Discrimination sucks. Older people shouldn't be overlooked for a job to go with a younger applicant. Women shouldn't face a glass ceiling. Men shouldn't be discounted excellent single parents, the list goes on. But when it comes to a beauty pageant, are all bets off?
Take for instance Perez Hilton's damning decision to fail Carrie Prejean (Ms California) in the final round of the Miss USA contest. He asked her a loaded question, one which he had a serious bias in, and she was given a zero on her answer for answering it against his belief system. What was it? He asked her if she agreed with same sex marriage. Perez is openly gay and human nature tells you any question against his choice of living was bound to hurt her. It is less than ironic that he chose to ask only her the question based on her open Christian values. So the landmine was set and she answered according to her values and convictions.
The question is now, do you penalize someone for disagreeing with you, or do you give them points for standing up for their beliefs? After all, Perez stood up for his. Perez commented after the event, "She lost it because of that question. She was definitely the front-runner before that."
Now this is a beauty contest. One that at one time was based on paleolithic underpinnings. A 'guy thing'. Over time it's become a politically correct wash. The word beauty is dropped and de-emphasized. What are we judging these ladies on now? What standards are really in play? Isn't the point of the pageant (remnant description of the event) to use your own personal discrimination? Or is it to judge based on looks, talent (use that term losely) and smarts? You can go so many directions with this. The funny thing is no one ever cares about these contests until somone finds something offensive to stand on a soap box and complain about.
This question is going to be played out for some time now. This explosion is in a soft state. It should erupt and grow due to what appears as 'discrimination' to many legal analysts. Perez would be wise to how much he reflects on this situation as he is a celebrity blogger that is now becoming the news instead of one reporting on it. I mean to say, 'everything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.' Mark my words, this is only the beginning. Legally this Miss USA dust up will go no-where, but our society is now beginning to examine the issue of gay marriage in a way that draws every one of us into it like it or not. For now... the question remains, did Perez Hilton discriminate?
-Lars Hindsley
