For those who don't know, Fowler is a British expat living in San Francisco with his American-born wife, Renee, and two kids. The two claimed to be environmentalists, and were raising their kids as "citizens of the world". Renee ran a business as a weight-loss hypnotherapist. They swapped with Alan and Gayla Long of Missouri, a family whose diet consisted of fast food, and favorite pastimes were playing paint ball, and riding ATV's. Alan believed Gayla should handle the domestic responsibilities of the home, calling it "skirt work."
Real controversy began when the media began repeatedly showing clips of Fowler berating simpleton Gayla, failing to show the negative side of the Missouri family's lifestyle. While a sweet woman, Gayla is clearly undereducated, and Fowler took every chance he got to say terrible things to her calling her "undereducated, over-opinionated, and overweight" to her face. There is no excuse for Fowler's behavior, but Alan Long was pig-headed in his own rite, failing to care for the health of his kids nor their futures. The rules in which Gayla tries to implement in the home are not exactly the most valuable, nor the best way to approach Fowler-- especially in comparison to those that Renee Stephens brings to the Long home.
See rule change here:
By the end of the episode, the Longs do learn from Renee's rule change-- mainly that they need to change their diets, as well as concentrate a bit more on education for a brighter future, where as the Stephens/Fowlers come away with nothing. Alan Long surprisingly makes one of the most pertinent points at the table meeting when he tells Renee, "Your support system will mock your passion." This emphasizes for me that no matter the level of education, beauty, or well-roundedness, they may all be discounted by lack of kindness. I'm sure Stephen Fowler will be paying for his sins far after the media forgets.
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