Trolling “The View”

"Karen Levson Amster, come on down..you've been trolled!"

You've been called a self-obsessed, shallow, ultra conservative woman!!!

WTF????

 You've been accused of having zero self-esteem(not since I stopped attracting sociopaths in my 20's, thank you very much!) and  of being  blind(not since I found a good ophthalmologist and HA!! can YOU spell that word without assistance?)

I've practically  been accused of being a Trump-loving MAGA-hat wearing moron.

On..of all places..George Takei's fan page.

First of all, I don't remember joining that site--never watched a single episode of "Star Trek"--but I'm fairly certain that the actor would not attract comments from the kind of Karen I am  accused of being.

It all started when I gave a very honest answer to his very simple question: "What do you think about Meghan McCain leaving "The View?"

(Which I'll answer here in a minute)

As of this morning, I am considered "most relevant" of all the comments, as almost 150 people--and trolls--have reacted.

You know how much I love having my thoughts misinterpreted?  About as much as I love lima beans and rained out beach days.

I have been watching this controversial show ever since Barbara Walters was still very much in the public eye and claimed she "had an idea for a show--different women, different backgrounds, different points of view" that she'd aptly call "The View."

I've loved the show, I've hated the show.  I vowed to never watch again, and  I've  pouted when the DVR malfunctioned and I didn't get that day's taping. I have understood why my Republican friends petitioned to cancel it, and I've felt jealousy when other friends scored tickets to a live taping, where I never could.

I developed my own word-nerd system for remembering the names of all 23 permanent hosts.  (Four names start with "S"--Sunny, Sara, Sherri, and Star. Three with an "R"--Raven and the two Rosies. Three with a "J"--Joy, Jenny, Jedidiah. Three "M's"--Meredith, Michelle, Meghan.  Then you got two "A's"--Ana and Abby, two "C's"--Candace and Caryn, if you count Whoopi's given name, which I do, and then my totally random and meaningless acronym, "P-BLEND" (for Paula, Barbara, Lisa, Elisabeth, Nicolle, and Debbie)

I loved all the SNL send-ups--who can forget Debbie Matenopoulos as she wrestled a box of rabid raccoons or Fred Armisten's dead-on impersonation of Joy Behar's non-chalance.?  So what?  Who cares?... that Rosie O'Donnell made fun of Donald Trump's hair and misogyny regarding the Miss Universe pageant that started a war on the set..and possible a four-year-long one in the real world?

My husband and son, political junkies both, get most of their news from Pod Save America and Pod Save the World.  (Jim is the most-informed person I know, and gets his info from The NY Times, Washington Post, MSNBC,) where I get my dinner table hot  topics from "The View."

  I found myself alone in the den, clapping wildly after hearing HRC's kick-off campaign speech on this very show.

It's restored my love for smart political discussions.

So back to the original post that may make all my liberal, like-minded friends lose their collective breakfasts, yes..I actually like Meghan McCain.

Not her poutiness.  Not her rude interruptions.  Not her angry outbursts  and eye-rolling, 'though truth be told, I've seen good friends act like that in public restaurants if the server accidentally brings them a dented fork.

I hate all of that, but I love the controversy and excitement she brings to a show that needs it.  I like her versatile vocabulary, her hipness and her hippiness. I love how she experiments with hair and make-up daily, how she isn't afraid to express her voice that's so different from my own.  I love that she's a Republican who hates Trump as much as I do, who deplores racism and xenophobia, who defends the LGTB community and  who openly shames body-shamers. She's got an infectious laugh and an intelligent wit, and I'm going to miss that.

And I pretty much said all of these things on Takei's page, where folks  acted as 'though I had written that" Mitch McConnell is the most impressive person in the Senate."

In MY OPINION, Meghan McCain, despite her occasional hissy fit, is the most watchable and entertaining conservative the show has ever had,   with Jedidiah Bila in second place.  Ana Navarro is brilliant and hilarious, but she's not that much right of center. 

The other conservative panelists were poor fits, for the most part.  My liberal friends LOVE Nicolle Wallce on her own show, but she was Dull City on "The View."  There wasn't a day that went by where she didn't use the phrase "I have a two and a half year old at home" and.. Raven Symone was..was..hmm.."She's So Silly!"

Rosie Perez was obsessed with Floyd Mayweather and spoke of little else.  The stay-at-home Mom watching daytime TV does not care about boxing.

Star Jones was obsessed with her closeted husband and ripping off wedding vendors. Viewers were happy that she gained her health after weight-loss surgery, sure, but we also wanted her to indulge in her beloved  bacon again--to "cure" her ...obnoxiousness.

Candace Cameron Bure voted for Trump!

Elisabeth Hasselbeck couldn't get voted off the island fast enough.

Do any regular viewers really think Meghan McCain contributed less to the show than these women did?  

I have a really good memory, which is why I recall so many details about my" viewing" experience.

Who, besides me, can never forget Barack Obama talking about Snooki?

Or Whoopi and Joy storming off the set after being subjected to Bill O'Reilley's anti-Muslim rant?

Or..the most memorable guest in "The View's" history..my husband, Jim Amster!!

My Mom always hoped my skill at writing parodies would gain national attention, and they did--for ten seconds in February 2014, the day before she died.

Whoopi was about to go to break, and before the commercial aired, an entry for "The View Needs a Theme Song Contest" did.

I was about to leave the room when a voice caught my attention, Jim's voice, lovingly crooning the words I had written to the music composed by Bob Lyons.

"Barbara had a thought some years ago..it turned into a brand new show..a motley crew..she called "The View"!

The unaired lyrics went on to say, "there is Whoopi's" wit" in the air..(a reference to all her self-deprecating flatulence humor) there is Sherri, sharing her hair"(her wigs were as important as she was to the show)   "Jenny's jokes!" (like the one where she asked why social media was so focused on the fact that Michael Douglas's newly-diagnosed Stage 4 throat cancer was due to cunnilingus, quipping "don't guys have enough excuses not to do it?")  such jovial folks..Barbara' soon retiring..let's take on "The View!"

And this wasn't even my first brush with fame on this show.

Back in 2007, there was another song-writing contest that was a bit more challenging.  Entries could be no longer than thirty seconds and had to be written to one of the four holiday classics mentioned.

  (I chose "We Wish You a Merry Christmas")

The song had to include the name of every panelist, in addition to several multi-syllabic key words.

My non-winning entry went something like this(I'll use caps for the mandated key-words)

This season will be real merry..thank BARBARA and JOY and SHERRI..make eggnog!  Make some for WHOOPI..and ELISABETH too! Hope Santa stops in the garage with a GRAND CARAVAN by DODGE, FIVE-STAR RATING, anticipating..this GRAND CARAVAN..has SWIVEL AND GO..and STOW  AND GO too..and a BACK SEAT TV where's we'll all watch THE VIEW!

Wow..did I ever get off track!!

From trolling to caroling..what a loop.

But I don't regret defending Meghan McCain..I'll miss her.

Take a little time..(a LOT of time) to enjoy "My View"