Do we REALLY need doormen for bandwagons?

Thank you, NPR.

For some reason, doormen have been on my mind. Then I thought back on an NPR program that discussed the impending New York City doormen strike. An 'expert' was explaining why the residents of some of NYC's most elite hotels and apartments are shaking in their boots, stating that these men provide information, a sense of familiarity, and community to those who depend on them.

Which brings me to Betty White's recent triumph on Saturday Night Live. Naturally, there are those who need to be contrary about her appearance. (Un)fortunately, I came in contact with two morons who had to play devil's advocate. One was a local morning DJ on a country music station; the other was Access Hollywood's Billy Bush. Their consensus - the SNL writers used Betty White's age to counterpoint their risque dialogue.

A giant Marty Feldman eye roll on that one.

Obviously, these two got on the bandwagon a bit too prematurely. Because if they were paying attention pre-Screen Actors Guild speech, they would've known about the following Betty had due to her using her age, her candy-faced appearance, and gentle voice when tackling risque and touchy material. Clearly, none of these dudes knew about her recurrent appearances on Craig Ferguson, where she wasn't above pretending to be a drug mule. Or the Funny or Die video where she used very salty language when interacting with Ryan Reynolds on The Proposal set. Or when she was a murderess on Boston Legal. Or her recurrent role on Bold and the Beautiful as Stephanie Forrester's glacial, battleax mother.

And let's go back to The Golden Girls, shall we? Instead of watching the edited syndication versions of the show, why not rent the unedited original episodes on DVD. Golden Girls was my Saturday night viewing as a kid and I marvel at how many jokes and sexual references went over my head. And yes, some of the juicy stuff was uttered by Betty White.

And in case these douchebags missed The Golden Girls, they could go back to The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Yes, there were a variety of women on the show - prim working woman Mary; wisecracking working woman Rhoda; insecure homemaker Phyllis; innocent chronic girlfriend Georgette. But then came Sue Ann Nivens - steely, hotsy totsy working woman. With the other women, there was some rivalry (Phyllis and Rhoda), but there was a feeling of comradeship. Sue Ann, on the other hand, was disinterested in being 'one of the girls'. She was satisfied with being the alpha female and unapologetic when she was on the prowl. Maybe Sue Ann was jealous of Mary Richards, but she never languished in that feeling. If anything, Sue Ann played harder and more ruthlessly to compensate for Mary's sweetness. And she got as much as she gave, as proven by Murray picking Sue Ann up and sitting her in a multilayer cake.

So for people to accuse SNL of taking advantage of Betty White for cheap jokes... these losers need to get a life and preferably, some context. One of the reasons why people are rooting for Betty White is because she doesn't take herself too seriously. She takes the work seriously, but never herself. People are tired of being told that people like Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Cameron Diaz, etc. are funny. People saw funny on Saturday. Betty's enthusiasm, professionalism, and dare I say, chemistry with her fellow cast members were some of the reasons why people loved her on SNL. And personally, my favorite skit was the Scared Straight skit, teaming her with Keenan Thompson. There was an undeniable chemistry between these two which almost overshadowed the WIZARD OF ASS bit.

I said ALMOST.

So in closing, people shouldn't jump on bandwagons just because it's the thing to do. Know what you're in for - Betty obviously did, hence her continuing to get gigs at 88. And please... stop making this woman into America's Grandma. I don't think she's a grandma in real life, so why should she shoulder the burden of other people's perceptions and expectations, especially the lazy-brained?