Margie & Luke - TAR 14

[steppemaster]

I want to like them, I really do.

But there is something about their attitude--and they both have it--that is so very offputting.

The closest I can come--and this isn't really the right word--is "entittlement."

It started with the Chekhov puzzle when Luke got all upset because he couldn't do it and people started to say it wasn't his fault because he couldn't hear.

When--of course--it was a reading comrpehension test and he can read the same as everyone else.


I believe in treating people as individuals and not as members of groups. As an individual Luke does not--IMO--have a very good attitude about the race.

It seems he feels "entitled" to something--not sure what it is--but the attitude keeps intruding.

And it makes him--and his enabling mom--less than appealing to me.


Contrast his sourness with the attitudes of the two Little People who NEVER use their size as an excuse for doing less than their very best.




Btw--Margie was ludicrous last night when she realized she couldn't communicate with Luke while he was pulling the rickshaw. That's one of the first things you figure out--how to get the attention of a deaf person. There are polite/correct ways to do it and impolite ways.

You'd think the mother of a Deaf son would have a number of those ways immediately at hand.

I am losing patience with her too.


There is something "off" in their relationship but I don't know exactly what it is. I said this at the beginning of the race and I have not seen anything to make me change my mind.

[norealityhere]

I think Margie got pretty stressed last night. She was also physically exhausted and overheated. So, I am not surprised that her actions were not so rational. I just don't think I'd hold it against her. The only thing I'm upset about with the team is the blind detour / uturn. I just don't think it made sense to use it when they did and it just created bad karma.

[umass]

Luke needs to grow up. Seriously, the guy is in his 20's and he should be able to take the load off his mom during last night's task.

[stacerace]

Luke needs to grow up. Seriously, the guy is in his 20's and he should be able to take the load off his mom during last night's task.

He started out doing the rickshaw. It was her choice to switch. The stuntmen did the same thing.

[CrossingGuard]

I understand where you're coming from CG but I have to disagree. You mention Luke's frustration as a reason you dislike him but that's only been 2 instances. His not liking pie being thrown at him is perfectly understandable. Some people don't like to get sticky. My nephew was like that at 9 months old, and still is at 6. He would freak out until you cleaned whatever sticky food was on his hands. As far as the puzzle is concerned, I happened to think that puzzle was beyond easy but not everyone would have an easy time with that. Also, his mom said that he misunderstood the directions so it's understandable to me that he should get frustrated with that as well.

Those were only 2 examples of Luke's constant frustration that I could come up while typing my previous post. They weren't the only times he has been impatient and infuriated. Actually, it has been continuous. Like steppemaster mentioned earlier, there is something offputting about his attitude. Like I said before, I fully expected these racers to become stressed out during the competition. But with Luke (and Jaime, but I'm not talking about her right now), he just seems to take it to a higher level than everyone else.

I don't agree that him getting upset at Tammy and Victor is hypocritical with regards to the U Turn. The U Turn was part of the game and Tammy and Victor lied to them when Luke understood there was an alliance or an agreement. Whether they technically did or not, Luke perceived that there was.

Margie/Luke stabbed Amanda/Kris in the back, even though A/K were already in the back of the pack and didn't really have a chance to catch up. Likewise, Tammy/Victor backstabbed Margie/Luke after they agreed to go to the same detour. T/V were never in an alliance with the two of them; they simply had an understanding that they would be going to the same detour, preferably at the same time. But both Tammy and Victor know that this is a race, and that they have to do anything to win it. It was understandable for Margie/Luke to be mad about T/V leaving them behind, but then again, they also know the name of the game since they have shown they will do anything to win the race (as shown by them using the u-turn). So it was kind of hypocritical to react the way they did since they were in the same position as T/V in the previous leg. That's where I was coming from.

[Jexter]

He started out doing the rickshaw. It was her choice to switch. The stuntmen did the same thing.

Indeed! Margie is the one who pushed for the switch.

I've gone to several board recently and it seems as if people just don't like these two, and I just don't get why.

It's really hard to read Luke given the language barrier, but if his facial emotions and body language are any indication, he seems like very decent fellow.

And the mom, well, she deserves some kind of award for being just plain old fabulous all the way around.

I want them to go all the way.

For all the haters: my favorites rarely win. So, I imagine they won't either.

I'm all about underdogs. The people who usually win TAR are the stronger players who don't carry alot of emotional or physical baggage. They are sharp and get the job done and don't let heart strings get in the way.

Not that Luke and Margie aren't any of these things, but I do think Luke's deafness holds them back in a big way. They are not as strong as Tammy and Victor and possibly not as strong as the redheads.

In the end, I think Tammy and Victor will take it with the redheads as team #2. I hope I'm wrong, but I kinda don't think I am.

[stacerace]

Indeed! Margie is the one who pushed for the switch.

I've gone to several board recently and it seems as if people just don't like these two, and I just don't get why.

It's really hard to read Luke given the language barrier, but if his facial emotions and body language are any indication, he seems like very decent fellow.

And the mom, well, she deserves some kind of award for being just plain old fabulous all the way around.

I want them to go all the way.

For all the haters: my favorites rarely win. So, I imagine they won't either.

I'm all about underdogs. The people who usually win TAR are the stronger players who don't carry alot of emotional or physical baggage. They are sharp and get the job done and don't let heart strings get in the way.

Not that Luke and Margie aren't any of these things, but I do think Luke's deafness holds them back in a big way. They are not as strong as Tammy and Victor and possibly not as strong as the redheads.

In the end, I think Tammy and Victor will take it with the redheads as team #2. I hope I'm wrong, but I kinda don't think I am.

I know! I totally don't get it either!

[CrossingGuard]

I have to disagree about these two being the underdogs. If you look at their track record, they have constantly placed at the top of the pack, getting 1st for two legs and 4th for the rest of them. Only Tammy/Victor rival their track record. If anyone thinks these two are the underdogs because of Luke's disability, then again, I have to disagreee. If anything, him being deaf has not been a hindrance for the majority of the race so far. There are some communication barriers, but nothing that Margie isn't able to resolve. The only time I can think of when his disability held him back was during the dancing detour in India, where he couldn't hear the music (little note: here was another time the editors shoved Luke's storyline down our throats as they edited a lot of time focused solely on him and his challenge with the detour). But still, the dancing was not that big of a deal as all he had to do was jump around while Margie held out the bag for people to drop money in.

Point is, these two are not the underdogs. If anyone would be considered as underdogs, I would have to say Mark/Michael as the only times they placed ahead of the pack were the first leg and the latest leg, where they still got knocked down a couple notches after the two penalties.

[stacerace]

I agree with you CG that they are not underdogs.

[steppemaster]

I posted this on the spoiler thread for the 3/29 show but it answers IMO some questions being asked here--

(This was in response to someoe's asking what would Luke do if Margie ended up in the hospital?)


We've discussed this kind of thing on the Marge/Luke thread and the issue is that he should be able to get along in the hearing world by learning how to--for example--read lips. Also--he can write questions down and other people can write replies.

He's not helpless and IMO it's a shame to try to treat him as though he were helpless. Pitying people who are otherly-abled and treating them as though they are not completely competent to get along in the world does them no favors.


ETA--if he's a Deaf person who chooses to live only within the Deaf Culture (and therefore does not read lips or even write out questions etc for hearing people and chooses to have only limited exposiue to the hearing) then he should not have chosen to be in this race.



I don't dislike Luke/Marge but I do dislike people thinking they should get special treatment because he is Deaf--as we saw during the "Chekhov" task.