I love me some Project Runway. I know it’s not apparent by
the way I dress in real life, but I do have an inner fashionista that would
come out if I had the money and enjoyed shopping. I honestly just want
wonderful, stylish looks to just magically appear in my closet. Hello, Tim
Gunn, make it happen!
But my lack and want for style is not why I’m writing this
post. After watching Thursday’s episode of this current season, I found myself appalled.
“Was it the fashion?” you ask. Ugly
garment walking down the runway? No, neither of those. Was it the total hissy
fit Ken Laurence had when the other guys were trying to move into his room?
Kind of.
I’ll give you the Cliff Notes version of what happened. Ken
was mad that two guys had to move into his room. So when they got there, Ken
stood in the doorway ironing (seriously, who irons?) and wouldn’t let them
pass. This ticked Alexander Pope off and when he finally got through he slammed
the ironing board and iron out of his way (also inappropriate behavior). Well,
this caused Ken to have a total meltdown, yelling at the producer, telling them
to “Get someone up here, now!” I mean he went total diva. And this wasn’t the
first time Ken went postal on someone. I can remember three times this season
that he has been a complete bully, raising his voice to other contestants that
didn’t do things his way.
Now we’ll get to the part that upset me. After this
confrontation, the producers decided to give Ken a room to himself. WHAT?! So
let me get this straight, the guy who went total cra-cra gets a room to
himself? Doesn’t that sound like positive reinforcement for very bad behavior?
It does, because it is.
Is this what we’ve become? We’re so afraid of the person who
yells the loudest that we just accommodate them to get them to shut up. I guess
the squeaky wheel does get the oil. What happened to consequences? No, we can’t
do that, he’ll have another meltdown. Which made me think of all the parents I
used to see at the library, the ones who tell their child it’s time to leave
and that child makes such a scene that they stay. Is this what we’re teaching
our kids? And what happens when these kids become adults? Well, they act like
Ken.
I’ll just let you chew on that for a while.
And in case you were wondering, Ken got kicked off during
that same episode for a very ugly dress. I don’t know about you, but I call
that karma.
Ken getting ugly with another contestant because she wouldn't tell him what Tim Gunn told her.