People have asked me if last Wednesday's episode of Survivor was the reason that I'm disowning Season 39 and the answer is deeper than a simple yes. I'm bothered that the mess between Kellie and Dan happened and I'm especially bothered that other women tried to make themselves victims through lies in order to improve their positions in the game. I'm especially bothered that Janet was smashed for defending Kellee and that Kellee was voted out after not being allowed to speak at Tribal Council.
What bothers me the most, however, is that there was inappropriate touching early on, if not Day 1, and it took until just after the merge for Jeff and the producers to actually do anything concrete about it. The producers knew what was going on since Day 1 and they heard Kellee say stop more than once, but they did nothing about it until after the merge. The official warning should have been given after the first 'stop' was ignored and it should have been followed by "if you do anything else that we perceive or is perceived as inappropriate, you will be removed from the game without the dignity of goodbyes or Tribal Council." Jeff obviously knew what was happening, as he and the producers talk all the time, but nobody did anything until that official warning.
The moment that Kellee went to producers for help, Dan should have been ejected from the game whether she wanted it to happen or not. Why did she even tell them if she didn't want firm action taken? It's not like they couldn't see what was happening during filming. They allegedly saw every moment and every time 'stop' was said, so they should have gotten out from behind the camera and put a stop to it. When someone says 'stop' or makes a comment about being uncomfortable or that's something is inappropriate, the one speaking expects someone to do something concrete about the situation. I'm disappointed that nobody did anything until the situation could be used to create TV drama and ratings for the show.
Lying about sexual misconduct to further a position in a game is horrible and pressing boundaries when asked to stop is even worse, but ignoring reality tops everything on the spectrum of awfulness. If one sees something inappropriate, they need to say something and have a role in helping action be taken to address whatever is inappropriate. Ignoring a serious situation or trying to prolong it for any sort of benefit is wrong.
If something is done to you that you feel uncomfortable with, you need to say something with the expectation that tangible action will be taken. If you don't want anything done about an inappropriate something or someone, don't speak; people in bad situations cannot be helped if they aren't willing to help themselves by saying that something isn't okay. Saying something isn't okay involves letting others help and take corrective steps if that proves necessary.
