“Head, Gut, or Groin” is a segment on America’s Funniest Home Videos.” I couldn’t believe it as I cycled between news programs with my morning coffee today. Couples actually compete by guessing which part of the anatomy someone in a home video will be hit. Then they run the video to see who was right.
I’ve never been fond of “America’s Home Videos” because they almost all document someone falling, crashing, hitting another person or object, or otherwise hurting or being hurt. This is sold as humor and is very popular–consider how long that show has been running. But this segment takes it into the realm of sport, a violent spectator sport, a sport that teaches our kids that violence is fun and funny.
And that bothers me.