August 28 - Pet Peeve Monday - The Amazing Rat Race-ist

This week’s PET PEEVE MONDAY is focused on the outrage about the TV show, Survivor’s latest installment, Survivor: Cook Islands.

The newest installment of the reality show features tribes made up of contestants separated by their ethnicity. White, Asian American, Hispanic, and African-American tribes will be playing to survive the Polynesian Cook Islands. I’m MORE OUTRAGED that this show is in its ELEVENTH INSTALLMENT.

In the above photo-op, it would have been easier if they dressed the contestants in ethnic or team-based colored shirts in order to differentiate team / race loyalty.

However this show may be the JUMPING THE SHARK installment. I first described the “Jumping the Shark” phenomena in my May 22 Blog about Series Finales.

Jumping the Shark is a metaphor that denotes the tipping point at which a TV series is deemed to have passed its peak. Once a show has "jumped the shark," fans sense a noticeable decline in quality or feel the show has undergone too many changes to retain its original charm.

The phrase was popularized by the website, jumptheshark.com. It alludes to a scene in the TV series, Happy Days, when the popular character, Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli, on water skis, literally jumps over a shark.

Survivor is creating a buzz because of its politically incorrect twist. Sports books have even begun to lay odds on the winner:

The Asian Americans: 2-1
The Hispanics: 3-1
The African-American: 4-1
The Whites: 1-1

To the uninformed, this means that Whites are favored to win. Asians are a close second (betting on them will double your bet), Hispanics in third (will pay three times your bet), and African-Americans have no chance. Native Americans were originally scheduled as a tribe, but the Whites stole their spot.

On his syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh said he has his early money on the Hispanic tribe, because, according to Rush, "these people have shown a remarkable ability ... [to] get anywhere they want to go. They can do it without water for a long time. They don't get apprehended, and they will do things other people won't do."

Exhibiting his usual equal-opportunity race-generalization, Rush thinks the Asians will "outsmart everybody" but that their survival skills are weak, and that the Whites will resort to any means necessary – spreading diseases, stealing property – to win. And Limbaugh takes a rather dim view of the African Americans, whose Achilles' heel he thinks will be – wait for it and shake your head – swimming. (DISCLAIMER: Rush’s words, not mine.)

Although Reality Shows are a genuine PET PEEVE for me, I will focus only on THE TRANSPARENT OUTRAGE that people have expressed over this year’s segregated version of Survivor.

Members of Congress have stated their collective indignation with the premise of this season’s Survivor, while at the same time gerrymandering their districts along racial lines to ensure their own re-election. Their Hypocrisy goes unchecked.

Since the beginning of time, people have gravitated toward the ethnic group of people that made them feel welcome and the most at ease. Don't call me a racist because I’m against busing. I’m for equal educational opportunities for all people wanting to learn. I believe we will accomplish this is the next decade through ubiquitous, free Internet access, sub $100 PC price levels and distance E-learning. Just think where technology was 10 years ago.

However, why do you think there is a Little Saigon in Southern California, a Chinatown in San Francisco, a Little Havana in Miami, and a Little Italy in New York City? There is even a Germantown in Columbus, Ohio. There is probably a double-wide trailer theme park somewhere in Alabama.

There is no special Vietnamese, Chinese, Cuban magnet that draws these people. It is a familiarity and a comfort level with being with people who are like you.

The point is if you put everyone in a big bowl, stir it up, and say live where ever you want, socialize with whomever you want, date and marry whomever you want, most people have a propensity to walk toward their own reflection.

There is an interesting story that came about during the 1968 filming of The Planet of the Apes. During breaks in filming the cast would go to lunch while all were still in full make-up at the 20th Century Fox commissary. At individual tables, the orangutans sat with orangutans, the gorillas sat with gorillas, and the chimpanzees sat with chimpanzees. They were not forced to eat or socialize together. These various actors of undisclosed background, age, ethnicity, and origin, would CHOOSE to be together. Why? Because they wanted to be with someone who looked like them.

So my message for those of you that are infuriated with the race-baiting version of Survivor, DON’T WATCH IT. I won’t, never have, never will. Of course, I’ve never watch ANY REALITY SHOW other than the Evening News. I needed to install an L-CHIP in my TV to filter out the liberal bias on those newscasts to get the real news.