Even as I used the word “sacrifice” in the below sentence,
"But to achieve this level of excellence, it takes dedication, hard work,
sacrifice of some things in favor of other things, discipline, focus, and
effort. “
and even with the qualifiers I added, I felt a moment’s discomfort about the
word.
This morning, I heard a report that most of the athletes spoken to about
“sacrifice” said they preferred the word “choice.” Sacrifice implies
deprivation, and many of the athletes say they do not feel a deprivation, they
are enriched by what they do. Same goes for musicians, dancers, actors, all
those other things people get up to!
On Aug 12, 2016, at 5:15 PM, Alice Dampman Humel <alicedh@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Once again, there is no hard and fast rule here. I think I deleted a message
I started to send in which I referred to Dominique Marciano or however her
name is spelled, a gymnast from a few Olympiades ago. Apparently, she
suffered greatly under an abusive father and coaches, the famous ones, who
did nothing. But, as in music with which you draw a parallel, there are also
kids who love what they do. Then there is that fine line between doing what
parents doing what they think is good for their child. How many adults say,
I’m so glad my parents made me continue with the piano lessons, or,
conversely, I’m so sorry I made such a stink about practicing and that my
parents gave in and let me quit. It can all go any number of ways. But to
achieve this level of excellence, it takes dedication, hard work, sacrifice
of some things in favor of other things, discipline, focus, and effort. For
some the rewards of excellence and maybe prizes are enough to make it
worthwhile. For some, it is the love of the sport or art itself, be it
gymnastics, swimming, music, art, acting, writing,.
There have been stories of the looks of bliss on some of these young
athletes’ faces as they receive their scores or even before when they know
they’ve nailed a routine.
On Aug 12, 2016, at 2:43 PM, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Alice,
You might read Dave Zirin's book, Brazil's Dance With The Devil which
responds to some of your points about Brazil and its history, as well as the
present situation. But there was another point in this article which gave me
pause, and that was what kinds of training children go through from a very
young age in order to develop the skills that permit them to compete and
whether it is the children who want to go through the rigors of the training
or the parents who impose the training on them for their own self
gratification. I'm sure that happens sometimes, as it does in other fields
such as music. I actually knew a family who had three children. The father
was in an auto accident with two of them, the son and one daughter. The son
died. The daughter was brain damaged and visually impaired as a result. The
younger daughter hadn't been in the car. She was much younger and had
musical talent. Her parents groomed her to become a concert pianist until
she rebelled and refused to play the piano anymore. I understand, in
retrospect, what was driving them emotionally, but to that little girl, it
felt like abuse.
Miriam
________________________________
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Alice Dampman
Humel
Sent: Friday, August 12, 2016 1:27 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: The Olympics Are a Colossal Waste and a
Shameful Distraction
So the upshot of this article, which we actually all know, is that Brazil
had serious problems before the Loympics came to town, and the question is
how much worse has it gotten BECAUSE, as in as a result of the Olympics?
What is on the other side of the balance? Have some improvements in the
lives of the poor come about? I don't know.
And to compare Rio, with its pre-Olympic enormous social problems, to cities
like London, Atlanta, Tokyo, and other host cities is a little disingenuous.
I've also read that the Brazilian and local Rio governments have been very
slow to make any demands on the IOC, to take advantage of whatever economic
or infrastructure improvements could have been negotiated or even accepted
by their city.
Ah, Ted, I quote your tag line, there are at least two sides to every story.
Oh, yeah, to comment on something from an earlier post.as for the idea of
nation competing against nation, too bad we can't settle our differences
this way, that has been a component of the Olympic games since ancient
times, and besides the individual athletes, there are teams, so here we have
an example of cooperation, teamwork and competition existing side by side.
And what is the difference whether people distract themselves with the
Olympics every 4 years or with the local baseball, football, soccer,
basketball, hockey, teams of the home town every weekend?
On Aug 12, 2016, at 11:42 AM, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Truthdig
The Olympics Are a Colossal Waste and a Shameful Distraction
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/rio_olympics_are_a_colossal_waste_and_a_
shameful_distraction_20160811/
AddThis Sharing Buttons
Share to FacebookShare to TwitterMore AddThis Share optionsShare to
Posted on Aug 11, 2016
By Sonali Kolhatkar
The Olympic torch being carried in front of the Christ the Redeemer
statue
on the way to the opening ceremony of the Summer Games in Rio de
Janeiro on
Aug. 5. (Felipe Dana /
AP(http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/APTOPIX-Rio-Olympics/98bb210281c64
6229cee14ed7928f84d/1/1) )
Everyone loves the Olympics. They allow people all over the world to
set
aside their political and religious differences and enjoy a few
weeks of
healthy competition between a few thousand people who have spent
years
honing their skills.
At least, this is what we tell ourselves.
In fact, not everyone loves the Olympics. Often, the poorest sectors
of
society within the host countries experience displacement and other
forms of
oppression as authorities work hard to impress visiting athletes and
spectators. In Brazil, the first South American country to serve as
the
international showcase, this was certainly true; more than 20,000
families(https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/28/brazil-officials-evic
ting-families-2016-olympic-games) were displaced to make way for
Olympics-related infrastructure. In fact, the state of Rio de
Janeiro, where
the games are being held, is in such desperate financial
circumstances that
state workers are not being paid and health care centers cannot even
afford
to take on the Zika virus crisis. Rio declared bankruptcy ahead of
the
games, and the state's governor declared a "state of
calamity(http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/06/18/482593048/rios-go
vernor-declares-state-of-calamity-ahead-of-olympic-games) ."
But the mayor of Rio de Janeiro was quick to assure the
world(http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-21/berg-moral-bankruptcy-of-the-oly
mpics/7528680) that the economic disaster "in no way delays the
delivery of
Olympic projects and the promises assumed by the city of Rio."
Apparently,
delivering basic services to the city's residents is a lower
priority than
accommodating the Olympics.
In a recent Dallas News opinion column, Andrew
Zimbalist(http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20160808-andres-o
ppenheimer-hosting-the-olympics-is-an-ego-trip-for-politicians-and-a-bad-dea
l-for-citizens.ece) , an expert on the social and financial cost of
hosting
the Olympics, said, "The net outcome of the Rio Games is that they
will have
spent $20 billion, they will receive $4.5 billion in revenue, and
they will
end up with a $15 billion deficit."
While the fireworks and glittering stadiums overshadow the social
and
financial problems of this year's host nation, the facade is
crumbling.
Rio's famous
favelas(http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/brazils-olympics-meet-its-fa
velas) are in full view of many venues, and concerns about
sewage-infested
waters are so serious that athletes competing in water sports have
been
advised(http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/international/ct-olympic-rowing
-dirty-water-20160806-story.html) not to splash in, or accidentally
drink,
the virus- and bacteria-ridden water.
Brazil is hardly an exception in the long line of host countries
paying far
too dearly for the privilege of hosting the games. The billions
spent on
building the required infrastructure rarely translate into direct,
long-term
benefits for the citizens of host countries. Instead, ordinary
people pay
dearly for the fleeting enjoyment of spectators around the world,
while
corporations prosper from building contracts and lucrative
sponsorship
agreements(http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2016/08/corporate-sponsorships-of
-olympics-make-political-investments-look-like-a-very-good-deal/)
and
governments earn little more than bragging rights. This series of
photos(http://www.businessinsider.com/abandoned-olympic-venues-around-the-wo
rld-photos-rio-2016-8) of abandoned and decaying Olympics venues
from host
cities around the world is a disturbing testament to the ugly and
often
invisible legacy of the games.
In addition to poverty, displacement and poor public health and
infrastructure, Brazil is in the midst of its worst political crisis
in
decades, as widely discredited impeachment proceedings against
democratically elected President Dilma Rousseff play out in the
capital,
Brasilia. Interim President Michel Temer has painted a rosy hue on
the games
and worked hard to silence political dissent. Security forces have
deployed
stun grenades and tear gas on demonstrators. But
protesters(https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/brazilian-prote
sters-censored-at-olympics/2016/08/07/c8dfc014-5cca-11e6-84c1-6d27287896b5_s
tory.html) among the crowds of spectators are speaking out, using
the
international spotlight to get their message across. Ahead of the
games,
activists launched a creative and concerted effort to extinguish the
Olympic
torch(http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/08/rio-olympics-torch-brazil-160804
183937431.html) as it was carried through Rio's streets in order to
express
their opposition to the effort to oust Rousseff. One of the
torch-bearers,
an Afro-Brazilian athlete, took a personal risk and exposed the
words Fora
Temer (Out with Temer) emblazoned on his behind, as this video
report(https://www.facebook.com/ajplusenglish/videos/774697316005111/?hc_loc
ation=ufi) shows.
As for the notion that the Olympics help us set aside our political
and
religious divides for a few weeks, even that is a lie. If anything,
the
games become nationalistic rituals that amplify existing divides and
are
simply an excuse to drape oneself with a flag and beat one's
favorite enemy
nation in the arena of sports. Certainly this is better than actual
war-but
rarely, if ever, is it a substitute for war.
On the flip side, the Olympic Games offer yet another platform to
display
all the societal ills we struggle with on a daily basis, such as
sexism(http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/08/sexism-olympics-katie-led
ecky-is-amazeballs) and
racism(http://racerelations.about.com/od/hollywood/a/Racial-Controversies-An
d-The-Olympic-Games.htm) . Even the debut of the "refugee
team(https://www.olympic.org/news/refugee-olympic-athletes-deliver-message-o
f-hope-for-displaced-people) " at this year's games may do little to
humanize the toll of wars (but what about Brazil's own internally
displaced
refugees that the Olympics have generated?). Pentagon officials who
draw up
war plans are hardly going to be moved by the humanity of Yusra
Mardini(https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/06/yusra-mardini-100m-but
terfly-heat-win-refugee-olympic-team-rio-2016) , a Syrian refugee
swimmer,
and stop bombing her fellow Syrian
civilians(https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/07/21/an-ai
rstrike-in-syria-killed-entire-families-instead-of-isis-fighters/) .
It may
cause some individuals in Western nations to think twice about their
bigoted
attitudes toward incoming refugees (or it may amplify existing
stereotypes,
such as those elicited by a hijab-wearing Egyptian volleyball
player(http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2016/08/09/beach-volleyball-player-wear
ing-hijab-met-criticism-not-fitting-rio-olympics/) ). But basic and
fair
media coverage of the issues refugees face when wars displace them
could
achieve the same end without the high price of the Olympics.
But aren't the Olympics a wonderful venue for young, talented
athletes who
have spent years honing their skills? As the hilariously prescient,
satirical video-podcast "Ultra Spiritual
Life(http://uncrate.com/video/what-i-love-about-the-olympics/) "
noted about
athletes at the Rio Olympics, "I'm grateful that this 15-year-old
girl had
parents who were emotionally abusive enough to live through her.
Nine hours
of training every day since she was 3 years old equals trauma in her
psyche,
stress fractures in her legs, but it equals national pride for me."
Stories
about young children in China being trained for the 2012 Olympics
revealed a
shocking level of
brutality(http://www.businessinsider.com/a-chinese-olympian-had-no-idea-her-
mother-had-cancer-because-her-parents-feared-it-would-disturb-her-training-2
012-8) meted out for the national pride of winning a gold medal.
Additionally, the financial
burden(http://blogs.marketwatch.com/paydirt/2012/08/07/the-true-cost-of-maki
ng-the-olympics/) of training for the Olympics, particularly in
countries
like the U.S., which does not provide subsidies for athletes'
families, is
huge and often leads to bankruptcy.
Even heartwarming stories of underdogs winning Olympic medals are
not worth
the price of the games. The story of a young Afro-Brazilian girl,
Rafaela
Silva, who hails from the famed City of God favela and won a gold
medal(http://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/37024492) , provided just
the
"inspiration" fodder that many people, including liberals, like to
tout. But
Silva's story plays right into the neoliberal myth of individual
success
being possible for anyone who simply works hard enough. What about
the
broader community from which Silva emerged? Brazil's favelas are
among the
most dangerous places for children to grow up, rife with poverty,
drugs and
violence, and Silva's story has no practical, positive bearing on
them. In
fact, the Olympics only ensure that the state will spend years
paying off
the debt of hosting the games rather than spending the money on the
welfare
of its residents.
Are the games really worth the collective and individual sacrifice
that so
many communities and legions of people pay? Ultimately, the
Olympics, like
most global sporting events (such as World Cup soccer), distract us
from the
real work of solving societal ills, divert far too many resources
away from
human needs and amplify nationalist fervor and existing divides. All
in the
service of athletes vying for medals and millions of spectators who
wrap
themselves in flags while cheering them on.
Criticism of Hillary Clinton Is Not Support of Donald Trump
The Games
Why It's So Hard for Members of the Military to Speak Out
More Bad News About Water Safety Could Affect Millions of Americans
Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines
C 2016 Truthdig, LLC. All rights reserved.
Signup for Truthdig's newsletter
