Human error. We’re all subject to it. Fortunately, most of us will never have to experience a grand flub in front of millions of people. Or masses of the unforgiving, apparently. Poor Steve Harvey. I was gone last night so I didn’t watch the Miss Universe Pageant…or even know it was on. But my social media took care of that. Like it usually does. Who needs to scan headlines in the morning? All you have to do is open Twitter or Facebook and you can easily get caught up in a matter of seconds. {I find this both a blessing and a curse}. So I watched what is likely to be known as the infamous video clip of Mr. Steve Harvey’s embarrassing mistake. #horror
JUST in case you hadn’t caught wind of the drama, here’s a brief summary. Miss Colombia was announced the winner and crowned Miss Universe. However, it was Miss Philippines who was actually deserving of the title. And after realizing his mistake, host Steve Harvey interrupted the celebratory moment to correct the error and announce the true winner.
Let’s examine this moment. It was live television. Real time moments. So imperfection is bound to happen. And that’s kind of refreshing from time to time. It reminds the rest of us at home that everyone is human and puts us on the same playing field. As it should be. Some people may have more important titles but I don’t believe there is any one person who is more important than any other. And since we’re all guilty of messing up, how come individuals find it acceptable to rake this man over the fiery coals?? I am just astonished…no, disgusted at the backlash he is receiving. I cannot believe the rude, utterly disgraceful comments that people feel at liberty to express. This whole freedom of speech thing is losing credibility. Freedom of speech doesn’t entitle you to be a jackass. Period. So make it stop. AND the racist comments?!?! Heavens. Have you caught those at all?! I can’t even bring myself to type some of the ones I saw. It honestly makes me lose hope in the human race as a whole. This man was beyond apologetic and feels awful. But it’s not enough. Nope. People want him to pay for his mistake. Literally. Some feel as though he should be fined $100,000 and pay the contestants for ruining their lives. WHAT?!?!?! Correct me if I’m wrong but I’m fairly certain the lives of these women will go on. In greatness, no doubt. And if THAT moment ruined their life then I don’t think they deserve to be on that stage in the first place. I’m not going to get into a heated debate about pageantry. It’s a form of entertainment and like all entertainment, there is no life or death parallel. I read only a small handful of comments and tweets that people have elicited. And then I had to stop. For every ONE empathetic, forgiving comment on Mr. Harvey’s behalf, there were fifty awful ones. And this tells me two things. 1) Some people kind of suck. 2) Some people really suck
Last I checked; every one of us gets up, puts one foot in front of the other. Our steps aren’t flawless. We falter. We mess up. We judge. We make poor choices. That makes us human. 
But know what also makes us human? The ability to show compassion. Be graceful. Forgive. Unfortunately, those don’t always make the cut. And in Mr. Harvey’s case, those are far removed from his gaffe. You had one job. Good luck finding work again. Reading: a second grader can do it. These were all comments I’ve come across. So, let me get this straight. If I mess up that automatically means I can’t ever hold another job? That I’m undeserving of another chance? That defining my character by an error is going to be held against me for the rest of my life? Well then. See ya folks. I may as well bury myself alive right now. I’m completely unworthy of walking the face of this earth. As of yesterday…and the day before…and the week before…and the year before…
But he took the moment away from the true winner. While that is probably true in most regards, it doesn’t discredit the win. It doesn’t make the crown any less valuable. And it doesn’t reflect the contestant AT. ALL. After watching the reaction from Miss Philippines, she remained poised and authentic. Her interview following the incident is just as impressive. She responded with class. Respect for her opponent. And acknowledgement that things happen. She doesn’t look like her life is ruined. Is Miss Colombia disappointed? Oh, for sure. But she expressed the same understanding that things happen. And indicated she was happy to have been voted in the top two; in good company. Even if she’s feeling something different altogether, she knows how to present herself. And guess what?? Those are the only two people that have any right to express their frustration with the mistake. But neither are. So if they can be polished and refined, perhaps the rest of the world should follow suit. Because that’s also part of being human. Moving on. It’s how we succeed imperfection.
And if I can be totally honest…this entire flub is the ONLY thing that will cause me to even remember who Miss Universe is. Seriously. And I’m not hating on pageants. I’m just saying there are more news-worthy things for me to focus on. So let Steve Harvey go back to being Steve Harvey. And remind yourself that forgiveness is why you’re still here.
Weakness for Words 