SURVIVOR BY THE RACES?

Let me just say that in a society without discrimination there would be no issue with this show. It would just be 4 groups. That being said, in a society without discrimination (from all sides), there would be zero comments by the cast members about it giving them time to bond with their race, represent for their race, or go "Whitey" (sp?).

I consider such comments to be insensitive, assuming equality (i.e., colorblindness) is really what we are all about; how about you? Should we be more relaxed about this stuff?

I thought all groups had individuals that seemed to say such things. That being said I didn't cringe "as much" when non-White Americans said such things; but I have been more "aware" of such statements of others since college and have wondered why such statements do not draw more attention.

Why is that? Shouldn't we, I have an equal problem with all of such comments? Maybe ignoring such comments is a way of denigrating others? You know, not expecting more. Sometimes I guess it could be a form of empathy, sympathy.

Another tough subject!

Since college, I have wondered (more and more) why insensitive comments, actions of some groups are sometimes ignored, permitted, or whatever. I have heard a bunch of excuses (mostly in law school), but in the pursuit of EQUALITY / colorblindness I have never heard anything regarding this issue that makes me say, "Okay, I get it and it is alright." Ultimately, I think 100 percent of such comments must be viewed equally (negative) if true equality, color blindness or whatever is one of our goals. Am I wrong on this? It doesn't have to happen today, but shouldn't we consider it important?

For example, the comments made by the Mayor of New Orleans were extremely bigoted, divisive to me. And it was as if nothing really bad was said at all. Such comments should be unacceptable to all, right? By ignoring such statements we are not treating him as an equal.

How about the comic Carlos Mencia (sp?) and his use of the word "cracker." Or his continuous use of the "n" word. It seems that we just ignore this (or accept it given that he is Latino, a comic?).

Here is another example that has made me wonder at times. When I was in college, I had a few friends (both Korean and Indian on this issue) that for “cultural” reasons would ONLY consider marrying a fellow Korean (or Indian respectively). In fact, I had one acquaintances who actually flew to India after grad school in order to facilitate a marriage to a women he had never met. His parents set it up and that was just the way it was for him.

Now, I have wondered why we don’t get upset when someone of a particular nationality indicates that he or she is only willing to marry someone within the same nationality. Isn’t this a form of racism? Or is it different to say I will only marry a Korean versus White-American (which really includes a bunch of stuff). Specifically, would it be okay for me to say that I would only consider marrying a person of Irish descent?

Personally, I think I would actually have to move to Ireland to make this happen. I also think if I said such a thing in the USA I would be considered a quack of sorts. It just sounds funny. [Really, I would need to look for someone who is Swedish, Irish, German, etc. Good luck!!!]

For me, someone doesn’t have to be Irish (or a White American for that matter) for me to consider them a suitable mate. I would consider such to be a racially insensitive belief (even if it had “cultural” underpinnings).

At times, I think that “our” goal is not equality. It sometimes seems to have more to do with economic prosperity; even if it is at the expense of another person. This is just the cynic in me, but this stuff makes me wonder.

P.S. This show is not a social experiment. Just ignore the race of the individuals for a moment. These teams do not seem to be matched physically. If we really wanted it to be a "social experiment" then it seems that the non-cultural differences should have been minimal. For instance, the men on each team should be around the same (average) age, shape, etc. I wonder if this was an issue for the producers of the show? Maybe the show was stacked to inflame our cultural divide?