Friday, August 25, 2006

Survivor Idiocy; More AFA Bullshit;
I Am Going on Vacation...

So I figure two topics should cover any discussion while I am vacationing. I will only be out of town for the first four days, and be hanging out at home for the rest of my break from work, so I figured these two topics should keep you all covered. :)
THE NEW SURVIVOR SHOW
So it seems people are up in arms about CBS's "racism" in the upcoming season. Puh-leeze. Where was all this care and concern when the contestants were divided up by age group? Young Men v. Young Women v. Old Men v. Old Women? And how about when they divided up the teams according to gender? The Men v. Women in the Amazon? This isn't "racism" in the sense that people are being discriminated against for the interests of The Man (ahem, Caucasians). This is a game, people. So they divide them up into four teams: Caucasians, Asians, Blacks, and Latinos. An it isn't like these people will stay "segregated" the whole show; they usually united the teams into two after two rounds of elimination. I normally expect this type of idiocy from the fundies, but come on, people! Use your heads! Here are some examples in case you need distinctions:
  1. Job interview: Racism bad. Race has no bearing on job qualifications.
  2. Housing: Racism bad. Race has no bearing on one's ability to own or rent from you (unless you are prejudiced, and even then, it's only perceived as a factor when in reality, it isn't.
  3. Game show: Racism as part of the game this season. A social factor for entertainment purposes; still racism in a way, but no more so than "affirmative action."
In fact, think of it this way: Whites could now claim racism as in past season, 80-90% of the contestants have always been white, and now, due to this new team-breaking up system, less whites appear on the show... Would anyone actually listen to that kind of crap?

What are your thought?

The AFA was on NPR this morning, talking about a new documentary that is out, in which, the woman who was filming the documentary at the time on the NYFD was called out with them to the World Trade Center bombings. She captured footage of rescues, of the fireman in real time as they were trying to cope with the situation, inside and outside of the towers during this horrifying event. And of course, during a crisis, firemen get potty mouths. CBS wanted to air the documentary unedited (i.e., not bleeping out the curse words like "fuck" and "shit," as they felt it would not only detract from and trivialize this very real and personal event, but also to preserve the integrity as well. The AFA said that not only would this be going against the FCC's rules of decency (and they're right, it would), but that they think they should be able to watch this documentary without hearing "cuss words." CBS said they would be willing to pay the fines. I'm still looking for a written article about this story, but if you follow the link to the NPR sight, you can listen to the broadcast that was played on the radio this morning.

But, excuse me?

You want to watch a documentary being filmed in real time during the Sept. 11 attacks, watching people die, explosions, collapsing towers, fires, panic, fear, and death, but you expect to do it in such a way that your kids won't hear the words "fuck" and "shit"? Are you kidding me? This is the real issue? People attack us over their religious values, and you want to then take your religious values and superimpose it onto that?

Sometimes I think their heads are farther up their asses than even I give them credit for.

Does anyone else see the incredulity here, or is it just me?
Well my vacation starts in less than 4 hours, so I probably won't be back here until Monday night, although you never know where I might just pop in and see a computer begging to be accessed...

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

i have time to kill for the moment since your dog is all happy and my dog is happy and dad is working on the front of the house and i am waiting for my wash to dry in the dryer sooo i am reading one of my favorite son's paper :) and let you know i don't watch the survivor thing at all and don't really care but hope you and rich have a wonderful vacation and can't wait to hang out with you both when you get home! love and prayers

Anonymous said...

"World Trade Center bombings"...Do you mean in '93? Or are you referring to 9/11?!?

Anonymous said...

I agree with your points.

Robguy said...

yes, their heads are even farther up their asses than you give them credit for.

Anonymous said...

Hey Jason, long time - no type. I agree with you (did you ever think you would hear those words?) on the whole survivor thing. Not that I am a big fan (I was over it after the third season). We compete in the Olympics for our home country (which in many instances is also indicative of our race) and are proud of it, but we cry foul when a TV show wants to do the same. My point is - who cares if they divide them up by eye color, foot size, weight, or whatever. These people signed up for it - let 'em play the stinkin' game if they want to. Just my 3 cents - thought you might want to hear me agree with you for once. Have a great day! Still Praying for you!

DaBich said...

Hope vacation was relaxing! Welcome home :)

Lons said...

I agree that people are making way too much of this "Survivor" thing. Being open-minded and tolerant doesn't mean you pretend there aren't different races. It just means you aren't prejudiced against people on the basis of their race.

My saying that "black guys have an unfair advantage in Survivor because they are all fast and athletic so they can win challenges easier" would be racist. My saying "hey, that team is made up entirely of black guys" merely proves I have eyeballs and the ability to discern differently-pigmented skin.

But in the end...the entire point of separating teams this way is to get people talking about it and raise awareness of the next season of "Survivor." It's working. Therefore, it's a good strategy.

Oh, and thanks for the link!

Lons said...

I agree that people are making way too much of this "Survivor" thing. Being open-minded and tolerant doesn't mean you pretend there aren't different races. It just means you aren't prejudiced against people on the basis of their race.

My saying that "black guys have an unfair advantage in Survivor because they are all fast and athletic so they can win challenges easier" would be racist. My saying "hey, that team is made up entirely of black guys" merely proves I have eyeballs and the ability to discern differently-pigmented skin.

But in the end...the entire point of separating teams this way is to get people talking about it and raise awareness of the next season of "Survivor." It's working. Therefore, it's a good strategy.

Oh, and thanks for the link!