To each their own

The new season of Survivor, in its attempt to stay as controversial as possible for the ratings, has decided that the four 'tribes' this time will be divided by race. A white tribe, a black tribe, a Hispanic tribe and an Asian tribe (which I assume includes people of Indian origin, although for some reason most people in the US seem surprised that Indians tend to categorize themselves as Asian). Some observers worry that the show is meant to exploit racial stereotypes; The hot-blooded Latino, the athletic black and the super-intelligent Asian etc. Gambling websites are already laying odds that the white tribe will win (I checked purely out of curiosity).
Am I reading too much into this, or does it seem to be part of a growing trend? Is political correctness seriously ill, if not on it's deathbed? The entertainment industry usually grasps on to impending social phenomenon before the rest of us do. Has it seen signs that people are becoming more open about the fact that they are most comfortable around others of their of own ethnicity and mistrusting of outsiders?
A recent BBC bulletin reported that in England "some communities were leading 'parallel lives' with little or no contact with each other." The article, while primarily dealing with disaffection among Muslim youth, pointed out that in many diverse communities there was a tendency for ethnic groups to remain largely segregated from each other and that the British government was starting to see that multi-culturalism may not be a rainbow colored dream after all.
Islamic fundamentalism among segregated minorities may have shone a light on the problem, but it certainly did not create it. Simply take a look at American jails to see how groups of people function when devoid of social obligations. California Prison Focus, a human rights group for inmates has this to say in an article on segregation in state prisons - "Inside prison everything is determined by race. Housing, exercise, eating, clothing and access to various jobs and programs depend on skin color. One prison in California had weightlifting equipment labeled 'B' for black, 'W' for white, and 'L' for Latino to avoid fights over it. Each race might have its own barber who uses clippers only on members of one race. Prisoners segregate themselves at meals. Whites and blacks prohibit their own from exchanging food, candy or cigarettes. Just walking the halls with someone of another color can bring angry questions, taunting or assault."
The US Supreme Court in a recent attempt to bring a halt to segregation in California prisons ruled that the state must abandon its policy of assigning inmates to racially segregated cells when they arrive. Andres Romero writes in the Pasadena Weekly "Behind prison walls, however, you have no choices. You stay within your own race and keep away from other ethnic groups. No ifs, ands or buts. Break the rules of segregation here and you could end up injured or dead.... what prison officials understand, and the Supreme Court fails to think about, is that this is not the free world. This is prison. Segregation in here helps maintain a sense of stability and civility."
Who's to say which approach is right? Do we try to continue with the politically correct notion of being color blind and pretending that the average person is not at least slightly racist deep inside? Or does that mean that we're just ignoring the big dead elephant in the room? And if we choose to accept the notion that people, left to their own devices, prefer to be segregated, then is it correct to shove integration down their throats?