X Factor

I have recently been accused of being pompous, a snob and other such harsh names and the reason for this?
Not because of anything seriously wrong I have done or said, but simply because I have told people I dislike the programme, The X Factor.
This should be a surprise to me that my friends (arguably not so friendly) are feeling so strongly about a television programme, but it is not.
I recently decided to give it another go (last time I watched Gareth Gates was on it) and I wanted to see if I did indeed turn into one of the viewing masses regularly hypnotised on a weekend evening
I settled down on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn and waited eagerly to see if I was wrong and the viewing population was right and hoped that I was about to embark on a televisual feast and along with shopping, eating Italian food and Judge Judy I would be hooked.
I was wrong. I could not believe my eyes or my ears.
I appeared to be watching the sort of thing Victorians would pay to see when the circus came into town. This may sound harsh, but I do believe that the so called ‘Judges’ are turning everyday people into circus acts for our own entertainment. This surely is wrong in our politically correct society.
I saw prejudices all over the place; sex, gender, race to name but a few. I watched with horror at the fact that a young, barely out of school boy was filmed by the show as he got drunk and acted like an already ageing rock musician; only X Factor could manufacturer rebellions. Also, heaven help you if you are a woman of a certain age and size as you will have the pleasure of singing karaoke songs, or if you are a gay man you will be dressed in tinfoil suits and paraded around to sing novelty songs. I simply found all of these clumsy stereotypes shocking.
I have read recently that Simon Cowell (who I do think is a contemporary genius for regurgitating an old format into something that has swept not just the United Kingdom but internationally too) is returning to the show in order to save it from plummeting viewing figures. I do hope he is not successful in his attempts to resuscitate this show and it does fill me with hope then that I am not the only non-viewer.
Should the show go away, which I fear it will not for some time, will mean that I will not be asked daily, “who is your favourite” and “who do you think will win” and that will be a welcome relief.