Jon & Kate Plus 8: Watch but Don't Judge

Love them or hate them, people love to judge Jon and Kate Gosselin from TLC's hit TV show Jon & Kate Plus 8. The now defunct fan forum over at the Discovery Health website was loaded with comments from people who were disgusted by Kate's outbursts and husband bashing, as well as comments from those who were disgusted at people who passed negative judgment on this family. The question is, how can one watch a televised train wreck and not pass judgment on it?

Jon & Kate Plus 8 was once an endearing show about the struggles of raising a set of sextuplets and twins, and has since evolved into a show that resembles Kate & Kate Plus Kate. The show still revolves around the children, but more often than not, the focus lies on Kate's talent for demeaning her husband, her self-professed OCD, spazzing out over the most trivial details, and how her erratic behavior is being passed down to her children. With all of this immature behavior emitting from Kate, are viewers really expected to watch without judging? According to countless fans, apparently so.

As soon as some poor soul calls this family out on their poor behavior, fans come rushing to the side of the Gosselins. "How dare you judge..." is usually the first comment out of their ironically judgmental mouths, followed by, "Well, obviously your home life is perfect otherwise..."

First off, while no marriage or family is perfect, no one should talk to their spouse the way Kate speaks to her husband. Call it self-control, class, mutual respect or maturity, constant demeaning and publicly yelling at your significant other is in poor taste. Many Kate-supporters claim her reactions are very normal and almost boast about how they often react in the same manner towards family members.