The Obama Special Olympics comment

[Q]

Yeah, I never said Obama was the one person who ruined our country, you just assumed. But he's certainly making it worse with his redistribution of wealth.

I'm not too fond of it myself, BUT...

As for Bush "doing nothing," he pretty much gave us an economic golden age.

LOLWUT?

Until the House democrats overturned everything and bound his hands.

The Republicans cut taxes and then spent like drunken sailors on a three-day pass to Amsterdam.

The state of the economy has nothing to do with Bush whatsoever.

Um, how about the huge expense of a worthless military endeavor like Iraq? How about deregulating finance while allowing everyone in Congress (from both parties) to take part in looting it and then forcing the taxpayers to foot the bill? Obama and the Democrats are no better, but I can't see how they could be much worse at this point. They're all lying crooks as far as I'm concerned.

[Web Rider]

Honestly I think the "Special Olympics" is a load anyway. Yeah OM he just said wut?!? Yeah really it is and everyone knows it, that's why all but a few people thought Obama's joke was funny, because we all know it, there's no "sport" to the Special Olympics, there's no real competition. Oh yeah, we know that sports are good for anyone regardless of mental capacity, but we don't watch sports to see people feel happy. We watch sports to see people who have spent their lives training to do something that most people can only dream of do their thing!

 

If you've got the mental capacity to understand the ways in which Obama's joke was offensive, you're not the target of it. Nobody was hurt, except people who spend their time looking for a new way in which to be offended. What, he should throw more money at the biggest running joke in sports? All the people who support the Special Olympics, you know what you're doing? You're saying "Awwww, they suck at sports but can still be good when competing against other mentally handicapped people but are clearly not capable for competing with REAL athletes."

 

And ya know, sure, if makes them feel good what they do, but don't for an instant think that the Special Olympics comes anywhere near real sports.

 

Yeah, Obama's comment was dumb for a politician. He should do the whole "I'm sorry" speech and whatever. But what he said is what most people think about the Special Olympics.

[Samnmax221]

Like wow, the presidents human and stuff, big whoop.

There's a huge difference between being sensitive and courteous and censorship.

No, there isn't.

 

 

Speaking from the position of someone who was forced to volunteer (Voluntold) to help out with the Special Olympics, I can say without fault that there is no such thing as handicapable.

[Tommycat]

Oh yeah, that makes a lot sense, especially when under Bush the national deficit doubled. Thanks, Dubya.

 

As opposed to the nearly $TRILLION deficit THIS YEAR? Obama has ushered in THE LARGEST deficit ever.

 

But this is heading WAY off topic.

 

And mimartin, every time Bush made a gaff, he was crucified in the media, EVEN WHEN HE IMMEDIATELY APPOLOGIZED. And he did appologize every time. It was when teh media continued to criticize him that the Republican party criticized the media for continuing the bashing.

 

Again, I still feel this is much ado about nothing. Sure the president should be more careful with his wording. But lets face it, it was just a joke.

[mimartin]

And mimartin, every time Bush made a gaff, he was crucified in the media, EVEN WHEN HE IMMEDIATELY APPOLOGIZED. And he did appologize every time. It was when teh media continued to criticize him that the Republican party criticized the media for continuing the bashing.

No, no no. You're correct about the end of his Presidency once America figured out he was one of the worse Presidents in American history and his popularity went to an all-time lows. Yet, we forget at one time President Bush was one of the most popular Presidents of all-time too. At that time anyone that criticized him was considered un-American, be it the media, celebrities, families of 911 victims or just regular citizens. And no, he did not apologize for every gaff and he did not forgive others when they made a gaff against him. He did not have to at the time, he was one of the most popular Presidents at the time and we were fighting terrorist. He was above that.

[Adavardes]

And mimartin, every time Bush made a gaff, he was crucified in the media, EVEN WHEN HE IMMEDIATELY APPOLOGIZED. And he did appologize every time. It was when teh media continued to criticize him that the Republican party criticized the media for continuing the bashing.

 

Kind of like how the media "bashed" Palin during the elections? I'm sorry, but sometimes an incompetent idiot trying to lead is just an incompetent idiot trying to lead. The media can only do so much to twist words, and most of the cases where I saw Bush's idiocy or Palin's complete incapability was from them, live, in their own words. So yeah, drop the "we were unjustly targeted" act, nobody's buying it.

 

But back to the topic at hand.

 

And ya know, sure, if makes them feel good what they do, but don't for an instant think that the Special Olympics comes anywhere near real sports.

 

Maybe this is just my extremely anti-sports bias talking, but I think that any and all sports, regardless of how amazing you think what they're doing is, are completely pointless, and a huge waste of time and entertainment. It's kind of sad that we've come so far, yet haven't gotten over our need for a colloseum. So, really, I have no trouble calling the Special Olympics a sport. It's a form of entertainment testing physical ability, just like any other sport, it makes them feel good about themselves, and shows them that they can accomplish what they set out to.

 

The sanctity of something so utterly useless to society is, in my opinion, not a concern.

[mur'phon]

Then what is usefull entertainment? At least sport keep many people fit who otherwise would be couch potatoes.

[Jae Onasi]

I disagree that sports are useless. I enjoy watching football and baseball, but I hate participating in a lot of sports, but I love Taekwondo. I suck at most sports because of a knee with no cartilage left, weight, and asthma. However, I'm good at tkd because it requires thought, precision, and most importantly, dedication and focus. If I never did Taekwondo, I never would have learned that yes, I could do 200 pushups, 200 sit-ups, and then do 2 hours of heavy physical activity for my 1st Dan black belt test and make it because I had learned how to pace myself and worked my butt off for years to get to that point. I never would have learned that I could do some very simple things to protect myself and that I could flip a guy a foot taller and 50 pounds heavier than me and make him cry out in pain to boot. I would have never learned the magic of being so 'in the moment' that I could create just the perfect movement at just the right point in time in order to break multiple boards at one time. I would not have developed the flexibility and strength that helped me recover faster from my knee surgery. I would not have learned the beauty of movement in the absolutely perfect form and how good it feels when you know you've nailed it. I would never have learned just how amazing my body is, even one as crapped out as mine.

 

I'll never win a black belt sparring match because I'm just not fast enough. However, I have won several trophies for doing forms (kata in karate), not because I'm the most athletic, but because I worked harder over the course of years to achieve the focus necessary to have every single part of my body in the right position at just the right time in order to do the form more precisely than anyone else did at those particular competitions. There are also some things about fighting that you cannot learn without actually doing the sport of sparring--like how much force is required to move someone, how far you can go with an armlock without dislocating a shoulder, how to work through minor pain to achieve your goal and learn just how tough you really are in the process. These are things you can't learn any other way but in a sport.

 

Poo-poo it if you want, Adavardes, but you're the one missing out. The problem isn't sports. The problem is you haven't found the right one for _you_--the one that makes you want to do it no matter what else you have going on. It took me 35 years to find Taekwondo. I encourage you to find the one that's right for you. Your body will thank you for it years down the road.

[jrrtoken]

The problem isn't sports; the problem is Western society's (especially America's) absolute fixation on sports.

 

The fact that almost every major sport has effectively created a cult of athlete adoration amongst everyone, especially children, has essentially corrupted our society, especially when it comes to academia.

[EnderWiggin]

Poo-poo it if you want, Adavardes, but you're the one missing out. The problem isn't sports. The problem is you haven't found the right one for _you_--the one that makes you want to do it no matter what else you have going on. It took me 35 years to find Taekwondo. I encourage you to find the one that's right for you. Your body will thank you for it years down the road.

 

Agree, Jae

 

_EW_

[Web Rider]

Maybe this is just my extremely anti-sports bias talking, but I think that any and all sports, regardless of how amazing you think what they're doing is, are completely pointless, and a huge waste of time and entertainment. It's kind of sad that we've come so far, yet haven't gotten over our need for a colloseum. So, really, I have no trouble calling the Special Olympics a sport. It's a form of entertainment testing physical ability, just like any other sport, it makes them feel good about themselves, and shows them that they can accomplish what they set out to.

While I would agree that this is true for commercialized mass-media sports, I don't think this is true for sports themselves. People are social animals that need physical exercise and have a desire to compete. People enjoy competing in a non-violent matter, or at least a non-deadly manner, and people enjoy watching the sports.

 

Watching sports can be a little pointless I suppose, but I don't think participating in sports is pointless. I think it's a very useful practice for the kind of creatures humans are. If nothing else, it's a great mating call.

 

The sanctity of something so utterly useless to society is, in my opinion, not a concern.

I don't really care if sports are thought of as something that needs to be kept "sacred", as I think evolving rules that adapt for changes in playstyle and competitors is very necessary to keeping it inventive and healthy.