Fitting In Survivor

This season of Survivor looks pretty good, much better than Africa, possibly better than Australia. Maybe it’s just me, but I like the black guy. He apparently lives in South Central, he’s an outspoken Christian, he’s outspoken in general, and he’s portrayed as lazy. Great combo.

But what I loved was this thing he said last episode. He was saying how he’s naturally comfortable with the other black member of his tribe, because of cultural background and because they’re both Christians and he says the bond of Christ is the strongest bond there is (ooh John! Spiritual talk!). And then he was saying how the problem is, their natural bond can be perceived by the others as being separatist, as if they’re either not trying to be part of the team or colluding on their own.

Here’s what I thought was insightful. What he says the others don’t realize is that for the most part, for the others to fit in, they have to be themselves. But for the two black members, to fit in, they have to not be themselves.

I dunno, maybe it was just me, but that resonated with me. Just, that’s the way it is for me at work, I think. At least partly. Not so much with the engineers, but definitely in the context of the whole company. I can’t be myself and fit in – I need to be something else. For lack of a better word, white. I dunno, maybe that’s not fully accurate, but that’s how I feel sometimes.