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I think you're really getting into nitpicking semantics there. Saying "I don't represent everything happening in the US" is not really close to the same thing as saying "I'm not proud to represent the US."
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superrific
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1. Why does an Olympian have to be proud to represent the USA? Is it more of a "you should say what I want you to say?" thing, or is there a purity test going on here where a person is judged unworthy unless they deeply hold some belief?
What if they were proud to be an American for most of their lives, and then stopped when Trump started bombing fishing boats near Venezuela and is trying to strong arm Europe into territorial concessions like some wanna be 19th century imperialist? Is that OK? What does the thought police say?
2. The "nationalistic" nature of the competition is mostly a media thing, and a Cold War media thing at that. Most of the events in the Olympics are boring sports that few people care about. So they way to make them interesting is to make it a battle of country against country. Are we beating the Soviets in overall medal count? What about the Chinese?
I remember as a kid watching boxing events in the Olympics rooting for the US because boxing was a good sport for the US and it helped out medal count except there were those Cubans and then I realized, what the fuck am I doing? Why am I watching a sport I don't care about?
3. I'd bet -- though I don't know -- that an important reason why there are national delegations is historical. In the early days of the Olympics, there was no lingua franca outside of diplomatic circles. Most athletes spoke their native tongue. So if you mix countries together, you get a bunch of people who can't speak to each other. In addition, there were very real national hatreds that had come from wars and conflicts. You wouldn't have wanted to put French and Germans together in 1924 or 1936.
4. It doesn't really matter because nowhere is it written that a person can only be American by loving America. That's the sort of "patriotic" shit that has always allowed scoundrels to cover over their behavior.
What if they were proud to be an American for most of their lives, and then stopped when Trump started bombing fishing boats near Venezuela and is trying to strong arm Europe into territorial concessions like some wanna be 19th century imperialist? Is that OK? What does the thought police say?
2. The "nationalistic" nature of the competition is mostly a media thing, and a Cold War media thing at that. Most of the events in the Olympics are boring sports that few people care about. So they way to make them interesting is to make it a battle of country against country. Are we beating the Soviets in overall medal count? What about the Chinese?
I remember as a kid watching boxing events in the Olympics rooting for the US because boxing was a good sport for the US and it helped out medal count except there were those Cubans and then I realized, what the fuck am I doing? Why am I watching a sport I don't care about?
3. I'd bet -- though I don't know -- that an important reason why there are national delegations is historical. In the early days of the Olympics, there was no lingua franca outside of diplomatic circles. Most athletes spoke their native tongue. So if you mix countries together, you get a bunch of people who can't speak to each other. In addition, there were very real national hatreds that had come from wars and conflicts. You wouldn't have wanted to put French and Germans together in 1924 or 1936.
4. It doesn't really matter because nowhere is it written that a person can only be American by loving America. That's the sort of "patriotic" shit that has always allowed scoundrels to cover over their behavior.
sringwal
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I'd also add that imbedded in the concept of "Make America Great Again," is a lack of pride in aspects of America today. So Trump is calling out Olympians for expressing things about his vision for America, while also critiquing aspects of the country.
From Langston Hughes' Let America Be America Again:
O, let America be America again—
The land that never has been yet—
And yet must be—the land where every man is free.
The land that’s mine—the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME—
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again....
O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath—
America will be!
From Langston Hughes' Let America Be America Again:
O, let America be America again—
The land that never has been yet—
And yet must be—the land where every man is free.
The land that’s mine—the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME—
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again....
O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath—
America will be!
ChileG
Inconceivable Member
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He said he was representing all the things that are good about the United States. I don’t see what is appreciably different from what he said versus that last athlete whose quote Zen approves of.