Joel's Final Words
To Mark Burnett, CBS, and everybody else out there, thanks a lot. It was a great experience, a life changing experience. I'm a little disappointed that I went before the teams merged. I always predicted that I'd go right after the teams merged.
The main thing that came down was Gervase's statement the other day. The girls really took offense to that. I think I was the only one that was really outspoken. A lot of times when somebody wanted something said, the group knew it had to be said. I was the one that said it. I think I drew a lot of the fire that way, but that's me. I'm not the kind of guy that is going to sit there and not say anything. If something needs to be said, I'm going to say it. People can say what they want, that I was stupid to say anything, but if I wouldn't have said anything, we'd be sleeping on the ground in the jungle.
I did what I came here to do, to compete, to give everything I had for the team and for myself, and to prove I could do it. Eighteen days in the jungle, it was cool and I made it almost halfway. I wish I could've made it a little longer.
I think the girls on the team; maybe a few of them had a little inferiority complex. They took some of the remarks wrong or too serious. My mom always taught me open the door for a lady, help her, never walk in front of her, always let her go first and make sure everything is okay. I went into it with that attitude and I got complaints about it. So I started treating everyone like one of the guys and I think some of the girls wanted their cake and eat it too. They wanted to be equal with all of the men on the team, so I treated them equally with the men. They wanted their pleases, and for us to give them a little bit of leeway because they were women. I'm definitely not a chauvinist. I think a woman can do anything that a man can do. That is why I had every faith in the world in the team.
I'm gone because I questioned some of the decisions and I didn't take everything automatically at face value when something was said. These are all questions the rest of the team wanted to ask. Whoever voted against me for that reason, maybe it was Gretchen, these weren't questions I thought of on my own, these were questions that people came to me and said "what about this?" I was just the one who said them. So think what you want to think.
Good luck with everything everybody. I don't have any ill will towards anybody. I'd just like to say hey, I'm sure I'll think at night tomorrow or the next day of things I wanted say. I know I always think of things I want to say later. Thanks to CBS, thanks to Mark Burnett, thanks to Survivor for giving me a chance to come out here. It has just been a totally amazing experience. This is the ultimate game. This is the whole deal. I'll have a few drinks for you guys. See you soon.
