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civil rights group
Survivor racial split eyed by white supremacist groups
by Joel Keller, posted Sep 4th 2006 9:58AM

Say what you will about the intentions of Survivor creator Mark Burnett, but the man knows how to generate attention. His controversial split of this year's Survivor contestants into racially-oriented teams is not only garnering notice from media members who have essentially forgotten about the show, but it's also getting attention from some other unexpected groups. For example, white supremacist message boards are abuzz about the new season, according to TV Week. Some groups are looking at this season with some hope that the White or Caucasian or whatever they're calling that team will come out on top this year, while others are thinking that the show will show their "own kind" in a bad light.
Either way, this activity worries the civl rights group Southern Poverty Law Center, which thinks that this is evidence that the split is already encouraging these groups: "[The format] plays into the hands of many people in this country who have racist feelings," says a group official. Here's what I wonder, though: what's going to happen once they mix the tribes in the second or third episode, which is what many people think is going to happen? Will the buzz from these groups die down or get worse? However it turns out, it'll be fascinating to watch.
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