo Child.
You're welcome, America. You're welcome.
Lately though, a lot of people - namely the sort of people who watch the news and seem to live off a liquid diet of Haterade - have their underwear in a bunch, expressing concern that the family is being exploited and that Miss Boo Boo herself will probably grow up to become a cocaine snorting prostitute.
Need an example? Take a look at this blog on the SF Gate website.
The blogger's main point seems to be that, "the show basically says that red necks are fat, foul, uneducated, and poor."
This sentiment is patently false! The show isn't calling all southerners fat, foul, uneducated and poor. It's calling this one particular family fat, foul, uneducated and poor.
Wait....
Is that any better?
Nevertheless, I am here today in defense of Honey Boo Boo and her family. I think the show is brilliant and I'd like to tell you why.
Here we go.
- June, Honey Boo Boo's mother, believes in teaching her children the importance of responsible personal finance. Here they are doing some extreme couponing at The Piggly Wiggly. Notice how the family turns a normal outing at the grocery store into a lesson in practical mathematics.
- The family believes in reaching for the stars - in recognizing your dream and then getting to work to achieve it. Here they are preparing for Honey Boo Boo's upcoming pageant.
- It's a family of entrepreneurs. In one episode, they open a lemonade stand in order to raise money for pageants - no government hand outs for this family. It's a show Republicans can really get behind!
- And on a more personal note, I love the show because Honey Boo Boo is a fierce advocate of gay rights, a fact brought to light during this clip in which she declares that there, "Aint nothing wrong with being a little gay. Everyone's a little bit gay." Exactly, Honey Boo Boo. Exactly.
Have you picked up on why I love this family and this show?
Sure they may express their love for each other in a, shall we say, unique way. Yes, they could probably benefit from putting down the Mountain Dew. And - I agree - playing in the mud doesn't sound like my first choice in family fun. But the fact remains that the members of the Thompson family love and support each other through it all. It's just that their love for each other includes a lot of roadkill, transfats and four wheelers.
So what?
Stop judging and get on the bus!
Namaste.
AND NOW...THE WEEK IN WHITNEY HOUSTON!!!
Whitney Houston singing Stevie Wonder's, Love's In Need of Love. WHAT?!?!?! I'm in Heaven. Pinch me.
GEOFFREY KIDWELL Geoffrey is an actor/manny in NYC. He spends his days just trying to figure it out.
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