S39: Jamal Shipman

[Whimsy]

From CBS.com

Jamal Shipman

Biography

Age: 33
Hometown: Jersey City, New Jersey
Current residence: Providence, Rhode Island
Occupation: College Administrator

Hobbies: Coaching basketball, taking West African and salsa dance lessons, teaching myself the bass guitar, and losing in fantasy football leagues.

Pet peeves: I hate bugs that insist on leaving behind itchy, painful bumps. I don't mind sharing my blood with you, but why the discomfort? Why the ache? It's pretty rude if you ask me.

Three words to describe you: Balanced, inquisitive, and present.

What accomplishment are you most proud of?
My educational path is something I'm most proud of. After 8 years at P.S. 27, a Jersey City public school where my mom is still a teacher, I was accepted to the Prep for Prep program in New York. That experience prepared me for high school at Milton Academy, a New England prep school, which opened the door for me to attend and graduate from Brown University, an Ivy League school in Providence, R.I. With some bumps along the way and lots of help from those who care about me, I was able to make it through and be where I am today.

Who or what is your inspiration in life?
Barack Obama. I wasn't all that politically aware prior to his run for president. He spoke to me. He inspired me to get involved and care about our world in a more engaged way. I've read his books, watched his speeches, and followed his presidency. The thoughtfulness, grace, optimism, and commitment he showed is absolutely uplifting. If we can approach life with his same attitude and aspire towards excellence the way he does, we'd all be better off.

What's one thing we wouldn't know from seeing a photo of you?
You wouldn't know that while I was a tri-varsity athlete by my junior year in high school, I was also in the school a cappella group, played the trumpet in the orchestra, and played a role in the spring play! You can't judge a book by its cover.

Which Survivor contestant are you most like?
I most relate to Jeremy. I think he played the game the second time similarly to how I would want to play it. Wendell, Officer Sarah, and Christian are all players I relate to, as well.

Why do you think you'll "survive" Survivor?
I've been intensely studying this game. I feel like I have a good handle on what to do in order to give myself the best shot at making it to the end with enough good will to get votes. People will be happy to write my name at the end.

[marys1000]

Looks promising

[LadyChatts]

[Bryce Lynch]

Shut up, Jamal!  You have an Ivy League education and are among the most privileged people in America.  

[CletusMusashi]

Where I live, any rag tied over your head is called a doo rag. Sure, black guys called it that first, just like they were the first ones to call each other "man" or to say something was "cool," but it's part of the language now. Lots and lots of white guys wear them and call them doo rags. And it's not even a "trying to sound black" thing. It's just that "bandana" is more what everybody's grandmother called those things. Of all the things to possibly get triggered by... really? This? What a dork.

13 hours ago, CletusMusashi said:

Edited October 31, 2019 by CletusMusashi

[Bryce Lynch]

Jamal's misogyny showing? 

[LadyChatts]

I remembered tonight why I didn't like Jamal.  I was really hoping his 'I feel safe, I don't need to take my idol to TC' meant he was going to get blindsided.  

[Brookside]

Jamal needs to wear either a bra or a tee-shirt.

[LadyChatts]

I don't think I've ever done so many turn arounds on people in 1 episode before, both with now actively rooting against people I was strongly for, and hoping by some miracle there's a final 3 of Janet, Noura and Karishma.

And then there's Jamal.  I've had a back and forth with him this season, but mostly was hoping for him to get voted off ASAP.  Tonight, that changed.  I was really hoping Janet's idol was going to be played for him (though I don't blame her for playing it for herself).  It hurts, because Jamal wasted his idol on Noura last week, and it really was all for nothing in the end-he played it on the wrong target, no longer had the protection, and Kellee's master plan ended up costing her (and Jamal, Karishma, Janet, and Noura).  Though he really went out on a high note.  I ended up liking him in the end, and am glad he schooled the rest of the 8 eye rolling, bored looking enablers sitting there while he was talking. 

And really, who wouldn't have grabbed that paper hanging there?  Did production really think anyone would have been stupid enough not to go for it?  I felt bad for him that he came back with nothing, and lost his vote.

[Bryce Lynch]

I haven't been a Jamal fan, but I liked the way he stood up to Aaron and his, "It it was happening I would have known" crap.  

[JudyObscure]

I went back and forth on him, too, but my goodness, compared to the unspeakable Dan, the arrogant Aaron, shady Dean, and wimpy Tommy (who fiddles with his mustache while the women make the decisions and then complains about their bossiness,)  I'll take Jamal a hundred times over.

I'd also rather look at his beautiful open face than Aaron's toothpick sneer any day.  

[Special K]

8 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

I'd also rather look at his beautiful open face than Aaron's toothpick sneer any day.  

On behalf of Wendell, I'm pissed about his appropriation of the toothpick.

[amazingracefan]

He went talking about 'personal growth' or something like that, I wish he'd see it more as the game in very unusual circumstances that it is

[LadyChatts]

I’m also mad that he got a shitty deal with IOTI.  Seriously, who wouldn’t have taken that piece of paper?  And not everyone knows about IOTI, so how would they know this was a part of some lesson?  And then he got a crappy assignment.

[Bryce Lynch]

18 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

I’m also mad that he got a shitty deal with IOTI.  Seriously, who wouldn’t have taken that piece of paper?  And not everyone knows about IOTI, so how would they know this was a part of some lesson?  And then he got a crappy assignment.

I totally agree. I wasn't a Jamal fan, but he got totally hosed with that note trick.  There was zero precedent in Survivor (AFAIK) for any sort of negative consequences for finding a clue.   Rob, Sandra and every other player ever to play the game would have run to IOTI with that note.  

The only slightly redeeming thing was that he and Karishma found it together, but he snatched it for himself.  

[Sunnykm]

I like Jamal for the beginning.  There is something really appealing about his hands...is that a weird observation?  Does he have social media?

[LadyChatts]

17 hours ago, Sunnykm said:

I like Jamal for the beginning.  There is something really appealing about his hands...is that a weird observation?  Does he have social media?

I don't know if he has Twitter, but this is his Instagram (and his response to this past week's episode).  The official Survivor account reposted both this and Janet's responses on their own page.  I have to wonder if anyone was expecting the reaction to this episode like it happened.

[SG11]

“I’m going to need time to get over this...”

Because someone used the word “doo-rag?”

This is what gets in the way of race relations in America. Milking and triggering over this horrifying offense is why people stop listening. It becomes about a power grab as opposed to a teachable moment, neither of which were necessary here.

[CletusMusashi]

Poor guy. The biggest thing he's gonna be remembered for is the doo rag argument. Here's the last thing I'm gonna say about it: I would have actually rooted for him harder if he'd been faking his outrage. Back in the "Men versus Women" season, when Rory had been screwed by a tribal swap, he actually psyched himself up a little bit to try to pull a race card, because it was about all he had left and he was trying to stay in the game and win money. He openly and self-deprecatingly admitted to the audience that he was only doing it for strategic reasons. I kept kind of waiting for an interview with Jamal where he said something similar. "Yeah, I totally just screwed with that poor Jack kid. Now he'll be too busy apologizing to me all night to sneak and off and strategize with anybody. Oh, well. Hopefully he'll laugh when he watches this." But it never came.

So Jamal's offense at saying doo-rag instead of mandana or whatever the hell you're supposed to call them, (and the answer is not "buff." Nobody except Jeff Probst calls them buffs,) was apparently quite sincere. And I think that's silly. But I never thought it made him a villain. We've seen some real pieces of shit on "Survivor." Jamal isn't even one of this season's worst people. He's just a person who is PC about certain topics, one of which is, apparently, the correct terminology for haberdashical accessories worn by black men on reality TV shows. But even there, he's not one of those people who only care about issues that affect him personally. On the Feely Dan issue, he was perfectly willing to stick his neck out and make waves.

He does have a pedantic way of speaking. I've seen the word "mansplain" used in regard to him a lot. Valid enough criticism. But he's not prejudiced about his targets. In his final TC, he saw a man in need of some 'splaining, and, as they would say on a certain other forum, he put on his 'splainin' pants.

I'll miss him. I mean, I never hated the guy, and he was never boring, and there are fewer and fewer people left who I can say that about.