|
|
Triumph of the Will
May 08, 2004, 9:56 p.m. Had our own little slice of Hades here last night. Dad got drunk and vicious, and started harassing my mother. She would leave the room, set up a bed somewhere else, and he would doggedly follow her, claiming he needed to use the computer or the laptop. He was hitting her when I wasn’t there. He finally left her alone, and went to bed, and she went to sleep on the couch. The worst thing about this is that today it was like it had never happened. He was back to his normal self, and nothing was said about what happened last night. I know I’ll never get an apology from him for his behaviour, last night’s or any other time’s. That’s the hardest part. I say that I have two fathers, but it’s not true – I have just the one, and he abuses my mother and me and doesn’t say sorry. How can I be sure he loves me if he can’t even express regret for the hurt he causes me? Even if he never changed, if he could just say sorry, just apologise, admit he’s at fault – that would make things just that little bit easier to handle. In other news, watching Survivor: All Stars tonight. Man, that’s some fascinating stuff. The gist of it is, if you’ve not been watching, is that there’s this one guy, Rob Mariano, or ‘Boston Rob’, who's got all the power, and a girl. It’s like a reverse of that maxim, ‘first you get the money, then you get the power, then you get the women.’ He went woman, power and looks like he’s gonna get the money. Anyway, he and this girl, Amber, are the powerbrokers in Survivor at the moment – obviously the strongest, canniest players, basically if they decide to get rid of you, you’re gone. What’s obvious to all of us out here in TV Land, is that one of them has got to go. Amber or Rob, preferably Rob, either way, one should go. But the fascinating thing is that everyone else is just completely unable to band together and get rid of one of them. Rob just keeps setting them up against each other, and they squabble and they bicker, and Amber and he keep sailing through to the next challenge. One of them is going to win, because everyone else just keeps dithering about. The question is, is it because they’re just hopeless as Survivor players (which is disappointing, considering they’re supposed to be All-Stars, and they’ve been here for this long), or is it because of some strange influence that Rob exudes? Does his power confuse and befuddle them? Are they all trying to get into that sphere, into the inner circle, the final three, and are unable to stand up for themselves, band together to get rid of him, who is the greatest threat to their chance of getting the money. It’s just stupid, trying to attach yourself to Amber and Rob. Sure, they’ll take you to the final three, but not the final two. In the end, they will both gang up against you and vote you out. I’m sorry, talking about reality TV shows can’t be that entertaining, but I just find their behaviour . . . well, fascinating. Is this what being in the presence of power does to the powerless? Turns you into a toadying yes-man? It’s just amazing that they can’t get their acts together and stand up to Rob and vote him out. It’s the most obvious move, and they’re not making it.
|