Sunday, April 19, 2015

An American sports reporter is videotaped acting very nasty


Britt McHenry is a reporter for the American cable channel ESPN - a sports channel.

Apparently her car was parked illegally and a towing service took it away.

This is a tow truck:

When McHenry came to get her car back from the towing service, she verbally attacked the person at the business.

This has become a hot issue in the USA because it shows the arrogance (feeling of superiority) that celebrities sometimes have and it just shows a human being at her very worst. McHenry has not even had the decency, apparently, to apologize to the woman she attacked.

Also, it points to the fact that even if a person is angry he/she does not have the right to attack another person in the way McHenry attacked this poor woman. We don't teach ethics or kindness in this country. 

Furthermore, it looks as if there was an attempt to cover up this story - it took several days for the videotape to finally go public.

http://bustedcoverage.com/2015/04/16/britt-mchenry-tow-truck-video-gina-michelle/

This is a good opportunity, however, for you, the English learner, to be exposed to some truly nasty words in the English language. Here are some things McHenry said:

McHenry: "I'm in the news sweetheart. I'll fucking sue this place."

The term 'sweetheart' is often used toward someone you love or feel affection for. Here the word 'sweetheart' is being used 'sarcastically'.

to sue - this means she will hire a lawyer and take the company to court to punish the company. But, the company didn't do anything wrong.  So this was perceived as an example of a celebrity threatening an innocent person with the power that a celebrity has.

fucking - many low-class people in the USA use the word 'fucking' as an adverb. I'll fucking kill you! I'll fucking sue you!  I'll fucking + verb + object pronoun.

McHenry: "That's why I have a degree and you don't."

McHenry insults (makes a statement to hurt the employee) the employee by saying that she, McHenry, went to college but the employee didn't. Actually, McHenry went to a little college in Florida which does not seem to be such a great school.

McHenry: "I wouldn't work at a scumbag place like this."

Scum is dirt. If a person is a scumbag, he/she is like dirt, something very low and disgusting. A scumbag place is a crappy, ugly, dirty place.

McHenry: "Makes my skin crawl just being here."

It makes my skin crawl just being here <--- It makes me feel disgusted being here; I feel as if bugs are crawling on my skin.

McHenry: "Yep that's all you care about is just taking other people's money."

For having a university degree, her English kind of sucks. "Yep, that's all you care about: just taking other people's money.

McHenry: "With no education, no skill set, just wanted to clarify that."

Again, this is in broken English. I think she meant to say: "You don't have any education nor any skills. I just wanted to point that out."  Dear foreign students!!!!  If you are going to verbally attack someone, please do it in grammatically correct English - it sounds much better!

McHenry: "So I could be a college dropout and do the same thing?"

I'm not sure what skill sets are required to be a sports reporter but she attacks the employee again but implying she does not have an education.

McHenry: "Why cause I have a brain and you don't."

Well, if McHenry truly had a brain she wouldn't have destroyed her career like this. Also, please use "because" and not 'cause' <--- frankly, only stupid people use 'cause'.

McHenry: "Maybe if I was missing some teeth they would hire me, huh?"

She makes it seem as if the employee is so poor that she can't properly take care of her teeth. Actually, this is an unreal situation so it should have been: "..if I were missing teeth..."  I guess reporters for ESPN do not have the skill set to use the subjunctive mood in English.

McHenry: "Cause I'm on television and you're in a fucking trailer, honey."

So fucking can also be an adjective. A trailer - some poor people live in trailer parks. Honey is also a term one usually uses for someone he/she likes. Here it is sarcasm again.



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