Jodie Marsh: Bullied

Blimey. I'm agreeing wholeheartedly with Germaine Greer.

Jodie Marsh is the subject of the most vicious piece of bullying I have ever seen on the programme. It's textbook. The Bullies have got her so utterly and completely cornered that the girl has absolutely no chance of escape. Her habits are no worse than any of the rest of the group, and yet at every turn she is criticised. If she tries to defend herself, she is told to shut up, and that one of her faults is that she doesn't listen. When she cries she is called manipulative, but when she fights back and makes Barrymore cry, she's told she should be ashamed of herself. When she makes a friendship, the girl is pulled away from her, and she is told that she is a bad influence, that nasty girls like her should not mix with "angels" like Chantelle.

And the power of The Bullies (the Three Uglies - Burns, Galloway, Barrymore) is such that not only are people cowered from speaking in her defence, but they join in with the assault - anything in order that the guns are not turned on them. Because whilst Jodi is getting it with both barrels then they are not, and that's all that matters.

And as for Jodie. Greer gets it exactly when she says that "she can think clearly and express herself exactly." Even whilst the hate and aggression is being levelled at her by a group of slavering henchmen, she argues with reason and a calmness that quite frankly I doubt I could muster. In fact, no doubt about it, I would not be handling this as well as she is.

And the saddest thing is that this is so typical of human nature. Who has not seen this scenario played out in real life, in the playground, in the office, in the family living room? No doubt everyone has their reasons for allowing such bloodletting to take place before their very own eyes. Perhaps they argue to themselves that it's none of their business. Perhaps they tell themselves that Jodie Marsh really is the devil incarnate and deserving of every bit of hatred fired her way. Perhaps they kid themselves that the bullying isn't as bad as it seems, and even not really bullying at all. Perhaps they are incapable of empathy and what happens to another human being has no affect upon them. Perhaps they cannot think for themselves and if some plastic-surgery monstrosity in a gorrilla fur jacket tells them to hate somone, they cannot help themselves. Or perhaps they are just cowards.

And what is really depressing is that if someone did stand up for Jodie, and if they did it in such as fashion as to get the guns turned on them, then in all probability Jodie would slink away and leave them to it. That's no judgment on Jodie. That is, as far as I have personally witnessed and experienced, just what seems to happen.

Sometimes I don't like being a member of the Human Race.

Update:

Anybody who watched Jodie's eviction last night can be in little doubt that that is a woman seriously depressed by her experience.

My prediction of what will happen in the BB house now - The Three Uglies will play nice. It will be important to them for it appear as if all the tension was caused by Jodie. But I don't think they'll be able to help themselves. Especially monkey-coat man. He's probably already sizing up his next victim.