Thug Idol

[Shatnerfan]

Marc Dillon. Violent criminal who should be disqualified or voted out as soon as possible or pleasant young man who made one small mistake and now desrves nothing but forgiveness. My vote is the former.

[number8]

What did he do?

[coggles]

Unfortunately, i'm not clever enough to post links, but if you google 'Marc Dillon' you can read about the mugging he was put away for. I didn't know any of this when we watched on Saturday (for the first and only time, honest).When he broke down and said 'mum', I commented to my husband, 'oh dear, he won't live that down with his mates down the pub'. Now I'm thinking, what must his mum feel about having a thug for a son?

[WaldoMcFroog]

And presumably you'll also be wanting Leslie Grantham removed from Eastenders, since he's someone who also commited a violent crime - murder in his case - and served his time? If this were a crime he committed while on the show, or which only came to the attention of the police during the time the show was on, then you might have a case for disqualification. As it is, the guy committed a loathsome crime, was punished, and is now entitled, under law, to do pretty much any legal thing he wishes.

[Miss Zippy]

He's pathetic; I knew there was something dodgy about him the way he cried on Pop Idol last week. I hope he's voted off/booted out; he's hardly 'idol' material.

[gerry]

It prob wasn't the first time he cried mum he prob did it when he got put away ( and that isn't meant to be a joke).As a scotsman i say he should be booted out of pop idol, The story i read 2 weeks ago in the paper was that he attacked and stabbed a father few years back.Now if he carries on in the comp or even goes on to win it what kind of message are the makers of this show sending out to kids.

[PaulB]

Sorry but I am another that agrees with Miss Zippy and gerry.
I loathe people who resort to violence although, i do not know the full story as yet and when I find it out I may well change my mind lol
Interesting thread this one.

[sft42]

Why does Waldo only get one star and some of the others get three? Is his answers not as good as theirs? This is exactly why I DON'T rate discussion type question to prevent bias.....the point must be taken though thug or not he did the crime and the time...debt to society paid so why shouldn't he be allowed to compete in this programme or anything else? Are we now to stigmatise offenders for life and disallow anyone from trying to improve themselves? The truth is somewhere between your two options I feel.

[flirty41]

I don't think he should be disqualified from the competition. The public's opinion will be seen in the voting. What I would say is that most of us I guess have done something or will do something we regret and, if and when that time comes, I am sure we would wish for forgiveness, and the chance to move on and better ourselves. I believe that no-one can know how they would react to a certain situation until they are in it - what if any of us had a 'Marc' in our families or lives, who we loved? How would we feel? Would we disown them, or would we support them? It's all too easy to sit in judgement. I think he should be given a chance.

[coggles]

which is why I didn't say whether he should or should not stay on the programme.

[TEAK36]

Im with Waldo & sft42 on this one.I did some pretty nasty things when I was a teenager and got into a lot of trouble.Although the crimes I committed did not involve violence,they caused misery to a lot of people, and I am deeply ashamed of them.I was fortunate enough to be given a "second chance" and very quickly changed my ways.I am now in my mid thirties,have a great job, and am happily married with 2 children.Although Marc Dillon can never make up for what he did, I do believe he should be given the opportunity to prove that he is a changed person.

[coggles]

TEAK36, good on you, well done.

[gerry]

At the end of the day Marc didn't only attack the guy but he stabbed him he didn't have to but he did.Is that really the kind of message that you want this show to put out to kids.Plus nobody has even given any thought what his victim must be going through seeing his attacker on the telly.If the shoe was on the other foot and it had been your dad that had been stabbed by this guy would you still want the makers of Pop Idol to keep him in the series?

[bernardo]

I am trying to work out why the questionner and some other people think that he should be "disqualified". If convicted criminals were not eligible to enter Pop Idol, it would say so on the application form and it would ask about any previous convictions. If he was asked about convictions and lied about it, he should be disqualified. As far as I know, he was not asked and did not lie. If the application form did not ask about convictions, then he is eligible to enter the competition just like anyone else, and viewers are allowed to vote for or against him for whatever reason they choose. I thought it was supposed to be a music/singing competition, not a good character competition.

[Shatnerfan]

Good advice sft and I shall certainly heed it in future. I do not consider the Grantham/Dillon comparison a particularly apt one: Grantham was never a contestant in 'Den Idol' with an audience encouraged to idolise him. Whatever the pretensions, PI is little more than a popularity contest. A major bugbear of mine is that Dillon's crime may well prove a large advantage for him. His past has propelled him into the front pages and has made him known to many who would not watch PI. Those who wish to help an offender to go straight may feel compelled to vote in his favour. One could even argue that his presence has subverted PI, creating a kind of 'Moral Idol.' Whether pro or anti Dillon has provoked the greatest serious debate, and none on his talent. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, Ant and/or Dec say tomorrow or when chatting to him in the final

[gerry]

I see where you are coming from bernardo.I just feel calling a guy with a criminal record and the serious crime that he commited the next pop IDOL is a joke.But at the end of the day it isn't something i'm going to lose sleep over.

[mod]

the type of people that respond to these web questions are sad and pathetic, one sentince for you all, never believe the press. the person that this happend to did suffer alot but marc dillon was there only, and did put the man in the recovery position, he tryed to stop it but you try stoping a 22yr old man that is mad and your a very patite 17yrold kid, its call growing up, but he chose the wrong people to hang with. and he like others learned from his mistakes. 1 last thing, he has to wake up every morning and put on a brave face for his family, fiance and the fans and public that gave him a chance. marc dillon is a man now and should'nt have to live in the past.