Monday, November 24, 2008

Polly Villifies Staunch Professional

One of my cyber-contacts; the lovely Geri D from IBW started a thread entitled Rude Competition Winner On Late Late Show and of course this attracted my attention. I was rewarded with a link to a YouTube video of the said incident starring Mr Pat Kenny on Ireland's longest running chat show.



Like him or loathe him Pat was obviously taken aback by this lady's response to her good fortune and in my humble opinion was rather rude himself. As a professional entertainer one would hope that his professionalism would prevent him from reacting in such a petulant manner; after all it is possible that the lady was in a state of disbelief at receiving the call.

Perhaps it was all too much for her; and to be honest she did sound as though she might be of an age-group which mightn't be too pleased to receive such an invitation. I do however think that perhaps she could have been a little more gracious about not wanting to attend next weeks toy-show; though Mr Kenny could have prompted her. That way he would have saved face for them both while allowing another competition entrant to benefit by her refusal.

We all go through difficult times in our lives and yet we seem to forget this in the face of unexpected circumstances; whether good, bad or indifferent. When things are going hard for us we sometimes forget that other people mightn't be having much of a good time either and yet we automatically expect to be treated with respect and courtesy; while at times forgetting that the other person concerned is also worthy of such treatment.

It takes very little effort to at least try and be nice rather than indulge in selfish or spiteful behaviour. Mr Kenny's remark that he would save the tickets for someone who would appreciate the opportunity to go to the toy show wouldn't have been offensive had he not ripped up the tickets concerned and made unpleasant remarks to and about the lady on the other end of the phone.

Personally, I would not like to be in the shoes of either party concerned. The poor woman whose good fortune it was to be offered tickets to the toy-show and €10,000 will forever more be referred to as 'The Rude Woman Who Humiliated Pat Kenny On The Late, Late Show'. Mr Kenny on the other hand will weather the storm as always and his latest faux pas will no doubt be forgotten by all except the lady called Barbara who lives in Cork.

Surely it should be remembered that she did have a right to refuse part or even all of the prize being offered to her. Did she deserve to be treated with such disdain on national television; by supposedly seasoned professional who should have been able to rise above his obviously battered ego?

That; I'm afraid, is my two cents on the subject let's hope that this incident dies a death quickly and that Barbara enjoys spending her prize money! I, for one, offer her my hearty congratulations on her win. I would however; recommend that in future she refrains from entering televised competitions; lest she win another and finds herself being vilified once more...

Polly Pierce
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