Anyone not living under a rock probably heard about the entire confessions of Lance Armstrong. Those same people not living under a rock might also have heard about Oscar Pistorius, the Blade runner and what he alledgedly did.
I?m not going to celebrate these people? far from it.
However, and this is why I?m addressing this and what has been wandering my mind for a while.
Both these people, both Armstrong and Pistorius, have been commended for excellent achievements. Armstrong for winning multiple (and before they revoked all prizes; most in a row) cycling tournaments, Pistorius for outrunning other athletes by means of artificial legs.
The fact that 2 remarkable people that did somewhat revolutionary things in the end seemed to be slightly ?messed up? to put it mildly worries me.
The fact that society celebrates people like this for their achievements and somewhat ignores the fact that their success might have come at a price worries me.
Further down the line one can wonder how this creates a new bar for people to cross. I mean, the floodgates are open ever since Armstrong confessed. My parents are avid cycling fans, and as such I?ve picked up something along the lines of ?the entire top 10 of the past x years? have all had their prizes revoked cause they confessed drug use. Well, of course they used drugs... how else could they compete with the others in that top 10?
As for the Blade runner? I don?t know what exactly the deal was. For what it?s worth it could just be a case of violent domestic abuse. But still? he is being seen as a hero because he can run Olympic times. That?s being seen as a separate thing all of a sudden, when clearly the sum of all actions should define a person.
Makes me wonder if a medal (or any prize) is worth more than a human life.
Society celebrates these achievements way too much and undervalues the negative. And I don?t mean this in a grumpy way. I?m not all doom and gloom, but a reality check is in order.
On a related note (and given I?ve got an odd sense of humor);
[video=youtube;l_kf6xi2IvM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_kf6xi2IvM[/video]
Irony?
I?m not going to celebrate these people? far from it.
However, and this is why I?m addressing this and what has been wandering my mind for a while.
Both these people, both Armstrong and Pistorius, have been commended for excellent achievements. Armstrong for winning multiple (and before they revoked all prizes; most in a row) cycling tournaments, Pistorius for outrunning other athletes by means of artificial legs.
The fact that 2 remarkable people that did somewhat revolutionary things in the end seemed to be slightly ?messed up? to put it mildly worries me.
The fact that society celebrates people like this for their achievements and somewhat ignores the fact that their success might have come at a price worries me.
Further down the line one can wonder how this creates a new bar for people to cross. I mean, the floodgates are open ever since Armstrong confessed. My parents are avid cycling fans, and as such I?ve picked up something along the lines of ?the entire top 10 of the past x years? have all had their prizes revoked cause they confessed drug use. Well, of course they used drugs... how else could they compete with the others in that top 10?
As for the Blade runner? I don?t know what exactly the deal was. For what it?s worth it could just be a case of violent domestic abuse. But still? he is being seen as a hero because he can run Olympic times. That?s being seen as a separate thing all of a sudden, when clearly the sum of all actions should define a person.
Makes me wonder if a medal (or any prize) is worth more than a human life.
Society celebrates these achievements way too much and undervalues the negative. And I don?t mean this in a grumpy way. I?m not all doom and gloom, but a reality check is in order.
On a related note (and given I?ve got an odd sense of humor);
[video=youtube;l_kf6xi2IvM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_kf6xi2IvM[/video]
Irony?
