Let's resurrect the Negro League while we're at it

I've never watched "Survivor" and would rather dive into the ugliest aspects of earning my bread than to watch a circus that involves dividing people into tribes and torturing them. It and its derivatives like "Big Brother" sound like the opposite of entertainment to me, so I expect I will never watch the show.

But I've ignored it for the five or six years that it's been on, and they probably think "If we can get one person to stop ignoring us, we win." So they win.

The new plan to divide contestants by race is perpetuation of one of the stupidest and most dangerous bits of human behavior: The lumping of people by skin color or facial features or language - All whites act one way, all blacks can be expected to believe one thing, all Asians do this, and all Spanish-speaking people do that whether they're white Hispanic, black Hispanic or Asian Hispanic.

Why stop here? Let's be more realistic; it's a "reality" show, right? Why no Arab "Survivor" team? How about Jewish and Christian and Hindu and Islamic tribes?

Most of our problems stem from these artificial groupings of individuals based on superficial differences. But since we are a race of individuals, such groupings are stupid and unjust. Even among such a sorry and despicable group as politicians, if you keep your mind open you may discover a Ron Paul in the mix.

The skeptics seem to think this has something to do with the sagging ratings for "Survivor." Maybe the shrinking audience just indicates it's an idea that has run its course. Hopefully this latest pandering to humanity's basest instincts - which is what the show has been about all along ("Ewww, they have to eat worms!") - will sink the damn thing once and for all.