Why should
C. W. Nevius of the San Francisco Chronicle writes today:
You know what often happens when people begin to discuss race in this country.
We change the subject. That won't happen tonight. In one of the most controversial, calculated and anticipated experiments of the new television season, the hit CBS reality show "Survivor'' will divide its 20 contestants by race. There will be four "tribes," each made up solely of Asian, black, Hispanic or white members.
If you Can get past the immediate emotion of this plot, there is a ‘silver lining’ here. We can find a very positive element surrounding the Survivor controversy. As a people, we are mad that a TV Show would ‘use’ something about ourselves that we had no control over, in a means to determine 'who (what race) is better'.
Don't get me wrong, we all like competition, we watch it and most of us involve ourselves within some type of competition.
The challenge; can I hone my talents, skills (my team), intelligence to meet and beat the competition on the fields, court, economics or even the jungle. My practice and developed skill set versus yours.
In this case, Survivor has taken the focus off of strategy, physical ability or developed talents, and placed the focus onto “race” - something that is NOT a talent, nor a competitive factor.
In addition, the issue here isn’t just race; it is the attempt of stereotyping each race (tribe).
Why does that make us uncomfortable, or mad?
What we are really upset with here is; Survivor is poking at race, in a way that causes ALL of us as human being to scream “unfair critique, unjust labeling, and inaccurate premise!”
The propagated goal is to find the “Best Race in Survivor”, but we (as a people) are yelling, “We are all equal in race, equal in origin of creation (God’s image) - something decided for me, that I have no control over.”
Why are you making a game out of my race, when my race can only win a label, and not a true competition?
Here’s the stinger…and why I’m happy that we are thinking about this: *If we evolved, as the world tells us we have/do…they why would we be upset?
If race is determined by "chance", then a true "survivor of the fittest tribe" would be sincere competition and entertainment, right?
But, society is concerned because we see this from a “moral” filter – ALL of these people are equal, because they have ALL been 'equaled' in a created means, not by chance.
If by chance through evolution, then "tough luck" for the loser of the race war.
