London Olympics

[Just One More]

I seem to recall seeing a video clip looking like this one on here a while back but my laptop was running slowly so I gave up trying to watch it. Therefore feel free to Affs me if that is the case

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=510_1344196881

[GROWLER]

Paralympics then anyone?

Quite like to generally discuss, but you's go first.

[Miss Demeanour]

Not like you to be backwards in coming forwards Growler 

[GROWLER]

Not like you to be backwards in coming forwards Growler 

Touchy subject and don't want to say the wrong things.

Generally speaking, I'm all a bit confuslicated about it.

Half of me is in full admiration, the other half is feeling slightly uncomfy, and I REALLY don't know why, even though I have spent some considerable time pondering and wondering what's making me feel this way.

I just need a bit of help and discussion to help me make me mind up and understand what it is that I AM actually feeling tbqh.

[Miss Demeanour]

Tbh I think it is perfectly natural for some of it to make uncomfortable viewing  .

The PC brigade would have you not notice the differences , not find anything amusing or shocking etc .

The reality is much of the hype is about inclusivity , about 'enabling' these individuals to lead relatively normal lives but to anyone watching it is clearly evident that the obstacles that these people have overcome are just massive and always will be. Whatever ailments we have we by and large hope to recover  and we do take so much for granted.

Watching these individuals live with and overcome their particular issues  and compete with pride and honour is humbling. It was tragic to look at potentially so many 'disfigured' athletes last night that sustained their injuries through war or were born with certain conditions  and yet were embracing the life they had .

We moan , we grumble, we whinge but for me it adds a perspective . Makes me aware of my own selfishness albeit for however limited a time that might be    and that I am lucky even though most of the time that is the last thing I would claim to be 

I watched Clare Balding interview Martine Wright - the lady that lost her legs in the 7/7 bombings just before she was about to enter the stadium last night and she talked of this being her 'destiny' - she then said " Fate is what happened to you - destiny is what you do with it "  . Many will scoff  at  the inevitable cliches that will be uttered but some of this will strike home as that did with me.

[Uncle Mort]

Alternately, I watched an interview with a British table tennis player. She has 'intellectual disability' or, as she put it, trouble learning at school. OK, I understand that she meets the criteria to allow her in but to be honest I cannot see that being a bit slow in the brain department has any effect on playing table tennis.

After the Spanish basketball team were caught cheating at the Sydney Paralympics, 'Intellectually Disabled' was left out until now. I still think that this disablity is open to abuse.   

[Miss Demeanour]

I haven't got a clue how this classification stuff works in the various sports and the categories involved. Seems it's a bit of a delicate subject that the media are avoiding too 

[Nick]

Would that allow Wayne Rooney to be in teh paralympic footy? 

[Nick]

http://order-order.com/2012/08/30/askboris-the-best-questions/

[Snoopy]

I determined not to watch any of it as it makes me uncomfortable ..... Frankly I just can't take the sight of other people's unfortunate lack of limbs, whether caused by accident, war or at birth. It just makes me queasy. There were, of course, plenty of limbless ex-servicemen about when I was a lad and I was raised on the "Don't stare at the man" method so perhaps that's why I feel uneasy watching them now. I dunno.
As for the "Educationally Challenged" ping-pong player ..... Like Uncle I can't help feeling that an inability to sit in a class and learn is hardly "disablement" ..... in my day she would have been thrashed and told to pay attention. There is nothing physically wrong with her and if she is that good at ping-pong she should have entered the real Olympics.
I do admire the courage of those who have overcome, albeit to a limited degree, their disability but watching them is a bit too voyeuristic for me. My biggest dread whilst waiting for the birth of each of my five children was "What if there is something wrong with it? How will I cope?".... They tell me it is different if the disabled child is your own but I was never sure I would manage and thankfully I have never had to put it to the test.

Dunno if this is the sort of comment you wanted or even if it will help you sort out your own feelings about it but that's the way I feel about it and there is nothing I can do to change the way I feel .... although I have been very careful not to spread my feelings about it all to my kids and they have been quite happy watching the TV coverage, tho' I must admit the boys do make some pretty sick jokes about it at times E.G. They have renamed the legless swimming events "The bobbing about like corks race".

I suppose when it comes down to it we all fight to hang onto life and if you get your leg blown off you either fight back or go under. Fighting back is certainly better than just feeling sorry for yourself and the disabled Olympians do make me feel more than a bit ashamed when I see what they can do and still I moan about my own minor (by comparison) health problems.

Basically I guess I'm really saying "There but for the Grace of God" etc

[Nick]

Mobility scooter racing you say? 

I'd pay to watch that 

[Snoopy]

I did like the comment by Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson on TV last evening when she said "We are either Olympians or Scroungers .... perhaps these games will help change opinions"

[Nick]

You could have chicanes and pedestrians to maim avoid 

[Pastis]

My feelings run thus; the fine doctor who started this at Stoke Mandeville seemed driven to help those injured come to terms with their new circumstances, to make the best of their situation and, through exercise and competitive sport return to as much health and fitness as was possible. The games were and are for them; it really isn't much of a spectator sport unless you're in the friends or family category and it certainly isn't for me.
Unless you have some personal involvement I think it's quite normal to feel that degree of discomfort watching someone with a disability trying to achieve anything... even getting on or off a bus.

Quite by chance I'd booked tickets to a completely different event last night so missed the whole thing on TV.

[Nick]

ANd Stephen Hawking