Weekly Writing Challenge: Mind the Gap | The Daily Post.

Our blogs are platforms from which we share our experiences and opinions views. For Mind the Gapchallenges, we want to hear what you think about a divisive issue. Each challenge includes a poll where you can cast your vote along with fellow Daily Post participants. After you vote, expand the topic in a blog post. Be sure to visit other participants’ posts to get some healthy discussion going.

This week’s challenge

“…Miley Cyrus, the 20-year-old singer who began her career as squeaky-clean star of the Hannah Montana television series, seems to have ditched that goody two-shoes image for good with her recent Video Music Awards (VMAs) performance. Cyrus performed with Robin Thicke wearing a nude bikini, made suggestive overtures to a foam finger, and caused legions to break down and Google twerking. Did Miley’s performance cross the line, are we making too much of it, or are we missing a chance to have a more important conversation about race and sex? You be the judge….”

Well, to be honest, the music awards or almost any other similar bloated over-hyped form of ‘entertainment’ are not something that I would go out of my way to watch so long as I still had a good supply of pointed sticks to push into my eyes…but, yes, when this challenge came up, I did go and look at the clip in question online…

My first thought was that she needs to get a decent tailor and not some refugee from the Para Rubber cutting room: I mean the damn thing doesn’t even fit properly and looks more like a 1930s attempt at a incontinence nappy. If the intent was for Ms Cyrus to given the impression of being naked or close to it, then she could have gone a lot further and then, only then, perhaps have justified some of the massive outpouring of shock/horror…

My second thought was that this is all business and Ms Cyrus is an adult – if the measure of success for this exhibition was hits on various websites and possibility consequent sales of sponsors’ products, the I would assume that this diversion was wildly successful.

Thirdly I was reminded of Paul Henry’s comment, I think in response to yet another surge of Kiwi outrage over something not doubt important to those with nothing better to worry about, that ‘the people’ today seem to think that they have a moral right to be outraged.

Being on a roll with this thinking thing this afternoon, thought #4 was that all these extravaganzas are so hideously scripted and controlled that there was no way – perhaps unlike the accidental Jackson boob at the Super Bowl – that the producers and organisers of the award show – can’t really call it a ceremony after Ms Cyrus’ display – were not totally in on this from the start and thus if any one is to be held responsible, it is they…

And finally, the big missed opportunity…my fifth thought was that President Obama missed a major opportunity here: while Ms Cyrus was gyrating around the stage holding onto herself (maybe she had just over-hydrated and need ‘to go’?) he could have nuked Syria, sunk the Russian fleet (such as it is – remove the shiny paint and there’d be nothing to hold the rust together), bonked half the Senate and no one would have even whimpered…now he can’t even justify lobbing a few time-expiring missiles into another sovereign nation…

Ooops, one more thought for the Weekly Writing Challenge people: “…wearing a nude bikini…” Huh? Isn’t that just a teeny-weeny bit (clearly not polka dot) oxymoronic? She is either nude or wearing a bikini – I don’t think that you can have it both ways…

The bottom line is that the world will not end because Miley Cyrus grew up…all I want to know now is whether I can use ‘twerk’ in Scrabble…?