Boycott Survivor on CBS (or, Mark Burnett stars as Hilter in the 1936 Olympics)

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Discrimination based on race is one of the most shameful chapters in American history. America was founded on the principal, in our own Declaration of Independence from the British Empire, that all men were created equal. But we immediately fell short of our ideals.

We defined "all men" as "all white men." We destroyed the Native American population in our initial conquest of the continent, we enslaved innocent Africans and brought them here, and we treated Chinese immigrants as less than human. Not to mention that all women were treated as property.

Thankfully, but painfully and slowly, the generations of Americans since our founding have worked to correct these inequities, providing equal treatment regardless of race, color, national origin, age, religion, sex, or disability.

I thought the next great civil rights movement was the full inclusion of people regardless of sexual orientation. Mark Burnett has proven me wrong. Mark Burnett is up in the Grandstand with Hitler in the 1936 Olympics, running a showcase of racial difference.

If you haven't heard, Burnett and CBS have decided that they will boost the flagging ratings of the Survivor franchise by dividing the contestants by race. This country is still dealing with the troubling legacy of slavery and discrimination and we are striving to achieve our founding ideals. However, a show like this, or any show that would pit people against one another based on race, will only serve to identify and compare people according to race, rather than by their individual merit.

I will not support this kind of open racism and discrimination. It is wrong and I am sickened by Mark Burnett, CBS, and their sponsors. They are all equally culpable. I am boycotting Burnett, CBS, and their sponsors until this abomination is taken off the air. I hope you will join me and I hope you will pass this Boycott request onto your friends.

Thank you.

9 comments:

Consider it boycotted, sir!

Yes, I saw a commercial for this and really could not understand the reasoning behind this.

RATINGS

And so, the only way to correct this behavior is by denying them what they want: ratings. Just don't watch this show in particular or CBS in general.

CBS just announced they are bringing back Negro League Baseball!

Toyi said...

oh they want to have every single race watching the show, this is to get people into checking CBS by curiosity, oh wjo will win? who will be defeated? oh no my race can't be beaten... we have to win... etc etc

I think is a low way to get people together because they will not be together cause they will be hating each other.

Christopher said...

"I always bet on Black."
Wesley Snipes

The Angry Piper said...

I'll gladly join you in your boycott of Survivor. I don't watch it anyway. but lest we forget, CBS also airs "Lost".

I promise I won't watch anything other than that this Fall (just like everyone else).

PS: CBS sucks.

Anonymous said...

Ah, lighten up! I personally found the decision to split the groups up according to race interesting. This wasn't about placing one group above the other. This was about different cultural backgrounds "surviving". I enjoyed watching each group interact with their surroundings. Of course at this point in time the merge has already taken place, so you guys can breathe again.

 
 
 
 
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