Talk:John Cochran/@comment-99.142.2.31-20111201154745

I completely don’t get this point of view that so many people seem to have. “Selfish”? Um, it’s Survivor. Only one person can win. Exactly how are you supposed to play, if not for yourself? It stuns me how many people who purport to understand the game of Survivor seem to have complete blinders on when it comes to Cochrane and his move. Cochran turning on his tribe wasn’t vindictive… it should have been expected! More than anything else, Survivor is a social game. When you overtly treat your at-the-bottom tribemates like they’re… at the bottom, you’ve played the game poorly and you deserve your fate. The smartest and most savvy players (Boston Rob and the like) made sure everyone in their tribe felt included — which in the context of the game means a final three or final four deal. No one in Cochran’s tribe could even bring themselves to play the game enough to LIE to him and tell him he had a deal. Saying Cochran “threw his tribe under the bus” implies that his tribe had made some sacrifice for him that deserved repaying. Sorry, but “keeping him in the game a little longer” is not doing something. Every vote Cochran survived wasn’t because they were doing Cochran any favors; it was because they had another agenda they felt more important. They all viewed Cochran like an ineffectual insect, or as Cochran put it best — as a pet. Jim was more concerned with Ozzy’s control so he got rid of Elyse. Ozzy was more concerned with making a big move that he went to Redemption Island instead of sending Cochran. They all just assumed that they could string Cochran along and get rid of him whenever they wanted. Well, they were wrong. Flipping when your tribe is going to eventually vote you out anyway is not being villainous. It’s, um, SURVIVING.