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Readers Speak Out on the Joshua Gracin Controversiesby David Bloomberg -- 04/04/2003
View Printable version of this article My article yesterday on The Joshua Gracin Controversies definitely provoked a lot of comment. Most people who e-mailed felt the article was well-balanced and objective, addressing the different points of the controversies – which is good, because that’s what I was going for. Some brought up additional points, and a few disagreed with me vehemently, especially over a couple places where they didn’t like my word choice. Let’s take a look at a sampling of these e-mails. Kelly said: Really, his fans should be ashamed of themselves for keeping him out of the bottom three last night. They did him no favors.This was indeed one of my main points, and I think it deserves to be pointed out again. Despite what several other people e-mailed me to say, I am quite sure Simon was referring to Josh when he said there was somebody on the couch who knew he deserved to be in the bottom three. No, I don’t think it was aimed at Rickey, because I don’t think Rickey believes that – but Josh certainly recognizes that he didn’t do well this week. Josh had to sit there and watch others go into the bottom three even though he sang worse – much worse, in fact – than they did. That cannot have made him feel good. Still, not everybody thinks he should go. For example, Jodie said: In my opinion, Joshua did really stink up the place on disco night, but I don't think he necessarily deserves to go...yet. Over previous weeks he has done a great job, and he obviously is a talented singer especially when he sang Country Rock. I think he deserves to stay at least one more week.This thought was also shared by Christina: All Josh fans knew disco would be a downfall for him. But none of the idols are going to release a disco album, are they? Well, at least I hope not. … And quite frankly, I am sick of people looking past the fact that he did great on his other performances. … All of his fans voted for him because we KNOW Josh will give another stunning performance next week, and we can't wait to see him again. You think if Clay had a bad performance, that *gasp* no one's going to vote for him? You can't blame his fans for not wanting him gone because of ONE bad performance. People are just using this "military" excuse. Please tell me if this happens to Ruben you’re not going to say, "People pity him for his weight," or if Clay has a bad performance go, "People are pitying him for his nerdy looks."The point is good that fans will vote for people even when they don’t do well that particular week, and I alluded to it in the original article. However, Josh being a Marine in a time of war goes far beyond Ruben’s weight or Clay’s “nerdy” looks. Indeed, many people wrote to say that Josh’s status as a Marine is what is keeping him around, and likely will continue to do so beyond where his talent should put him. I should stress that nobody is saying he is untalented (for example, there haven’t been any Nikki McKibbin comparisons), just that he has not shown himself to be as talented as others in the competition. Still, there are some people who think that he is actually milking his Marine status, such as Shauntel: I feel like Josh has been exploiting his Marine status and for that reason I do not like him. Maybe some other time it may have been somewhat appropriate to use that status to show himself to be strong or whatever other traits people would attribute to being a Marine, but in this war time it is wrong. The nation is at battle and he is using that for his advantage.Ronda, who spent 10 ten years in the military, had this to add: My problem is he keeps saying, "I'm a Marine..." Well then if you are so loyal to the Marines, this is not the time for him to be jumping around and "Celebrating"... He's well liked, and has been promised a shot on AI3 if he is called to duty... He should do the honorable thing and excuse himself...And Daisi had this to say: This is SUPPOSED to be a TALENT SEARCH, not who has the most visible day job (that they are NOT DOING). This contestant, the USMC and Fox are all making mileage off this kid’s commitment to the USMC. The USMC sees the recruiting value – oh really, 20,000 snot nosed kids all think that you join the military and then "follow your dream"? Out of 200 Marines in Josh's unit, only 79 are on base doing the job for the 200 – 1 is living in a mansion, moaning about missing his wife and child, when family members have informed people on the AOL threads that his wife and child visit two times a week.This leads us naturally to the discussion of whether or not Josh should be in Iraq – or at least with the rest of his unit. Let’s take a look at some of the comments, both pro and con. We begin with C.S.: This has nothing to do with Josh being a marine. Some people are causing a ripple about it, but, when and if his unit is deployed, Josh will go. So far, that hasn't happened, and may not. And, if all those patriotic folks, and I'm one of them - think that his one gun is missing, then may I suggest that they run to their nearest recruiting office and enlist? This may sound harsh, but, I've just about had it with people's comments about Josh and why he isn't over there in Iraq. So, I pose this question? Why aren't they? Josh is a fine Marine, and is a great morale booster for the military right now. And, that may be a much better contribution to the war effort than sitting on base in his barracks. View Printable version of this article
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