When I said Miss America-type answer I did not have one already in mind. I don't know the audience that well since I'm not a big pageant watcher. However, if you've been through the pageant business for a while, most are coached on how to best answer questions and approach controversial topics. And since she is from California, and proposition 8, she should be more prepared for answering that question from a political standpoint. She just chose to go her own way, which I think is great.
Just like when you go in for an interview for a job. If you really want the job (just like if you really want to win in the pageant) do you gear your answers to what you think the interviewers want to hear or do you express a personal opinion that may offend them? It's just the way people are in general. You can't make everyone happy, but there's a difference between making people unhappy, and making them angry.
Ah, my mistake then. The nature of your resposne game me the impression that you did have one in mind.
In this context then, I think she absolutely did the right thing. She chose to stand for her beliefs as opposed to telling a judge what he wanted to here, but I don't think this a think should be treated as acceptable. If what you say is true, then the winner is going to tend to be those who share the same beliefs as those judging the contest, which is pure garbage. And this is essentially what happened to her. She was punished because she didn't hold the "correct" political beliefs.
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And I could be wrong, but showbiz, the pageant, as well as the panel of judges have always leaned towards being supportive of same sex marriage. When you write a paper, when you prepare a speech...the first thing you have to consider is who your audience is. That is how you convince and win over people. I think that if she at least empathized with those who are seeking these rights and priviledges, it might have gone over better.
Leans is a vast understatement.
Your, right a politician looking to convince someone they are right and people should vote and follow them isn't the same as being crowned Miss America. However, being a politician is different that writing a paper to an academic community or writing one in class.
Someone seeking to persuade must consider their audience, but why should her shot at the Miss America crown depend in anyway on the consistency of her beliefs with that of the judges? That it done is bad enough, but that it is tolerated is even worse. Ms. California wasn't attempting to persuade anyone to do anything, but simply gave an honest answer to a loaded question and was punished for it. She wasn't punished because her answer wasn't persausive, but because it wasn't the answer the judge wanted to here.
And you're right, she would have fair better is she did that, but then...why should that even be necessary? Would that ever be asked of someone is the opposition as her? I wouldn't count on it.