From the moment she showed such weakness, her fate was sealed. I can't help thinking it's no coincidence that Survivor appeared at this point in history, when powerful economic interests are promoting an agenda of scarcity and denial. Civil rights laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act come under attack as a threat to business growth. Corporate welfare subsidies enrich the rich, while already-underfunded public health, education, and income support programs come under attack as a drain on society. Increasingly, poverty is viewed as a personal failure, a criminal act deserving punishment.
Discrimination is dismissed as paranoia.
That frees up more resources for the rich and powerful. Or, to look at it somewhat more optimistically, perhaps we are seeing a backlash against recent progress in social justice. The disability-rights movement has achieved a few modest gains in making society more accessible and accommodating. For every step forward, we meet resistance. Somehow, I realized, this game seemed eerily familiar to me.