Stupid piece in Newsweek

Here's something in the Periscope section of the 7/28 issue of Newsweek. I note it just because it's so very stupid:

I'm Sick of Your Dirty Job
From "Dirty Jobs" to "Deadliest Catch," "Ax Men" to "Ice Road Truckers," the airwaves are overrun by TV shows about people--er, men--with dangerous, physical, soot-collar jobs. If people want to come home from a hard day's work and watch other people put in a hard day's work, more power to them--these shows attract tons of viewers. What's annoying is how they suggest there's a fascinating character study happening beneath the surface. What makes someone do this for a living? they seem to ask. We've got a theory: money, and lots of it. Want to see a really dangerous job? How about a woman working for minimum wage at a big-box retail store who can't afford health insurance? Marvel as she scans groceries, aggravating the carpal tunnel for which she can't go to a doctor. It might not be as visually compelling a show, but it would certainly be more relevant."

Seriously, this is probably the most idiotic thing I've ever read in Newsweek. It can't be a serious attempt to change viewing habits, because the show he suggests airing is just too stupid for words: hmmm, let me think...yeah, I bet maybe viewers watch shows about soot-collar jobs and not about Walmart employees because people enjoy learning about work that is unusual and outside of their normal experience. So, then, what is the point of this piece? Are we supposed to feel ashamed because we're not devoting all our interest to hypothetical low-wage, be-carpal-tunnelled female employees of big-box retail outlets? Are we, in our disgust, supposed to turn our backs on shows about more interesting people than this poor woman who can't go to the doctor? Or are we to lament the country's economic woes, wrought as they are by WAR-MONGERING WHITE REPUBLICAN MEN, that force so many people--er, women--into low-paying jobs?

Tags: carpal tunnel , Dirty Jobs, Newsweek