Editorial: Rev. Pfleger not only one bashing trashy TV

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Updated: February 23, 2012 8:14AM

The Rev. Michael Pfleger needs to stay in more.

He’s so busy on the streets of Chicago doing good works — taking guns off the street, advocating for the poor, rounding up criminals — he has likely missed all the trash on TV that masquerades as entertainment.

Pfleger is railing against a reality TV show, “The Bachelor,” accusing the show of degrading women.

“This whole concept, I mean how sick is this that 25 women are throwing their bodies and their hearts at this one man,” the legendary South Side minister told the Chicago Sun-Times last week. “The women cry, fight and plot against each other, acting as if they are a piece of meat being dangled from a hook for the bachelor’s selection.”

Pfleger, who happened upon the show while channel surfing last week, said if the public is going to “condemn negative rappers, particularly African-American rappers, calling women names and degrading them, which is wrong, then let’s equally do it with shows like ‘The Bachelor.’ ”

He’s right, but there is no shortage of people appalled by the way entertainers gift-wrap trash and call it entertainment — be they rappers, TV executives or reality TV producers. Pfleger himself has led protests against Jerry Springer, the king of trash.

We’re glad to know Pfleger is joining the parade of critics against degrading junk on TV, but trashy episodes of “The Bachelor” are just the tip of the iceberg.

How about “Bad Girls Club”? How about the Maury Povich show? Were Pfleger to spend a few more nights in front of the TV, the list would surely grow.

On second thought, scratch that. Chicago is much better served with Pfleger out on the streets.