# A racially divided Survivor? Are they fucking smoking crack? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 24, 2006, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968 "2006-08-24T00:12:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![5que](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/3bc359/32.png) [@5que](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5que)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/21 "2006-08-24T02:10:50Z")
Yeah, boycott. Those always work. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/22 "2006-08-24T02:24:13Z")
The thing you are all forgeting is that eventually there will be alliances. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/23 "2006-08-24T02:24:14Z")
I think it’s a good idea, and might make for an interesting season. No, really. In the past there have only been a token minority or two each season – one Hispanic woman and a black man, something like that. And, as it happened, several times the sole black man has been eliminated by his teammates apparently (going by the editing, which can be misleading) because he was seen as lazy or not doing his share around camp. This happened so often I’ve seen comments suggesting that the Survivor producers are DELIBERATELY choosing to cast lazy guys for whatever evil racist reasons. I don’t think that it was deliberate, but a side effect of having only a single [pick your minority] in the group is that s/he often comes to be considered as a representative of that group. Shi Ann is crafty? Well, what do you expect, she’s Asian. Nick was lazy? Well, what do you expect, he’s black. And so forth. Having an entire subtribe – probably four people, they’ve always started with 16 players in the past – of a minority group diminishes that. If Person X is tossed out for being too [character trait] by the rest of his subtribe who don’t have [character trait] – it’s pretty clear that its a judgment of the individual and not the racial group. Yes, it could get nasty. Yes, some of the viewers will be racists and find ways to see it as confirming their racism…but plenty of other won’t see it that way. Besides, a four-way split won’t last long. After the first four or so are eliminated, they will do a tribe shuffle into two tribes of six, randomly assorted. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/24 "2006-08-24T03:08:17Z")
Wake me when they have competing teams each comprised of pirates, ninjas, daleks and gorillas. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/25 "2006-08-24T03:14:13Z")
> [@Lama Pacos](#): > > Wow, that’s really so blatant it’s hysterical. Absolutely bizarre. I’m getting the same feeling I got when I first heard about “Snakes on a Plane.” I am so there. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/26 "2006-08-24T03:40:07Z")
What’s going to happen when the jury has to vote for winner? Will the vote break down along racial lines? I sure hope not. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/27 "2006-08-24T05:55:41Z")
> [@](#): > > After the first four or so are eliminated, they will do a tribe shuffle into two tribes of six, randomly assorted. I’m thinking Probst will have too much class to actually call it a shuffle though. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/28 "2006-08-24T05:56:43Z")
By the finale, they will have figured out how to fashion crude white hoods and burning crosses. Hey, actually - first reward items! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/29 "2006-08-24T05:57:51Z")
Personally, I can think of only one way that this idea would work. Tell everybody that one person is really a “mole” and is just pretending to be the same race as the rest of their team. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/30 "2006-08-24T05:58:56Z")
I think I’d probably get banned if I posted my suggested tribe names. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/31 "2006-08-24T06:09:12Z")
I can’t really see anything wrong with this. How does any one group get victimized by it? The teams on Survivor always get merged eventually anyway. I also agree with what **StarvingButStrong** said. It eliminates the quick marginalization and elimination that always goes hand in hands with the blatant tokenism you often see on reality shows. The only problem I _might_ see is that the white group would be at a disadvantage as to using their color as a rallying cry. I can see the other groups showing pride and solidarity in their heritage but for white people…it’s a third rail. Anything they say or do in that regard is just going to make them look like a bunch of “White Power” morons. Hopefully they just won’t go there. It’s a double standard, yes, but there’s a reason for that. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/32 "2006-08-24T06:21:13Z")
One problem is that the show has always had problems with the players placing too much loyalty with their initial arbitrary tribal assignments. It’s the equivalent of having the coin toss be worth ten points in a football game. The producers have recognized this and tried unsuccessfully to reduce this factor. This racial division on the other hand, as past gender divisions have done, will only increase this factor. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/33 "2006-08-24T06:37:40Z")
Ooook… so, uh, what color will the Hispanics be? Before I open my mouth or show my passport, US Customs agents in Miami take me for cuban; in Texas, for American. Reentering the US from Mexico in Austin, I had to refuse to move along until the Customs agent stamped my passport, he didn’t want to on grounds of me being American (that would have been nice, double nationality, but I’m afraid nationality is not based on how you look to a Customs agent). I know Hispanic black, Hispanic coffee-with-milk, Hispanic caramel (some black blood someplace, but go and look for it), Hispanic red, Hispanic polka-dot (one parent “indian”, one white), Hispanic yellow (both parents Vietnamese; both parents Chinese)… gee, guess we should come up with a nick for “yellow with white”, how about “Hispanic vanilla”? Vanilla is good, second most popular ice-cream flavor in Spain! (Lemon is the first) Oh, and let’s not forget Hispanic gypsies, who range from caramel to white and back. Will they have to pass a test in Spanish, or do they simply have to be “Hispanic ancestry”? Not quite the same thing, you know. Would I be considered “white”, or “hispanic”? Never bothered watch Survivor, but I definitely wouldn’t be able to do so, the way my eyes are rolling right now. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/34 "2006-08-24T10:24:43Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I know Hispanic black, Hispanic coffee-with-milk, Hispanic caramel > [@](#): > > _gee, guess we should come up with a nick for “yellow with white”, how about “Hispanic vanilla”? Vanilla is good, second most popular ice-cream flavor in Spain! (Lemon is the first)_ > [@](#): > > - > > Oh, and let’s not forget Hispanic gypsies, who range from caramel to white and back\*. Thanks a load. Now I’m hungry for Hispanic people. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/35 "2006-08-24T11:05:14Z")
_stretches a hand in **Terrifel** ’s direction_ You can lick but you can’t bite, ok? ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/36 "2006-08-24T11:23:38Z")
What? No jewish tribe? They woulda cleaned up in the accountant challenge. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/37 "2006-08-24T11:30:05Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > Really? The challenges are racilly divided, too? That’s the list? Hey, hey, hey! Black people will dominate in TWO categories! ALL RIGHT!! Man, that’s just fantas– > > :: Squints :: > > Oh. That says oppress_ing_ minorities. I thought it said oppress_ed_ minorities. Nevermind. Nah, it says _pressing_ minorities. Blacks will still win, what with the full-court press, half-court press, zone press, new player press release. It’s innate. ---
**Author:** ![Carl\_Corey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/38 "2006-08-24T12:38:46Z")
(CaseSensitive): _Wake me when they have competing teams each comprised of pirates, ninjas, daleks and gorillas._ I don’t think that would work too well. PROBST: Ok, today’s challenge will involve… DALEK: IT IS IRRELEVANT! THE DALEKS ARE SUPERIOR! PROBST: Ummm…yeah. You see, you have to prove it… DALEK: EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! At which point all non-daleks would be wiped out. It’s difficult to compete fairly against a bunch of megalomanical cyborgs with built-in death rays. Don’t ask me how I know this. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/39 "2006-08-24T13:04:26Z")
What if Survivor did a Nerd season: Trekkies, SCA’s, LoTr’s and ComicBookFans. The conversation would be interesting, but all that pasty white skin in a tropical setting would blind. don’t hurt me. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/40 "2006-08-24T13:20:52Z")
What a whiny PC brat you have to be to have a problem with this. No one is segregating society. They’re segregating contestants on a game show. I guess if you confound language with reality for enough years, and its not surprising you would confound TV with reality. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968.md?page=3)