Reality High Test Results, September 14 – 21: Two Ways to Create Ethnic Diversity

Unfortunately, Sekou answered “C,” and I had to tell him that he was absolutely wrong. Now, taking a leadership role early on isn’t an automatic death sentence. There are quite a few examples of people taking on a leadership role and getting far in the game. Tom from Palau is the best example, and he won the game! Other examples include Deena from the Amazon and Terry from Survivor: Exile Island. But none of these people who got far needed breaks so often that they were perceived as lazy, like Sekou. And none of these guys ignored the other members of their tribe when coming to a decision, like both Sekou and Nate did.

When I told Sekou he had the wrong answer, he protested that he was so exhausted by building the shelter and the fire, and that he figured that he and Nate knew the best guy to send to Exile Island, while the girls didn’t. I told him that if he needed all those breaks, he shouldn’t have volunteered to be a leader. Better yet, he should’ve adapted and taken fewer breaks. Moreover, being so obviously connected to Nate and totally ignoring the other girls just isn’t smart game play. Isolating yourself is a sure-fire way to Loser’s Lodge. Sekou looked dubious but accepted the reasoning, so I didn’t have to send him to Detention. But I did have to take my very first Excedrin of the season!

Finally, I looked at the final question the Cook Island contestants had to answer, and once again I realized that the Rarotonga contestants are rather short on the finer elements of game play and strategic thinking:

5. Forming a romance with another contestant is always a good idea.

Adam and Candice answered “true,” and I had to tell them that they were wrong. True, Rob and Amber formed a romance on Survivor All-Stars and finished first and second, with Amber beating Boston Rob. And of course, two “showmance” couples finished in the final four of Big Brother All-Stars, with one of those couples finishing first and second as well (Mike Boogie beat Erika in that one). But generally, that’s the exception, not the rule. Why? Because people tend to notice open couples, especially if the couples are romantically involved. And such open couples are usually unbreakable – unless you nominate one or both of them! You need to keep your alliances secret as long as you can.

Fortunately, the errors that Cao Boi, Jessica, Jonathan, Adam, and Candice made didn’t end their time on the island for now, largely because their tribes won immunity. The same can’t be said for Sekou, however, as his tribe lost immunity and the women all voted to send him home. What went wrong? Well, he made a good move by taking a leadership role. Unfortunately, he went about it entirely wrong. He isolated the women and stuck with Nate. He took a lot of breaks. Even if he did so simply because he was exhausted, he could’ve avoided exhausting himself by getting help. If he had done so, the others wouldn’t have seen him as lazy. But the kicker was that he failed to scheme and plot (beyond sticking with Nate) until after his tribe lost immunity! He should’ve gotten Stephannie on his side a whole lot sooner. If he had, she wouldn’t have joined up with Rebecca and Sundra and Sundra would be gone instead. But he didn’t, so he was sent packing by the women.

Once I gave the S:CI contestants their five questions, I gave those of TAR 10 the other five questions. When they returned them to me, I checked the answers. Immediately, I groaned when I saw Rob & Kimberly’s response to my sixth question:

6. What is the best reason to go on the Amazing Race?

Rob & Kimberly answered “C,” and I began to count to 10. The Amazing Race is not a testing ground for couples, or at least it shouldn’t be one. There have been a few couples, however, that have entered the race for that very reason, most notably Lenny & Karyn from TAR 1, and Ron & Kelly from TAR 7. Neither couple lasted after the race, even though it’s possible Ron & Kelly were already on the outs by the time they entered.

Tom & Terry, a gay couple, answered “B.” True, winning a million dollars is a great reason to go on the race. After all, it is a race. But the best answer is “A.” TAR is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the world and experience new cultures. Chip & Kim from TAR 5 exemplified this reason. Sure, they were competitive – they used a Yield on Colin & Christie even though they liked the couple because they wanted to win a million dollars for their kids (and they wound up doing so). But I loved seeing Chip’s reactions to his surroundings wherever he went. He was such a joy that I was so happy when he and Kim won the race. He and Kim are what the race should be all about.

I then moved on to the seventh question and really sighed when I saw Kellie & Jamie’s response:

7. True or False: Muslims believe in Buddha.

Kellie & Jamie answered “true” and added, “I think.” I had to tell them the answer was “false.” Buddhists believe in Buddha. Muslims believe in the prophet Muhammad and they worship one God, whom they call Allah. They also tend to say that just about everything that happens to them, good or bad, is the will of Allah. And both Muslim and Orthodox Jewish men won’t shake the hand of any woman who’s unrelated to them. The same goes for Muslim and Orthodox Jewish women concerning men who are unrelated to them. Kellie & Jamie need some help with World Religions 101.

I want to like Lyn & Karlyn, but not with their answer to the eighth question:

8. Another team has a disabled person on it. That team got to board the flight first and got a head start off of the flight. How should you react?

Well, at least Lyn & Karlyn didn’t choose “C.” I would’ve had a real, long hard talk with them if they did. Instead, they answered “B.” I told them the correct answer was “A.” While it’s certainly understandable that they would be frustrated to see a team get on board before just about everyone else could do so, the fact is that airlines should not discriminate against the handicapped. That means the handicapped get to go on planes first and get off the planes first. When the two women continued to mutter about Peter & Sarah (Sarah has a prosthetic leg), I told them to cut it out or they’d be facing Detention. They obviously got the word about me, for they shut up.