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Baron who revived Olympics believed they were a religion of perfection and peace
- bdw5204 2y ago[flagged]
- stavros 2y agoThe sport called "football" in my country is even more harmful than the Olympics. The original intention of the Olympics was lofty, but unfortunately, as with most popular things, it turned into a money grab.
- borsch 2y agoIf you put enough bad opinions together, people will be too confused to tackle them. Well played
- sdwr 2y agoThe Olympics are anti-war in at least 2 ways. - The message, that people from around the world come together to compete safely and peacefully - Practically, nobody can be thinking of war when they are laser focused on that last tenth of a second (or beach volleyball shot)
- trilbyglens 2y agoOlympic rivalries are often a mirror of real-life rivalries. See the Czechs or Americans beating the Russians in hockey. It's a peaceful venue, but one that often reflects the state of the world.
- krapp 2y agoAlso see the Nazi Olympics in Berlin, 1936.
- AnimalMuppet 2y agoAlso see the "blood in the water" water polo game between Russia and Hungary just after Russia invaded Hungary in 1956.
- magnetowasright 2y agoEurovision is the same. Though yearly, limited to Europe, and not taken anywhere near as seriously as the olympics, it's an important political event imo. The late disqualification and the voting this year had me on the edge of my seat. Russia haven't been able to show up without being drowned out by booing for a decade, for their anti-LGBT law changes and then for their invasion of Ukraine amongst other things. No so-called miracles on ice happen at Eurovision but the politics run a lot deeper than just countries keeping to their voting blocs lol. The politics are always going to be a part of these kinds of events
- Frieren 2y ago> Coubertin called this sport in the service of global harmony – nothing short of a new “religio athletae,” or “religion of athletics.” I think that he succeeded. I see many people celebrating their nations pride, but also human accomplishment of athletes of any nationality. One can be cynic about it, but one can be cynic about everything and enjoy nothing. But even that the Olympics exist in our reality, with its problems and injustices, it is still inspiring and enjoyable in many levels.
- imoverclocked 2y ago> I think he succeeded … and hopefully continues to succeed. Humanity needs more celebrated and shining beacons of what we can accomplish together.
- mrmetanoia 2y agoWe need more things that connect the world this way, but they only work if you can set aside the cynicism a bit or at least see the good and the bad and enjoy the good when appropriate and try to fix the bad when appropriate. It's been genuinely fun watching this year and just enjoying the competition and surrounding celebration and coverage.
- g15jv2dp 2y agoHe was also racist, misogynistic, and reactionary. Even his contemporaries found it too much. There are few sources in English but here is a French one https://www.france24.com/fr/sports/20240713-jeux-olympiques-misogyne-raciste-colonialiste-qui-%C3%A9tait-vraiment-pierre-de-coubertin https://www.france24.com/fr/sports/20240713-jeux-olympiques-... A little quote from the article: > Dès les premiers jours, j'étais un colonialiste fanatique… Les races sont de valeur différente, et à la race blanche, d’essence supérieure, toutes les autres doivent faire allégeance. > From the very first days I was a fanatical colonialist… Races are of different value, and to the white race, of superior essence, all others must swear allegiance. > Le véritable héros olympique est, à mes yeux, l’adulte mâle individuel. Je n’approuve pas personnellement la participation des femmes à des concours publics > The real Olympic hero, in my eyes, is the individual adult male. I personally do not approve of women participating in public competitions.
- imoverclocked 2y agoThat’s good to know but maybe immaterial to the point of the article; The part of the Olympics that remains is not of those views.
- AnimalMuppet 2y agoWell, perfection and peace aren't part of what remains, either. And it does give some context to what he might mean by "perfection" and "peace".
- lo_zamoyski 2y ago[flagged]
- talldayo 2y agoIt's almost like it wasn't depicting the Last Supper because that has zero relevance to the Olympic ceremonies or culture.
- epolanski 2y ago[flagged]
- trilbyglens 2y agoBecause nothing is free of geopolitics
- krapp 2y ago>Why do some countries initiating wars or being part of active apartheids get a pass and some other don't? Money and politics, like anything else. The Olympics are a corrupt and venal capitalist enterprise.
- LtWorf 2y agoYou can ignore all the human rights you want if you're a friend of the USA. Bring on the downvotes.
- afavour 2y agoThe Olympics are a great many admirable things… but they’re also fundamentally a capitalist money making exercise with corporate sponsors, ad breaks, yadda yadda. It’s inevitable that it will end up being a reflection of western values at large.
- undergod 2y ago[flagged]
- Dalewyn 2y agoI find the Olympics hypocritical because nations at war get to participate on seemingly arbitrary lines despite the foundational desire for peace. Personally, absolutely no nation actively waging any sort of war or conflict, regardless if it's offensive or defensive, should get to participate. In today's terms that would prohibit the US, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Palestine, China, the Philippines, Myanmar, Iran, North Korea, South Korea, and many more. We need to remember that the original Olympics demanded that warring Greek citystates come to a ceasefire such that no blood was shed during the games. That should be the hard, non-negotiable first rule to participating in the Olympics. Are you at war? Then kindly GTFO from the Olympics. Come back when you've made peace.
- undergod 2y agoYes, but Russia vs Israel is the glaring example in the context of the bias in the West. Whataboutism is always there.
- afavour 2y agoI view the Olympics (and perhaps more so events like the Football World Cup) as a means of channeling the energies that also inspire war: national pride, international rivalries, etc etc. Hopefully that diversion of energy works as an outlet to diffuse real world tensions. But at the same time the professionalisation of the whole thing detracts somewhat. The US and China win so many medals because they invest so much money in their athletic programs. Even in a theoretical meritocracy money still speaks. The few exceptions are sports like marathon running where smaller countries can remain competitive.
- crop_rotation 2y agoSmaller nations can't challenge US/China on medal counts, nor do they need to though. e.g Australia has much higher per capita medals than US.
- dftghu 2y ago[flagged]
- geostupid 2y agoFucking troll user profile created five minutes ago. The site is for individuals who would like to engage in respectful discussion based in science. Get your political shit out of here.
- dftghu 2y ago[flagged]
- mrmetanoia 2y agoThis kind of ignorance serves no one but hate mongers.
- dftghu 2y ago[flagged]