YouTube: Reality Show Contestants Aren’t Here to Make Friends

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Sometimes it’s the simplest video cut-ups that are the most effective, and here’s another one of those “wish I’d thought of it” clips. Via the blog FourFour, it’s a montage of reality show competitors (see how many you can name, kids!) insisting they’re not interested in attaining any level of chumminess with their fellow contestants. Sure, I knew I’d heard that statement a few times on TV, but not this much:

After a while, the continual repetition starts to seem more like a desperate effort at convincing themselves than us. But they’re right, “this is not America’s Next Top… uh, Best Friend” (my favorite moment of that whole clip). Therefore, consider me inspired. I’ve decided to adopt this attitude from now on, and so to all you sassy commenters (and Mother Jones employees who find my presence on your hallowed web pages offensive): I didn’t come to the Riff to make friends! I came here to, uh, write about French techno, I guess. And win the million dollars. I get a million dollars for this, right?

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PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

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