Paralympics?

[rynnor]

I don't get it.

I mean fundamentally I don't get it - I can see the point of being the best at something but not the point of being the best at something out of people who are bad at that something?

Its like taking a bunch of school kids and seperating the bottom 5% in terms of ability and then letting them have a competition to see who is least crap and then giving them medals?

I believe in rights for the disabled but this just seems weird and cringeworthy.

Additionally, I know the olympics aren't perfect but they look it compared to how much worse the paralympics are in terms of a few privileged rich countries turning up.

Thoughts?

 

[Job]

Yes, it does cause me concerns and this is slowly dawning on the public and the press.
Article today from a paralympian that it's about technology improving the organic and that there should be no limits..so what the high jump is going to be the Moon?

 

[Vae]

You say 'least crap' but a lot of these athletes are still better than the vast majority of other people doing the sport. I know 3 personally and 2 of them (who are medal hopes/expectations) will beat all those who aren't in the top tier of the actual Olympics. The reason it seems only a few privileged countries turn up is that it is only those countries who can afford to have a paralympic program in their country. If a nation can only afford to send a handful of athletes then they are most likely to send Olympic athletes given that the state of healthcare in their country probably means that there are no paralympic athletes.

I wouldn't say it's cringeworthy at all. Rather I'd say that it acts as an shining example of people overcoming all sorts of obstacles to excel at their sport and, as such, it gives people around the world hope and inspiration.

 

[DaGaffer]

I have no problem with disabled people getting a bit of self-respect through sport, but it does create some interesting ethical questions about values of "normal", and the spectrum of disability. For instance I've just found out that people with Downs Syndrome are under the "intellectual disabilities" classification which fails to take in to account the physical aspect of Downs so they rarely get selected, which makes me concerned that you end up with whole thing being devalued by narrower and narrower niches of disability, which I would imagine the athletes don't particularly want. On the other hand, you've got Oscar Pistorious, who you could technically class as a cyborg, and can outperform most "normal" athletes partly because of mechanical enhancement. Maybe that's where we'll end up; different Olympics for "norms", cyborgs/chemical and genetically enhanced athletes and paralympians.

 

[Draylor]

Its a pointless waste of money.

At least it is significantly less evil than many of the other pointless wastes of money the government fund.

Once you realise just how many variations of the same event there are to cover various types of disability it becomes even more farcical .... 15 variations of the mens 100m alone I believe.

Its being broadcast on C4 for a reason - noone cares. Sadly the media are so driven by PC pish these days that they refuse to ignore it.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Looking at it wrong. Disability doesn't mean you're bad at something, it means you're not 100% equipped to do so.

 

[rynnor]

You say 'least crap' but a lot of these athletes are still better than the vast majority of other people doing the sport.

You dont get a medal for being 'better than most people though' - the idea of the pursuit of excellence as a pure thing I can understand but once you start having categories where do you draw the line?

People have different genetic advantages - do we split those people off? Does it only end when everyone has a medal?

 

[DaGaffer]

You dont get a medal for being 'better than most people though' - the idea of the pursuit of excellence as a pure thing I can understand but once you start having categories where do you draw the line?

People have different genetic advantages - do we split those people off? Does it only end when everyone has a medal?

Men/Women. To take your argument to its conclusion there shouldn't be female events at the Olympics. Certain people on here would even agree with you. I wouldn't be one of them.

 

[old.user4556]

Women's football was great to watch.

Women's tennis is boring.

 

[rynnor]

Men/Women. To take your argument to its conclusion there shouldn't be female events at the Olympics. Certain people on here would even agree with you. I wouldn't be one of them.

I guess - there are issues with the womens side tbh - like the paralympics its a lot easier for a few rich countries to dominate than the mens side and I get the feeling that the GB team embraces things like the womens/paralympic games to get some cheap medals to bolster the medal count.

 

[Lamp]

Any of the paralympic swimmers could beat me in the blink of an eye, so they get a thumbs up from me.

I don't get the anti-paralympic sentiments. Why shouldn't they compete? Some of them have been thru truly horrific experiences. Good luck to em I say.

 

[Talivar]

You could also look at them as the true elite because they have managed to do the same things as "normals" despite big handicaps. Cut off Usain Bolts leg and see how well he fares ect. Its just all about how you view things

 

[rynnor]

One guy was saying he was hoping this games would stop people from using the word disabled anymore.

I think thats unlikely but if it worked surely another term would rise up because we need one?

Unless we pretend everyone is the same but thats a nonsense right?

 

[old.Tohtori]

Unless we pretend everyone is the same but thats a nonsense right?

I actually don't pretend that, but i do judge difference based on actions and what comes out of their mouthes, not by the amount of limbs they have, or which pigment variation they might have, or if their big toe worships odin or buddha.

So on the outside? Everyone is.

Except redheaded women, but they're like the eleet pro-players of real life.

 

[rynnor]

I actually don't pretend that, but i do judge difference based on actions and what comes out of their mouthes, not by the amount of limbs they have, or which pigment variation they might have, or if their big toe worships odin or buddha.

True but for practical reasons we need a word that describes those with disabilities - everything from fire alerts to booking seats on a plane or giving them priority for council services.

 

[ECA]

I was going to reply seriously, but nah. Fuck most of you questioning the paralympics, they are more inspiring to me than able bodied olympians because they have overcome so much more.

 

[rynnor]

Any of the paralympic swimmers could beat me in the blink of an eye, so they get a thumbs up from me.

I don't get the anti-paralympic sentiments. Why shouldn't they compete? Some of them have been thru truly horrific experiences. Good luck to em I say.

So because we feel sorry for them we should give them medals because they had a rough time? Thats nice but whats it got to do with sport?

We could just cut straight to the medals?

 

[Punishment]

If you don't care don't watch it, fair play to them for being the best they can be.

There are no absolutes in life, you just get on with it as best you can

 

[Ch3tan]

Will be watching and enjoying, I find it amazing what people can overcome, technology assisted or not.

 

[pikeh]

So because we feel sorry for them we should give them medals because they had a rough time? Thats nice but whats it got to do with sport?

We could just cut straight to the medals?

But to coin a cheesy phrase, It's about the taking part. Why should they not have the chance to represent their country just like any able bodied athlete?

 

[Moriath]

Didnt pay much attention to the olympics will be equal rights and do the same to the para ones ... however this will be easier as the tv coverage wont be as pervasive

 

[cHodAX]

Some sick comments out there today, I feel bad laughing at jokes like that but bad taste jokes just can't be ignored.

 

[old.Tohtori]

True but for practical reasons we need a word that describes those with disabilities - everything from fire alerts to booking seats on a plane or giving them priority for council services.

For practical reasons disabled works, but paralympics(for example) isn't included in those "need to know" scenarios.

 

[Soazak]

So because we feel sorry for them we should give them medals because they had a rough time? Thats nice but whats it got to do with sport?

We could just cut straight to the medals?

No, they get medals because they're the best in their competition.. just like any other sport.

Just because they're not the worlds best, doesn't mean they can't stage a competition. There are different classes/levels in all sports, this is just another one.

 

[Job]

Who was the Jamaican athlete who appeared to have two hands on one arm, that has to be good for something, even if it's just a bad taste joke.

With all the will in the world, you're going to have to stop yourself from laughing when the highest disability athletes do the 100m

 

[rynnor]

But to coin a cheesy phrase, It's about the taking part. Why should they not have the chance to represent their country just like any able bodied athlete?

I guess - I just can't escape the feeling that this is fundamentally about pity and about assuaging peoples guilt over the disabled. For the money it has cost you could have made a real practical difference to the lives of disabled people like not closing the remploy factories:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-19271882

 

[Turamber]

I celebrate their ability to overcome their physical and/or mental limitations. But I can't pretend that it is "first class" sport as some journalist tried to claim the other day. I can't say I've watched any of it or intend to watch any of it, but I applaud the contestants.

 

[Job]

Well they're all supposed to be matched, but Whitehead's victory in the 200m was just too much, his legs are giving him a huge advantage.

 

[rynnor]

Well they're all supposed to be matched, but Whitehead's victory in the 200m was just too much, his legs are giving him a huge advantage.

Theres a lot of that - guys with 2 legs and an arm swimming against those with 2 arms and a leg etc.

 

[Draylor]

It appears at least 1 of the competitors struggles with the concept of irony