4 ms·

Heartbreaking?

by dfc 12y ago

Heartbreaking?

julienchastang 12y ago
"In 1980, I was supposed to compete with the United States rowing team in Moscow, but instead, like 466 other American athletes, I stayed home. Eventually we were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in appreciation for our role in the boycott. Thirty years later, I would still rather have earned the Olympic medal that our team was favored to win." I read this editorial four years ago, and I think of it often. It speaks of broken dreams (i.e., "I coulda been a contender"), what could have been, and the human experience.
- dfc 12y ago
  When I look back on the consequences of the cold war, the fact that this gentleman did not get the gold medal (that he assumes he would have won) is not even close to making the list of heartbreaking episodes. Furthermore, one has lived a charmed life if the biggest "heartbreak" you experience is not competing for a gold medal that you were "favored to win." The 12 people that died in the Munich Massacre[^1] are a poignant reminder of this simple truth. [^1]: It was not clear to me why the author offered the Munich Massacre among the political costs of rotating the venue for the Olympics. It seems rather absurd to suggest that hosting the games in Switzerland would have prevented anything. Simply being in Switzerland did not prevent the Zug massacre.
  - notahacker 12y ago
    Sure, not being able to a compete for a gold medal is not as bad as being locked in a gulag for a decade, in the same way your startup failing is not as bad as Ebola, and your fiance saying "it's not you, it's me" and running off to the other side of the world is not as bad watching your entire family being massacred by ISIS. Human emotion isn't based on a sense of perspective.
    - dfc 12y ago
      Earlier today the flesh on my index finger was torn asunder by a sheet of paper. Do you find that heartbreaking? If I told you that the paper cut was the worst thing that ever happened to me, would you consider it to be heartbreaking?
      - notahacker 12y ago
        If said papercut permanently ruined your chances of completing the work of art you had dedicated the last few years of your life too I might have some sympathy...

Heartbreaking?

by dfc 12y ago

Heartbreaking?

"In 1980, I was supposed to compete with the United States rowing team in Moscow, but instead, like 466 other American athletes, I stayed home. Eventually we were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in appreciation for our role in the boycott. Thirty years later, I would still rather have earned the Olympic medal that our team was favored to win." I read this editorial four years ago, and I think of it often. It speaks of broken dreams (i.e., "I coulda been a contender"), what could have been, and the human experience.

dfc 12y ago
When I look back on the consequences of the cold war, the fact that this gentleman did not get the gold medal (that he assumes he would have won) is not even close to making the list of heartbreaking episodes. Furthermore, one has lived a charmed life if the biggest "heartbreak" you experience is not competing for a gold medal that you were "favored to win." The 12 people that died in the Munich Massacre[^1] are a poignant reminder of this simple truth. [^1]: It was not clear to me why the author offered the Munich Massacre among the political costs of rotating the venue for the Olympics. It seems rather absurd to suggest that hosting the games in Switzerland would have prevented anything. Simply being in Switzerland did not prevent the Zug massacre.
- notahacker 12y ago
  Sure, not being able to a compete for a gold medal is not as bad as being locked in a gulag for a decade, in the same way your startup failing is not as bad as Ebola, and your fiance saying "it's not you, it's me" and running off to the other side of the world is not as bad watching your entire family being massacred by ISIS. Human emotion isn't based on a sense of perspective.
  - dfc 12y ago
    Earlier today the flesh on my index finger was torn asunder by a sheet of paper. Do you find that heartbreaking? If I told you that the paper cut was the worst thing that ever happened to me, would you consider it to be heartbreaking?
    - notahacker 12y ago
      If said papercut permanently ruined your chances of completing the work of art you had dedicated the last few years of your life too I might have some sympathy...