The Chronicles Of…

I was just watching (like literally just now) “So you think you can dance” with Fiona (don’t ask why… we just were… I don’t know…)

Like all these reality, make-or-break, competition shows like Australian Idol etc… The judges always have the job of telling people they haven’t made it, and if you’re like Kyle Sandilands you’ve got no problem doing it in the most obnoxious, arrogant, and pig-headed way… but most judges try to do it as gently as possible…

However, in trying to be gentle, judges often say quite dumb things… One contestant on “so you think you can dance” unfortunately just wasn’t good enough, and during the obligitory conversation with the judges after the performance, the dancer asked to get straight to the point. He said “if I’m unsuccessful just tell me, and that’s enough.”

To which the female judge replied “You haven’t made it. but no one here is unsuccessful. You danced on this show and you are successful.”

What?

Surely no one auditions just to be told you can’t dance…? This dancer obviously wanted to make it through to the next round, and if he made it, I guess he would have said he was “successful”, and having not met his goal, what is he????

A successsful failure?? Yeah… nice one.

I’m all for the whole break-it-gently thing, and there’s no need to be bullish about the whole thing, people have feelings (even dancers…); but to say someone’s successful when their obviously not just seems quite… well… patronising.

It doesn’t do anybody any favours when you say things like that. It’s actually more loving to just tell it like it is, so you can deal with it…

Proverbs 27:5 “Better an open rebuke than hidden love.”