The Alert Parent: My New BFF

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I’m not sure what happen to poor Paris Hilton, but her first best friend forever, the one she picked after hosting her first reality show, didn’t pan out. According to Paris, she was “hungry as a tiger.” Translation: Paris thought the girl was too needy and cut her lose.
Now without a BFF, Paris is looking for a new one.
Paris claims she is looking for a new BFF, but as she talks about the prospective candidates, she calls them “kids” and makes them perform embarrassing or inappropriate tasks each week.
Before doling out the next challenge one night, Paris said, “I am always testing these kids, especially when they don’t realize it.” Okay, don’t you agree with me that something is terribly wrong with this picture?
As far as the test for the week, she decided (or maybe it was the producers of the show) that any BFF of hers needed to “have a stomach for anything.” Each contestant demonstrated her fortitude by drinking a shot of liquid pickles, sardines and caviar made by Paris herself.
At some point during the show one of the girls said, “This is the coolest thing that is going to happen ever in my life.” Now, that made me sad.
I can’t remember if it was either after or before drinking the slop that she had all the “pledges” recite the following: “I pledge to you, Paris, sincerely from the heart. From this day forward our best friend party will start. I love you, Paris.”
When she kicks people off the show, she flippantly says, “TTYN.” That’s text talk for “talk to you never.”
Near the end of the show, she had one girl wait in her room. The poor “kid” had overstepped her boundaries at a party the previous night and Paris was going to teach her a lesson. The contestant was led to believe Paris had selected her to receive a prize. The “kid” couldn’t contain her excitement. It didn’t take long for her excitement to turn to shame. Literally. She was to take a “walk of shame” in front of all her peers, Paris and the cameras. Paris had prepped all the other contestants, saying, “I want you to all give her a ‘shameful look’ as she walks in front of us.”
Near the end of one of the shows Paris tells us, “I need more dirt on these kids.” And I’m guessing she’ll use whatever tactics she can to do just that—get more dirt, humiliate and test her new batch of wannabes. That’s not my idea of what BFF is all about. Sorry, Paris, but it seems to me like you are trying to find your next best play toy. And from the looks of it, you have more than one—at least for a season.
The real reason Paris keeps looking for a BFF on TV is that it’s a venue for her products. She’s been quoted as saying, “It's a great platform for me, because I can show a lot of my products. All the kids have my perfume. They're all wearing the clothing line, they're all wearing my shoe line, they're all wearing my purse line, my belts, my accessories, Paris Hilton sunglasses. It's kind of like having a free commercial.” You think?
Your tween might believe it is all about having a new BBF. My suggestion is find out if your child is watching this show. If she is, you might want to do a lot of talking—about the games being played, the manipulation, the mistreatment of others…and that’s just for starters.

Allyn Evans
info@allynevans.com
www.thealertparent.com