>I don't think there is any way anyone could
>defend Matt's noblility as we wach him with
>that chocolate covered stripper...The only
>possible person would probably be the stripper
>herself.. Or his mother maybe..and as for girls
>lining up for him, hard to say on that point,
>yeah he is a great guy and an extraordinary
>gentleman, but most girls these days go for
>guys based on looks and money and their career..
>Plus he had to move back in with his parents..

All in all, the above is a fairly rational assessment. As for the aside: the commentary on today's dating scene seems highly accurate. I could almost agree with you guys after the last episode, but just as a mother will defend at all times, I think a loyal friend would do the same. I've accepted attacks toward friends and family too often in the past, and I've already said I would love to have a friend like Matt (if so, it's time to start being loyal to people like him).

Difficult to understand the comment about the stripper as an honorable remark, however, other than perhaps you're saying a person will almost always defend their vocation as being a noble one. Also, the term "gentleman" almost sounds like a euphenism, as in a "gentleman's club." So I wonder if you said it "tongue in cheek," so to speak.

Aside from that, everyone is entitled to a defense. If Matt would be willing to accept it, I would offer it along these lines:

While Matt did not turn away from the activities, he was set up to a large degree. How was he set up? Firstly, Chocolate is known to have not only a slight narcotic effect, but is also a known aphrodisiac. From the very beginning of the competition, Matt indicated he had severe reactions to Chocolate. Further, Matt has never gone against any group plan, however outlandish, so he meets the needs of our society (however warped) to have a good "team player". Unfortunately, our society no longer applauds or rewards the individuals and the idealists. Just read the help wanted ads for an example of our decay in this area!

Once Matt gave in to the group plan and the effects of the narcotic, he looked very unlike himself from any of the previous episodes. Remember episode one? Who released the naked woman first that day? Matt or Molly?

Next, he was set up in that the other guys went first, the only example of someone with the gumption to go against the grain, Molly, came after him. People may say Matt merely gave in to urges he already had, we could just as easily assume he would never put himself in that situation to begin with. Also, Brian ("the Buddy" - LOL) and Hutch (the Jerk) can always claim "they didn't inhale," so to speak, since they were just actors, but their example set Matt up to make a public display on national network T.V.... Scums and Slimeballs!

Further, Considering the above, while Matt gave every indication on camera, both in word and deed, that he was a willing participant, I would also have to claim the principle of entrapment for the following reasons: The measure is not in that he gave in to bachelor party-style antics after being under duress from producers' expectations and after being drugged, but in that human nature is already considered at most fragile, and any effort to push one over the edge, morally speaking, is entrapment. Severe warnings are due for those who would cause others to stumble in these ways. Since the producers not only facilitated, but further sanctioned and authorized this event (and in doing so abused their authority), Matt gave in to things he would have never otherwise considered doing or acted on.

The first message of this thread claimed that Matt only looked like he had a heart of gold because he was aware of the camera. As far as that goes, Matt's consideration of the camera compelled him to prove he could be friends with the gay guy without being gay himself. Now, however, it seems this argument about "camera awareness" has been reversed by not only orignal writer, but by others in this forum. Of course, if you look hard enough, most everyone today contradicts themselves in many ways. By the same token, after being drugged and misled, I think Matt contradicted himself on the last episode, and I sincerely hope it doesn't happen again, and I hold the producers responsible if it does.