 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Unethical Website of the Month May 2005
Votefortheworst
After a year of identifying unethical websites, Ethics Scoreboard has discovered that the species comes in a few distinct breeds. First, there's the phony website, usually the product of misguided humorists, occasionally part of a too-clever ad campaign, and sometimes an outright trap hiding a pernicious scam beneath. Then we have the website that sincerely advocates unethical and even outrageous conduct because the creator erroneously thinks such conduct is ethical, admirable and justifiable; "Fthevote" comes to mind. The third variety encompasses the corrupting websites, places which openly encourage unethical conduct, like student plagiarism, often for profit. Finally, there are the trouble-maker websites, which essentially aim to rain on someone's parade out of spite, nastiness, or simply because they can. The people who create these unethical websites would be pushing over gravestones or putting Ex-Lax in brownies if cyberspace didn't provide them with an expanded power base.
Which brings us, unfortunately, to "VotefortheWorst," a trivial website on a trivial topic run by (so far) anonymous self-satisfied wastrels who are obviously reveling in the sudden surge of media attention to their juvenile quest to sabotage TV's "American Idol" by making sure that the least deserving performer wins the competition. Here is their own argument for the site's existence:
American Idol is the most watched television series in the world, but a pattern has emerged that makes the show pretty boring. The producers and judges pick one contestant to "pimp" and this contestant ends up winning, making American Idol less a show where the viewers pick the winner and more a show where the judges and producers get the viewers to vote for who they like. Borrrrrrring.
Let's stop here a second. If the producers and judges on the show have picked one contestant to "pimp," why is it impossible to say at this point who that one contestant is? The fact is that the show's judges have been critical of all contestants at one time or another. Meanwhile, the assertion that Americans, the most ornery contrarians in the world, will submissively vote for whomever TV talking heads promote is, just to name one recent example, conclusively disproved by the absence of President Kerry during the past four months.
Continuing…
So, here at votefortheworst.com, we have a solution. Help us by voting for the worst that American Idol has to offer. That's right, vote for the bad contestants. Everyone knows that the best and most interesting part of the show are the bad auditions. Record numbers of people tune in to see who will become the next William Hung, but why let it stop there? Bad contestants sneak through the cracks all the time… It's entertaining and hilarious when these contestants make it past more deserving contestants. Besides, if you liked Nadia, Anwar, Jessica, or any of the people who have been kicked out, this is a way to send a message. The producers have been pimping Carrie and the rockers to win this show since the beginning. If you're an Anthony or Vonzell fan, I hate to break it to you, but they won't win. Why? Because the producers don't want them to. They'll be gone in the next few weeks, and you'll be sad. Why not just Vote for the Worst?
Those of you who think you can decipher this convoluted logic are welcome to try. The nonsense hits its zenith when it argues that anyone who was upset that a contestant they thought deserved to do better was voted out of the competition should "send a message" by helping to vote other good singers out of the competition. What is the message being sent, exactly?
This is all subterfuge. The real rationale for the site is revealed in the last couple of sentences:
…This show is not about finding the next big superstar. Your favorite contestant probably won't win, and will probably get a record contract anyway if they're good enough. Besides, TV is supposed to be about the entertainment value, and what's more entertaining than a fish out of water outlasting the big fish and sharks? Why bother voting for someone talented when this show can be so much more fun to watch? Scott Savol outlasting Carrie Underwood or Bo Bice? Now that's good TV!
The bottom line with VotefortheWorst, as with all of the trouble-maker websites, is power. These people want to use the internet to exert influence over someone else's activity because they can, and because it makes them feel like they are accomplishing something. As pathetic ego gratification stunts go, launching such websites is certainly better than making computer viruses, but the motivation is the same: destruction. Sure, "American Idol" is just a TV show, but for the contestants, winning the competition is their life's dream. "Why bother voting for someone talented?" Oh, I don't know…perhaps because in a competition the best competitor deserves to win? It never seems to occur to destructive site creators that if they don't like or agree with an activity that other people care about, the rational, reasonable, and ethical thing to do is to ignore it, not attack it. But that's because such people, usually impotent and unproductive in their own lives, think they gain in stature by tearing down the activities and achievements of others.
More from the site:
4/27/05
More news on the 27th. We did it! Now only was Scott safe, he was in the top 3! And Constantine went home. Wow. Thanks a lot to everyone for their support. VFTW is getting so huge that I can barely keep track of all of the newspapers and radio/TV stations mentioning us now. Thanks to every media outlet that finds us interesting enough to talk about, we love you. It's because of you that we had the support this week. Let's keep this up, we're doing a great job!
Yeah, you're doing a terrific job, all right. Of course, nobody knows whether the subversive voting advocated by your site has actually affected the results. Scott Savol, your designated "worst contestant," was voted out of the competition the same week that the website received its greatest level of media publicity. If it hasn't had an effect on the voting, then you've only managed to taint the achievement of Sevol in getting as far as he did, and talented or not, he is a human being who has feelings and a right to self-respect. If your cyber-stunt has warped the results, then talented performers who have put themselves on the line, worked and practiced hard, and subjected themselves to high pressure live performances followed by public critical dissection, have been dealt undeserved failure simply because you think it's cool to manipulate people's lives.
Yechhh.
I really don't care who wins "American Idol." The final outcome of the competition is not even a speck on the horizon of my interests. But lots of people do care, and the contestants care, and they have every right to care, just like I have a right to care about how the Boston Red Sox do in the baseball season. Caring about things, even silly and inconsequential things, gives life zest and passion and fun, and those who derive their enjoyment from gratuitously frustrating the passions of others make the world a little, and sometimes a lot, worse for everyone. Call them unethical.
More precisely, call them jerks.