Greek triple jumper expelled from Olympics for racist Tweet that wasn't actually racist.

Helmholtz Watson

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ReincarnatedFTP said:
Helmholtz Watson said:
Lethos said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I read on the beeb that she had been reported to be a supporter of Golden Dawn in the past?

Here's the article

I can sort of understand not wanting her to represent the country. I wouldn't want a BNP or EDL supporter representing the UK.
So because she is part of a political party, she shouldn't be allowed to go to the Olympics? What the hell.....

Can the US start refusing to allow socialist or communist from being US Olympians as well?

Cut the politics and PC nonsense.

Berithil said:
So..... An Olympic athlete who has trained most of her life for this gets kicked off the team because of a joke?

Sounds legit.....


Sure, it was an unnecessary, and perhaps unsavory, joke, but seriously.... people need to grow a thicker skin.
Her dream potentially just got shattered because some people are too sensitive and politically correct. Of course, I was raised on a "sticks and stones" viewpoint, which is a big reason for my dislike of political correctness.....


And yes, I'm quite aware that I'm probably the minority here.
My feelings exactly.
The Golden Dawn is basically a Neo-Nazi terrorist group, who recently got power because of the undemocratic banker coup in Greece.
BNP/EDL are similarly neo-nazi groups, even if they won't admit it.
And socialists and communists already get fucked with all the time for no reason in the US.
As I said before, as long as she isn't violent I don't care what politic views or party a Olympian follows. It shouldn't matter, this is a sports game, not an election.
 

Mercsenary

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Stupid? Yes. Racist? Thats a matter of interpretation. Like OP I find it pointing out the situational irony.
 

Terminal Blue

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Helmholtz Watson said:
So because she is part of a political party, she shouldn't be allowed to go to the Olympics? What the hell.....

Can the US start refusing to allow socialist or communist from being US Olympians as well?
It might interest you to know that the BNP is an explicitly anti-Semitic neo-Nazi party, and the EDL is not a political party at all.
 

Khazoth

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Wait.. People care about the olympics? (I kid, I kid.)


Sad, but in this day and age you can't make a joke without a horde of people chasing you down with the pitchforks and torches.
 

Heinrich843

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I wasn't aware this was possible. I mean, after the Nazis rose to power they still had the 1936 Summer Olympics there.

I always thought that this was a purely athletic competition. (I never really payed much attention to them though.)
 

ZeroAxis

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Carnagath said:
StAUG said:
Being Greek myself, I know some more info that was not mentioned in foreign news sources. Basically the tweet was not the only reason, it was just the "nail in the coffin" for her. She has been known for her support of a Greek neonazi political party that has been getting a lot of flak since they appeared massively empowered during the latest elections and caused a great deal of controversy in my country. Basically that wasn't just a silly tweet by a silly girl, it was the last (and most innocent) in a series of nazi-sympathizing tweets, all of which have been deleted by her promptly after the shit hit the fan. So yeah, that's not very good. You can't have a person like that representing your country in the Olympics. Or well, maybe some can, but for my country it's not acceptable, the country that gave birth to the Olympics, and the country where, 2 and a half millenia ago, the philosopher Ploutarxos wrote the following words, in my own, probably terrible, translation:

"Our country does not exist by nature, in the same way that a house, or a farm, or an iron workshop, or a doctor's practice does not exist by nature. On the contrary, all those things are claimed by the person who happens to be living in them or using them. Because, as Plato used to say, Man is not like an earthen plant, he is a creature of the sky, his head is in such a position that urges his body to stare at the heavens. Hercules was correct to claim that every city is his home, and Socrates was even more correct when he said that "I am neither Athenian nor Greek, I am only a citizen of this world". Watch the limitless sky above your heads, holding the Earth in his soft embrace! THESE are the borders of our home country, and here noone is an outcast, or a foreigner, or an alien. In this world, the fire, the water, and the wind are all the same; the masters, the commanders, the dynasts, are all the same. The Sun, and the Moon, they are the same. The laws are the same, for everyone, and they derive from the same calling and the same principles: Justice. It is in our nature, as human beings, to uphold this Justice, towards all people, as if they are ALL our fellow citizens."

I know Greece has been getting some "bad press" lately, not all of which is unjustified. But still, even though some of us may have strayed from their path, we should not be forgetting who we really are, and we can't have a fucking neonazi sympathizer representing us in the Olympics. At least in my opinion.
I notice no one touching this post. This ended the thread for me. All post after are just diarrhea on a keyboard.
 

Nimzabaat

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The Plunk said:
Nimzabaat said:
Silverslith said:
Wolverine18 said:
That's right on the line. While it isn't using lots of naughty words, it feels like it was probably racially motivated. It certainly qualifies at stupid. I'm not sure if it should qualify for ejection from the games.

Athletes need to be above squeaky clean to be representing their countries. Heck, they have been kicked because their doctor recommended the wrong decongestant.

I suppose if Greece thought she wasn't appropriate to represent them anymore that's all that matters.
Pretty much this.

An Olympian athlete is representing the best of the best for their country. If Greece hadn't acted quickly, word would have spread like wildfire over the comment and it would have exploded into a much uglier scene.

While worse things have happened, it was still inappropriate with more than moderate racial tones. Add to it being posted online. She crossed a line that put her country in a very awkward position, so they obviously decided to deal with it quickly and fully rather than wade through a sea of contention over keeping her.
Wait wait. So because a white athlete said Africans come from *gasp* Africa.... And African mosquito's come from Africa... that's racist? This thing where white people can't make any kind of racial remark has gotten way out of hand.
Are you just being deliberately obtuse, or can you legitimately not see that her comment was intended as a thinly-veiled, racist remark?

The fact that she supports a fascist party makes it even more obvious.
I think you're trying to add context and subtext to the statement that may not have ever existed. She's not smart enough to veil anything, thinly or otherwise. I mean if you want to put words in her mouth that's fine but didn't you know that "obtuse" is a slure against Asians? So you're kind of the pot calling the kettle African...
 

Powereaver

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Its racist... no doubt about that... but i think its exceptionally harsh to be dropped from the olympic squad for it, a real shame for her because she misses out on her first ever olympics due to a bad joke.
 

Helmholtz Watson

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evilthecat said:
Helmholtz Watson said:
So because she is part of a political party, she shouldn't be allowed to go to the Olympics? What the hell.....

Can the US start refusing to allow socialist or communist from being US Olympians as well?
It might interest you to know that the BNP is an explicitly anti-Semitic neo-Nazi party, and the EDL is not a political party at all.
As long as the Olympian people who subscribe to those views are not violent, they can be Satanist for all I care. Its a sports event, not a political election. Politics should say out of the Olympics as much as possible.
 

lacktheknack

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See, THIS is why you shouldn't tweet anything without thinking it through for an hour.
 

Not G. Ivingname

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Wolverine18 said:
Athletes need to be above squeaky clean to be representing their countries. Heck, they have been kicked because their doctor recommended the wrong decongestant.
Let's not even get to the shenanigans that have been caused by gender and gender testing.

Qualifying for the Olympics is only the first step to actually getting there.