Friday, August 19, 2016

Leave my Olympics Alone!



The first time I remember watching the Olympics live 1988.  I remember watching the Seoul games with my parents and marveling at the exploits of Janet Evans, Ben Johnson vs. Carl Lewis, FloJo and Greg Louganis. Even before that though, I remember watching a documentary about the 1984 Olympics called 16 Days of Glory. This movie taught me about the Olympics.  Because it focused entirely on what happened on the track, in the pool, or in the gyms, that's really what the Olympics has always been about to me.  It's not about racism, or shady business deals to obtain the right to host the games, or political gamesmanship.

Maybe that's why I've been so grouchy about the coverage of these Olympics.  Of course, now know that this sort of thing has been happening since at least 1936, when Nazi Germany was able to essentially bribe Avery Brundage to ensure the USA would compete in Munich. I know that John Carlos and Tommie Smith took a stand for African Americans  in Mexico City in 1968. I know that 11 Israeli athletes were killed at in 1972.  So yes, I know that my view of the Olympics is terribly naive and romantic.  But I learned about this stuff when I was 8.  It's sort of how you think of movies like The Land Before Time that you saw as a child are absolutely incredible, but when you show them to your kids decades later, you realize it's super boring and that Cera the Three Horn might be the most annoying character to ever grace the screen (seriously...she insulted Littlefoot's recently dead mother!)

Anyways, back to the Olympics.  There have been a multitude of "controversies" that have really detracted from the Games themselves.  I'll try to break down some of them here:

Controversy: THIS IS GOING TO BE THE WORST OLYMPICS EVER!
This one isn't unique to Rio....I remember this happening before Sochi in 2014 (pictures of half finished hotels peppered social media in the weeks leading up to the games) and Vancouver in 2010 (OMG THERE'S NO SNOW!).  Here are some of the headlines this time around!
 Before the Olympics:
Olympic Velodrome Builder's Contract Cancelled by Rio City Government 
Athlete's Village "Unliveable" 
Poop Olympics: Rio Water Sports Venues are Teeming with Fecal Viruses 

That all sounds terrible! How are we ever going to be able to host an Olympic Games? Let's find out!

During/After the Olympics:
Thumbs Up for Rio Velodrome
Sailing: Athletes fed up with Rio Water Quality Complaints 
And I'll let Olympian Amber Campbell let you know what she thinks of the accommodations:


Weird right? Aside from the weird pool turning green thing (which, ironically, is because there weren't ENOUGH chemicals in the water), I haven't really heard anything negative about the venues, living conditions, or anything else since the games started.

Controversy: SEXISM
This one is actually warranted, but maybe not to the extent it's been made out to be.  Trap shooter Corey Codgell-Unrein was referred to as "the wife of Chicago Bears player Mitch Unrein." People freaked the hell out.  You could say that she was defined by her husband. What's not mentioned is that this headline was in a Chicago newspaper, where the Chicago Bears probably get a bazillion more page views and reads than a story about Olympic Trap Shooting.  To me, it's no different than the endless stories and headlines about former OSU basketball coach Craig Robinson that started "Brother of First Lady Michelle Obama" or "President's Brother-in-Law...." I guess my point would be that the article probably wouldn't have even been published in the Chicago Tribune without her connection to the Chicago Bears, so was it a little sexist? Yeah.  Did she get more exposure for her talent and her sport because of that subtle sexism? Probably.

This initial example of sexism prompted people to start looking for examples of sexism.  When an announcer credited Hungarian swimming badass Katinka Hosszu's husband as "the man responsible" for her success....the pitchforks came out again. But....he was also her coach! Aren't coaches usually credited with bringing out the best in their teams/players? Was it a poorly worded way to say it? Sure. But here's a quote from Hosszu herself from an article in the New York Times right before the Olympics:
Hosszu described him as impatient and said that when he made refinements in her strokes, especially her backstroke, “he expects me to get it perfect right away.”
She added, “That’s why I’ve improved so much.”
 Ironically, one of the statements I though was the most sexist was generally applauded by the same people so intent on ferreting out misogynist behavior at the Olympics.  As Katie Ledecky was laying waste to the field in the 800m Freestyle, Rowdy Gaines said "people say she swims like a man - I say she swims like Katie Ledecky!" I had literally never heard anyone say that she swam like a man until he mentioned it.  Turns out, the people saying that were other swimmers and coaches.  Evidently, the galloping kick she was using is common among men, but not so much amongst women.  Bringing up this technical swimming stroke that almost nobody watching would have picked up on it, until he brought it up without really explaining it all that well.

Controversy: Ellen Degeneres Gets a Piggyback from Usain Bolt



Is this racist? I guess that depends on who you are and what you're looking for.  If you believe that most white people are inherently racist, then you see a white woman using a black man as a vehicle or tool rather than as a human being.  If you're less sensitive to these things, you probably say "ha! He's fast! That's funny!"  If this offends you, I get it.  You are entirely entitled to that opinion. But she didn't say "I wish I could make that guy run my errands for me like they did in the South before Abe Lincoln screwed everything up." That's offensive to everyone. There's a big difference.

With things like this, I think it's important to factor in intent.  Do I think that Ellen, a lesbian and one of the most popular people in this country, was intentionally trying to belittle a man who belongs to another group of people who have been historically marginalized by our society? Absolutely not. Very clearly, the joke is about his speed, not his skin color.

Controversy: Ryan Lochte
This one's a real headscratcher for me.  Apparently some people think that Ryan Lochte is benefitting from white privilege in this whole "robbery" fiasco. I have no idea how this is the case. These are the facts as I understand them, and please correct me if I get any of this wrong:

Ryan Lochte and his posse go to a party and get super drunk
On the way home they stop at a gas station to pee
They are too drunk to operate the door to the bathroom, so they break it, along with some other stuff
Security is not happy with this, so they try to hold them for the cops to sort this out
The drunk Americans don't want to wait for the cops, so they try to leave
Security pulls guns on them to get them to stay
Someone offers to translate, at which point the swimmers offer to pay for the damages (reports are that they offered about $50.  I have no idea how much it costs to fix a door in Brazil.)
Cooler heads prevail, nobody is shot, and the swimmers leave
Back at the Olympic Village, Ryan Lochte tells people he was robbed, including his mom.
Reporters talk to his mom, and then report that he was robbed.
Lochte corroborates this story himself in a televised interview
The cops hear about this, want to figure out what happened
Ryan tells the cops he was robbed
Evidence proves that he was not robbed
Cops try to detain Lochte, but he's already on a plane home
EVERYONE ALIVE AGREES RYAN LOCHTE IS AN IDIOT

Where exactly in this string of events did Ryan Lochte benefit from his whiteness? Where did he benefit from his status as an Olympian? Where did he say his "robbers" were black or hispanic?

I have no evidence of this, but to me, it's plausible that a drunk dude who doesn't speak Portuguese wouldn't think the breaking of a door a few minutes ago was related to the man angrily pointing a gun at him and asking for money. He might've thought he was being robbed. He was wrong, and he's an idiot, but maybe he believed he was being robbed. Or, maybe he needed an excuse for why he was getting back to the Olympic village after 6 in the morning, so he decided to say he was robbed, because he's drunk and not that smart to begin with.

I think it's important to note that he didn't contact the police to say he was robbed.  The police contacted him after he told other people he was robbed.

As for the assertion that this has any correlation to the people criticizing Gabby Douglas, that's just insane.  The only people going after Gabby Douglas are ignorant dummies on social media. If you can find one example of a legitimate publication or anyone other than a private citizen popping off on Twitter calling her "unpatriotic," please show it to me. I've also seen tweets like this:



Except....Ryan Lochte was also criticized for his hair, even before he went HAM on a bathroom door:



Also, if you can explain to me how the deafening crush of media coverage of #LochteGate is "crickets," I'd love to hear it.

I also read an article where someone alleged that if Usain Bolt had claimed he was robbed, nobody would've believed him and his story would've been doubted from the second he uttered the words "I was robbed."

This is a 100% false statement.  I've yet to meet a single person that doesn't absolutely love Usain Bolt and think he is one of the coolest people on the planet.  I wouldn't believe that he lied about anything until it was proven that he was full of crap....just like Ryan Lochte.

Controversy: Media Ignores 2nd Amendment Advocate's Olympic Feat


Lest you think it's just liberals claiming media bias, get a load of this crap.

You want to know why you've never heard of Kim Rhode? It's because she's a freaking skeet shooter.  If you know the names of any of the athletes who won medals in the following sports that don't involve guns, please come collect your title as biggest Olympics fan in the US (relatives and/or friends of Olympians are not eligible for this prize):
Fencing
Equestrian
Boxing
Sailing
Archery

Anyone? No? I'm guessing that's probably because they compete in a sport that is not shown during primetime television and never shown on TV in the four years between the Olympics....just like skeet shooting.  This is a classic example of people taking a cause that is near and dear to their hearts (in this case, the 2nd Amendment) and projecting it as being as vitally important to everyone everywhere as it is to them.

I'm not arguing that sexism, racism, gun-ism, or any other ism doesn't exist. They very clearly and very obviously do.  But not every statement is loaded with these isms. For example, saying that "it's incredible that Kerry Jennings Walsh can be a mom and be competing this well!" is not very different from saying "Kerry Jennings Walsh is performing incredibly well for someone who had their third child a few months ago!" The first statement may have been made with the intent to convey the information in the second statement, only it was poorly worded. It's a poor choice of words, but it's no reason to brand the announcer as a sexist meathead who thinks that women cease to be athletes once they pop out a few kids.

I've now been writing this for three hours, which was definitely not my intention when I started.  I didn't even get into Hope Solo or Yulia Efimova and the countless time and energy spent on things that had almost nothing to do with their performance on the field or in the pool. I'm just frustrated that Gabby Douglas not putting her hand on her heart has got as much attention as Simone Biles' four gold medals.  I'm annoyed that Ryan Lochte will be the swimmer people think of first when they think of the 2016 Olympics instead of Michael Phelps, Simone Manuel, Katie Ledecky, or Katinka Hosszu.  I'm frustrated by the climate in society today where everyone views every comment as a personal attack on their beliefs or their identity, when that really isn't always the case. I'm frustrated that a very biased or slanted meme becomes "proof" that someone is out to get you. I'm especially frustrated that if people have a disagreement on one specific issue, it seems to mean that they can no longer remember the one hundred other things that they agree on and let it ruin their relationship.

But mostly, I'm frustrated that I can't watch the Olympics with the same wide eyed wonder I did as an 8 year old kid anymore.  That was two and a half straight weeks of pure joy for me.  Now it's brief moments of joy interrupted by countless hours of complaining and argument.








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