Honey Boo Boo, the joke is really on you

I’m not a big fan of reality television.

Sure, I liked the first season of ‘Survivor’ – before the participants got mean and fame hungry.

I’ve tuned in to ‘America’s Next Top Model’ from time-to-time – but mostly because I get a kick out of watching a grown woman fall apart because they make her get a haircut.

I’m fairly addicted to ‘Hoarders’ – mostly because whenever I watch it I have a sudden urge to clean my house (and that rarely happens).

I even admit to tuning in to ‘Jon and Kate Plus Eight’ back in the day – mostly because he was passive aggressive and she was a control freak so it made an interesting psych experiment.

I have never been a fan of ‘American Idol,’ ‘The X-Factor’ or ‘Dancing With the D-List Stars.’

I’ve never seen an episode of ‘Keeping up with A Mother that Exploits Her Children’ – you probably know it as ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ – and I never saw the appeal of ‘Jersey Shore.’

Still, when the ‘Here Comes Honey Boo Boo’ frenzy hit I couldn’t help but be intrigued. I mean, who doesn’t like to watch white trash make fools of themselves?

Guess what? It turns I out I don’t. I know, boggles the mind.

‘Here Comes Honey Boo Boo’ follows former ‘Toddlers and Tiaras’ stars Alana (Honey Boo Boo) and her mother, June Shannon. The rest of their family is also involved – but Alana and June are really the only reason to watch.

Alana was supposed to be the star of this show – and the kid does have . . . energy . . . for lack of a better word. That’s usually because her mother has pumped so much caffeine and candy into her that she has nowhere to go but the stratosphere.

The thing is, I only watched one episode – and I’ve already figured out why America is infatuated with this show. It’s because watching this family makes everyone else feel better about themselves.

This family IS entertaining. The problem is, they’re entertaining because it’s like a train wreck.

In other words, the Shannon family isn’t in on the joke, they are the joke.

If you remember back to when ‘The Osbournes’ became popular (they really are the start of all this), fans enjoyed watching Kelly and Jack fight, Ozzy struggle with the remote, his fishing pole, dog poop – pretty much everything – and Sharon encourage her kids to be rotten.

Was it mean to make fun of Ozzy even though he was struggling with substance abuse problems and long-lasting problems from that substance abuse? Probably. I laughed right along with America, though.

So what is the difference between the Osbournes and the Shannon family?

Millions of dollars to start. And to finish? Ozzy Osbourne realized he was the butt of the joke and played along with it. The Shannon family – if the episode I watched is any indication – does not have the mental capacity to realize that a joke is being perpetuated on them.

‘Here Comes Honey Boo Boo’ is the most recent flavor of the month. TLC announced today they’ve ordered more episodes and specials. The network is desperate to keep the family on the air because they know.

What do they know? 

They know that this infatuation will fade.

When the Shannon family is done getting all the attention; when they’ve spent all the money from the three seasons of the show (my prediction for how long it will last); when they’ve taken a good, long look around at what is left and realized that that America is done with them; what is going to happen to them then?

I actually think ‘Here Comes Honey Boo Boo’ is mean.

And it’s not mean because it makes fun of rednecks – every group gets made fun of by another group – after all.

It’s mean because one day this little girl is going to grow up and realize America was making fun of her – and her mother not only let them but encouraged them. That’s going to be a hard lesson for poor little Alana Shannon.

When will the American public learn the lesson?

What do you think? Is ‘Here Comes Honey Boo Boo’ a form of entertainment?