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Why Such Political Correctness???

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eyethenkyew | 10:23 Sat 28th Jul 2012 | News
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What was all that with a disparate load of people marching in at one point with a large Olympic flag?

We had the likes of Ban Ki Moon(UN Sec Gen), Doreen Lawrence(Mother of murdered Stephen Lawrence), Shami Chakrabarti(Of 'Liberty'), Daniel Barenboim(Classical Conductor), and a few other nondescripts carrying this flag.

Why??? What in hell's teeth do any of those have to do with the Olympic Games??? What was it meant to achieve or portray in the context of this worldwide event???

Keep politics out of sport!!!
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Because it is a world event. World organisations such as the UN should be respresented.

The ceremony was brilliant. Are you always such a miserable bugger?
eyethenkew

Did you watch on the BBC?

The voice-over explained it all.

Did the political correctness spoil the event for you?

More so, than Paul MacCartney?
I'm glad you found it annoying.
We all have our point of view, eye.

You cannot keep politics out of such global events - from Hitlers attempt to have an aryan olympics in Munich 1936, through to the tragic events, again at Munich in 1972, when the hostage taking, siege and deaths of the israeli athletes was played out on Camera. You had politics intruding in the games when the USA and Russians played tit for tat boycotts.

That segment of the show, brief as it was, served as a reminder that there is more to the Olympics than spectacle, money, corporate branding, zil lanes and all the other stuff surrounding the games. It was good to see some representatives of internationalism, human rights, equality for all, and simple human dignity.
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What a collective bunch of invertebrates. And not one able to justify the inclusion of these people.

Beijing, whose opening ceremony panned ours into a cocked hat, most certainly didn't feature political statements - as easily they might have? Which proves my point exactly - where else has an opening ceremony blatantly gone out of its way to accommodate such radical politicism?

This ridiculous spectacle was as outrageous as would have been the inclusion of the likes of the BNP or EDL.

Keep politics out of sport.
But if politics were kept out of sport then the boycott of the apartheid regime in South Africa wouldn't have played its small part in changing that country.
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The Olympic Games did not stop because of what was going on in South Africa - point proven yet again?
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Even the 1936 Games in Berlin were scuppered by the brilliance of the likes of Jesse Owens who rammed it right down Hitler's throat, proving that any kind of politics in sport is a poisoned chalice.

God rest Jesse's soul!
BUt didn't the American boycott of the Moscow Olympics eventually lead to the Soviets leaving Afghanistan?
Credit where credit's due.
I think the way China hosted the Olympics, their opening ceremony itself was a political message.

The Opening ceremonies at Beijing and at London were different animals. I do not think that Londons ceremony suffers by comparison, especially since it only cost around a 1/4 of the estimated cost of the Beijing ceremony.

You cannot keep politics out of international sporting events.It is in their DNA.

The idea of EDL or BNP acting as the Olympic flag bearers is certainly outrageous, given the nationalist and exclusivist message. I would imagine the only people offended by the selection of those particular Olympic flag bearers would be those who harbour the same sentiments as yourself with respect to human rights and multiculturalism - a minority.
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Erm.....Moscow Olympics = 1980. Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan = 1989.

Yep, I guess it must have had a great effect!
These things don't happen overnight
Beijing, whose opening ceremony panned ours into a cocked hat, most certainly didn't feature political statements
On the contrary, I think the whole thing was a political statement.
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Mr Lazy Gun,

Please see my remarks about Jesse Owens before making erroneous claims about my views on multiculturalism - of which you do not have any idea.
I have sympathy with the 'keeping poitics out of sport' aim. But I just don't seeing it happening anytime soon
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"..the whole thing was a political statement"

Now that statement in itself is crass, given that you supply nothing to substantiate your claim.

Beijing hosted the 2008 Games, and they put on a spectacular opening ceremony which I remember included loads of examples of Chinese history and culture - minus Mao's little red book and thousands of marching troops - no, instead, we had masses of people, men, women and children, getting involved in what was the most impressive cultural display I've ever seen.
eyethenkew

3.5 hours of glorious entertainment, which literally everyone I know praised to the rafters. I honestly hope that you, like so many others enjoyed it and didn't let a 45 second segment spoil it for you.

You asked why the flag carriers were there?

Well, what I heard on the commentary was that each person represented man's strive towards peace and unity, and that's an underlying objective of the Olympics.

The modern Olympics are not simply about sport, but bringing people together.

Hope that explains it.

Please tell me that you at least got a thrill at the spectacle, and weren't hung up on what you perceive as a negative.

Bond and The Queen
Dizzee Rascal
Emile Sande
Rowan Atkinson
The fireworks
The children's literature section
The history of British music
The pogo'ing punks
The recreation of the industrial revolution
Beckham on the speedboat
The lighting up of London

Surely...SURELY, there was enough to keep you smiling in there?
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What I've been "smiling" at this morning has been the women's beach volleyball, as I will also be doing when the women's athletics begins!
I wonder if the great Ali is still capable of making decisions for himself about public appearences? It seems cruel sometimes to use him in events like this, he looked totally bewildered.
>>>>>Doreen Lawrence(Mother of murdered Stephen Lawrence),...

You do feel this woman is being "used" because her son was black.

Plenty of white boys are murdered by black boys and the white parents dont get the same attention

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