Chicken George: Country Bumpkin or Sinister Mastermind?

The ClubHouse: Big Brother 2000: General : Chicken George: Country Bumpkin or Sinister Mastermind?

Rockey22

Saturday, October 28, 2000 - 03:11 am Click here to edit this post

Chicken George: Country Bumpkin or Sinister Mastermind?
by Beth Aweau
October 23, 2000


Let me spin you a web of how I thought George was the smartest evil genius known to mankind!

Seriously! For a few weeks I thought George wasn't the simple country bumpkin he wanted us to think he was. I thought he had masterminded a strategy so exact in its plan that he would end up the winner of half a million dollars! (Please keep in mind that these were thoughts and feelings I had while watching the show. Things have changed since George was banished.)

When the show premiered, I loved George immediately. He was that "all American," hard-working, middle-aged guy with the perfect family. I wanted him to win the money so his daughter could go to college and just because he was so likeable, so willing to let go of his inhibitions and try new things.

Then I started becoming very skeptical about him. It started when he was nominated for banishment the first time around and he started acting out in the Red Room and playing it up to the cameras. At first it was sort of funny, then it was sort of not funny, then it was "is this the George Boswell Show or Big Brother?" It was when he came up with his idea that they should all walk out that I started to become highly suspicious.

There were little things such as his phone call with his wife, Teresa, the one where she mentioned "THE PLAN." The "plan" is all clear now--it was a plan George and Teresa had set up ahead of time to get things taken care of. But things just started looking VERY fishy.

When Josh was "warned" by Brittany that George couldn't be trusted and he was responsible for voting out the most popular people he was up against for nominations, it didn't look as though Josh would give in and tell the others of her warnings. The outside interference of the banners then took their toll on George and Josh. Seeing banners reading "JOSH KNOWS WHY WE FLY ANTI-GEORGE BANNERS", "GEORGE IS BACKSTABBING U IN RR - BGC", and "GEORGE'S TOWN VOTED OUT BRIT - BANISHGEORGE.COM" were the straws that broke the camel's back.

At that point George came up with his walkout scheme. He wakes up one morning (9/9/00) with this vision that if they all leave, they are winners. They have always held the key. I thought, "hmm, he knows his number is up!" and Josh would spill the beans or Curtis would figure it out, so he decided to charm the other houseguests with his theories. He pretended that he knew what was going on.

It was at the point that Josh finally broke that I started to doubt George's integrity. (Most of the following is an excerpt from the official BB website with the reasons why I started doubting George in bold print). "...Here's the whole thing, George. Your wife would do anything to make you win," Josh stated.

"My wife will do anything. She was volunteer of the year for the State of Illinois," George boasted.

"What it comes down to is ... what Brittany told me was this..."

George cut him off again, "Can I tell you? My wife probably organized the biggest movement you'd ever want to make to keep me in the house."

"There you go!" Josh said. "They've voted the next most popular person out," Josh cried, explaining Brittany's exit and also revealing what she had told him. He has Josh convinced at this point!

"I knew it," George said, shaking his head. Now, here comes the con! "I'm gonna walk out of here on Wednesday," George said firmly. "There's no reason for you to leave. You didn't do anything!" Josh pleaded. "If we all go, we all win!" George put his philosophy in plain words.

Now, cut to a later conversation with ALL the houseguests assembled. Josh says, "George right now at this point wants to walk out Wednesday, and I knew he would want to. So here's the thing: George will win this thing no matter what." George explained, "When Teresa puts her heart into something, it's unbelievable what she can do." Understanding that many of the houseguests believed him invincible, George launched into his master scheme. (Those were the exact words cut and pasted from the "official" Big Brother website!) My suspicion grew even further!

George continues working on the other houseguests. Eddie is the only one who will not budge, saying he will not go along with this idea. "I don't trust the sky worth a piss bucket. I don't trust the megaphone lady. I don't trust any of these people. I, frankly, don't even trust any of you!" Eddie boldly admitted. "Eddie, Don't say that!" George cried, horrified. "Seriously, I've known you for two months. I ain't walking on Wednesday. Don't trust the sky, don't trust megaphone woman, don't trust these people." Eddie was firm. Even physically, Eddie was removed from the group -- his chair was at least ten feet away from the table. George realized he had to work harder on Eddie at this point.

"Just think what you'd be saying! Do you know what kind of point we could make? We could go down in history as six winners," George said, barely containing his passion. "Or we could go down as the six quitters of "Big Brother." I have no fact, no proof, no nothing," Eddie shot back.

It soon became apparent that Eddie was the weak link. George then starts to use his "fatherly" opinion to get Eddie's vote...I thought "watch, he's much slicker than we EVER imagined! "

"Eddie, you're young. I know the money is very important to you, but once you start to get older, you start to realize the money aspect in life isn't important," George explained.

"Or be ashamed, because I walked. Because I'm a quitter," Eddie shot back.

"You're not a quitter!" George said.

"Dude!" Eddie was defiant. "Keep talking to the group, don't aim at me," he said.

"You've got a chance to do something big," George responded.

George's enthusiasm was infectious. Slowly but surely, the tide of opinion turned towards him.

Finally Eddie starts to sway. "All right, right now -- who's seriously contemplating it?" Eddie asked. "If six of us would do it, I'd do it in a heartbeat."

"Eddie, you've got to trust the old man," George said.

"We've got a one shot chance of doing this. We gotta do this on Wednesday. We can't wait 'till the next week!" George urged.

"Eddie, look at it this way! When you're an old man, are they gonna remember you for the money?" George questioned him.

Eddie belched, but George won the war.

"Yes, I'll walk with you on Wednesday. If you wanna walk. All right if you guys want to walk on Wednesday, I'll walk." Eddie said, throwing his hat in the ring.

"We gotta make a pact right now no matter what they throw at us, we walk on Wednesday," George solemnly declared.

All the houseguests rose and joined their fists in a defiant ring in the center of the table.

"Eddie?" George looked to the final member of the pact. Eddie paused, but then thrust his fist in with the others. "Rock and Roll!" George exclaimed as the others shouted for joy.

I couldn't believe my eyes! Had I just read that all on the official website? I read it again. It was true. My God! It was true. He was a mastermind! He was THE evil genius of the show. I didn't know if I liked it or not.

I could respect a person who had a plan prior to coming in to the house--a plan to win. But I could only respect that person if they were upfront to everyone about it. I couldn't deal with someone who would do it in such an under-handed style.

Much of my thinking, I'm sure, was due to the way CBS, AOL or whomever for the way they portrayed the walk out. How could I go from having George being my favorite houseguest to being my least favorite in the length of an article? How could I let myself be so easily swayed? How did George get the others to sway in THEIR beliefs to get them to walk out together? How indeed. It was after that that I started watching live feeds to get the "real" stuff and not how things were "edited"--Jordan had alluded to it and Jamie was adamant she wasn't being "portrayed" correctly.

Now that the show is over and George has stated that there was no plan, I feel quite silly for having been lead to believe he was anything other than what he seemed to portray--an "all American," hard-working, middle-aged guy with the perfect family...and he DID win. Perhaps because of his like-ability, he won his daughter a college education. Isn't that why he entered the game in the first place?

http://www.themestream.com/gspd_browse/browse/view_article.gsp?c_id=215195

Fruitbat

Saturday, October 28, 2000 - 07:42 am Click here to edit this post

I never thought George had a plan nor did I think his RR antics were anything more than a corny sense of humor gone haywire. Just didn't like him. He irritated me.

Karen is the only HG who I originally voted out and came around to like and respect.

Winnie

Saturday, October 28, 2000 - 08:47 pm Click here to edit this post

I agree with Fruitbat. I never thought that George had a plan. He was just incredibly annoying. I don't think he handled being in the house very well, and he certainly did his fair share of things that I didn't approve of. But an evil genius? I don't think so.

But on the other hand - I *definitely* don't think he's "an all American, hard-working, middle-aged guy with the perfect family". Just like "evil genius" is too extreme, so is that description. George is a human being who has faults, just like the rest of us. Those faults just happen to grate on my nerves a whole lot! lol...

My opinion of Karen really changed once she left the house too. I see her in a much more favorable light now. I still don't like Mega, but I don't despise him like I once did...and these days I dislike Jordan more than I ever did. Since one of the two votes I casted while the show aired was for her, that's saying a lot.

Ocean_Islands

Sunday, October 29, 2000 - 05:40 am Click here to edit this post

Mastermind? Hmmm.

More likely "Masterbumpkin."

Kitkat

Sunday, October 29, 2000 - 06:25 am Click here to edit this post

I think that George is just at a different intellectual level than the other HG's. It is not just a matter of education, his thoughts and ideas were at a different level. Also. he insisted that he was the 'old man'! I am many moons older than George and work with people half my age, I never feel ancient, and am never treated as old.

Guruchaz

Saturday, November 04, 2000 - 12:19 am Click here to edit this post

Don't make fun of my BB "homie".

George, you roh!

Katie

Saturday, November 04, 2000 - 01:44 pm Click here to edit this post

You know Rockey, I went thought a lot of the same thoughts and feelings with George. He just seemed to do thing that were just unbelievable to be real. It was more of a feeling of he can't really be that stupid can he? It has to be a plan of some kind.

Daffy81

Wednesday, November 08, 2000 - 07:31 am Click here to edit this post

0D

Nsgirl

Wednesday, November 08, 2000 - 08:00 am Click here to edit this post

I think Fruitbar hit the nail on the head with George.

I totally agree with his Karen thoughts too. I didn't like her in the house, esp. when she was nagging Curtis about nom. her when it was Jamie.
But now, I see her in a different light.

And, I once liked Jordan, but dislike her now.
Funny how our opinions of people change depending on their "behaviour of the day"