I Don’t See Color, Just Ethnicity

Everyone and their mother is probably going to write about the new Survivor series today. I have never watched the show before, so I don’t think I could give an articulate review of the actual show, but this season’s concept is a little weird at best and disturbing at worst. If you aren’t familiar with the concept, the show is pitting Latinos, Whites, Blacks and Asians against one another at the beginning of the series. I watched last night, not because I wanted to but because I was forced to--it was on 12 different television sets at the restaurant where I was having dinner. Everyone was having a sidebar conversation regarding the show's implications and people began to take sides for different reasons, based on stereotypes or just plain hubris regarding their own race. Is this really healthy for our society to watch groups of people like this compete against one another? It seems to me that it could create more problems. For example, let’s just say HYPOTHETICALLY that an African-American/Latino woman asks her white girlfriend who she is cheering for? If the girlfriend is smart she quickly answers: The Asian team and changes the subject quickly.