Did we root against US Olympians in 2004 or 2008?

[Johnny2X2X]

Because I don't remember rooting against the US athletes at all.

Right now, Republicans, their media, and their political leaders are openly rooting for US Olympians to fail. They loved seeing the women's soccer and softball teams lose and were open about it. They cheered as our men's basketball team was upset. And now they're tearing Simone Biles apart and making her part of their culture war. They delighted that Katie Ledecky didn't medal in the 200 Free.

It's the darndest thing. And I see what obviously is the problem for them. Women and minorities. They root against the athletes who aren't white men. It's disgusting and transparent.

[liberal N proud]

1. I don't ever recall it

[roamer65]

2. I expected they would go after Simone.

Wasn’t surprised one bit.

[tulipsandroses]

3. This is America

Where “patriots” endanger the lives of fellow Americans. Worship Putin. Try to overthrow the government. Rooting against American athletes is par for the course.

[Moostache]

4. What?!?!? Racism from gaslighting Republican hacks?!?!?!

I am SHOCKED! SHOCKED to find hypocrisy and racism in the statements and actions of nominal Republicans.



(Obviously)

Never forget, these are the same people who 20 years ago obsessed about flag pins, "patriotism" and asked us "why do you hate America?" when we opposed an immoral, illegal and unwinnable 'war on terror'.

I am 50 years old now and have spent much of the last 32 years fighting against these same ideas and simpletons that entire time. It NEVER changes, only gets degrees of worse...

Reagan was a failed actor turned puppet to the cast offs of the Nixon era.
H.W. Bush was an ideologue and while he coined the term "Voodoo Economics", he failed to do anything about it...
W. Bush was a regurgitated puppet and responsible for MILLIONS of deaths post-9/11...
Palin was a "star" for being an irretrievable idiot and mental deficiency in tight blouses...
Trump was an amalgamation of all of them rolled into one and sprinkled with fascism and authoritarianism.

It just keeps getting worse.

[Elessar Zappa]

9. I'm scared to know

who the GOP will foist upon us next. Imagine someone worse than Trump.

[Moostache]

10. I share your sense of dread...

I really thought that Sarah Palin was scraping the bottom of the barrel before Trump and Trumpism was unleashed...I am afraid of something like Eric Trump being the next rung down the ladder. I really don't know how that guy navigates the real world without constant head injuries from bumping into everything.

[Hekate]

16. Someone more intelligent but less flashy. Pompeo, for instance. nt

[EarlG]

5. The GOP is the Hate America party and has been for some time

They'd rather be Russia than the USA. They prefer dictators like Kim Jong-un and Putin to democratically-elected European allies. They carried Confederate flags through the U.S. Capitol Building while trying to violently overturn the presidential election. They won't do anything to help stem a pandemic which is crippling the nation -- in fact, they're trying to drag it out for as long as possible. Now they're rooting against US Olympians.

These do not look like the actions of people who love their country.



(Edited to add, I just noticed that tulipsandroses said this more succintly than I did upthread).

[Wingus Dingus]

6. No. The GOP and its redneck crowd hate anything related to America now.

[moonscape]

12. While flying monster flags on

their pickup trucks.

[Bok_Tukalo]

7. I remember Republicans cheering when Rio won out over Chicago

... to host the 2016 games. Primarily because Obama lobbied for Chicago.

[tenderfoot]

8. There were a few pro-W athletes some went off on but that's about it

I don't recall anyone actively routing against our teams. Though, I do remember the men's basketball team that consisted of NBA stars were called out for being smug and not mingling with their fellow US athletes during the games.

[Effete Snob]

17. What were the political preferences of Ann Romney's dressage horse?

The most disliked Olympian on DU in 2012 wasn't even a person:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1002977635

[tenderfoot]

18. I'm sorry that DUers bagged on societal elitist Ann Romney's horse

[Effete Snob]

19. I wasn't looking for an apology

Whether it won or went to the glue factory is none of my concern. I was simply pointing out that the horse did not have many fans here.

[tenderfoot]

21. Yes, the reactions are like two sides of the same coin. It's like you can't tell one from the other.

[Effete Snob]

23. "Did we root against" is an objective question

The question is not whether it was justified. The question is whether people make moral judgments about Olympians and condemn them for whatever reason.

Sure, Ryan Lochte was, and remains, a monumental asshole, and nobody's fond of the Romneys. It doesn't change the fact that there are Olympians who have been condemned on DU.

If the question was "Did we root against Olympic athletes without good cause" or some other qualifier, that would be a different question.

[W_HAMILTON]

11. I didn't.

[Effete Snob]

13. On DU? A lot of folks weren't fond of swimmer Ryan Lochte

Depends on a lot of things, of course.

White Male Privilege Is Why We Laugh At Lochte And Vilify Douglas

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10028109525

But we as a society no longer condemn behavior - instead we prefer to condemn individuals. Behavior can be regulated and subject to punishments. If you are going after "bad people" - the individuals - instead of "bad behavior", then things get pretty dramatic in the long run.

Here's the crazy thing. Lochte was on the team because he could swim fast. That's it. That's what you have to do. Olympic athletes are there because they are really, really good at things like running with a pole and using it to jump over a bar.

Now, someone who can run with a pole and use it to jump over a bar - should you turn to them for moral guidance and advice? WTF for? The POINT is that they can run with a pole and use it to jump over a bar. That's what they are there to do. It's why they were selected and sent. No other reason.

But if you are looking to model yourself, or suggest others model themselves, over someone whose singular outstanding characteristic is "they can swim really fast", you are probably setting yourself up for some real disappointments.

[tenderfoot]

20. You mean the guy that fabricated a story about being robbed at gunpoint in Rio?

How dare DUers go off on a person of such high moral character.

[Effete Snob]

22. I don't understand your "how dare" act

I couldn't give two shits about the guy, or competitive swimming in general.

He did not live up to the moral standards expected of a "guy who can swim fast".

The question, as I took it was to identify Olympic athletes who were rooted against/condemned/whatever on DU.

Do people of all stripes make moral judgments about the non-athletic behavior of people who are athletes? Yeah, sure they do. I don't really understand it one way or the other since they weren't selected for the Olympics for being "good people". They were selected for being good at their sport.

People who are good at their sport aren't automatically good at anything else or even decent human beings. That comes as a shocker to a lot of people who somehow thing that being a good athlete means more than it does.

[tenderfoot]

24. You "gotcha" attempts to paint the community as hypocrites are sad.

eom

[Effete Snob]

25. Wow

Ryan Lochte was an Olympic athlete and an asshole.

People rightly figured out he was an asshole and condemned him for that.

At the end of the day, if one is looking for inspiration in people who are really good at a physical performance with not much moral meaning, one is going to find that there are assholes who are really good athletes.

I did not call anyone a hypocrite. I said a lot of people didn't like him. The OP asked a question, I provided two off-the-top-of-my-head answers of examples of Olympic athletes who were disliked on DU.

I was not drawing a moral equivalency or calling anyone a hypocrite and, unlike you, I attacked no one.

[Bettie]

26. He made up a story about being robbed

I'd think that for most people, that falls into the "doesn't meet moral standards expected of decent humans" category, regardless of athletic ability.

It was about the behavior.

Simone Biles is being attacked for taking care of herself. For knowing herself well enough to accept that she wasn't in the right head space to do the things that she does in a way that was physically safe for her.

Do you see the difference? If Simone had done the same thing as Lochte, well, she'd be (rightfully) getting the same treatment.

[Effete Snob]

27. Yes, I know what he did

And I've called him an 'asshole' twice in this thread.

But, clearly, I have not condemned Ryan Lochte forcefully enough to be heard or understood.

The OP does not ask about whether Olympic athletes have been rooted against or condemned "for good cause". That would be a different question than the one which was asked.

Of course there have been athletes who have been disliked for all sorts of reasons.

I'm simply saying that expecting something more out of an Olympic Tiddlywinks champion than for them to be really good at tiddlywinks is going to lead to disappointments in any event.

I'm sure Ann Romney's horse did something awful too. I heard it stole a bag of oats and blamed it on another horse.

[MisterNiceKitty]

14. I believe the issue is what they see as woke politics

And as you point out many of these same people didn't openly root against "women and minorities" in previous Olympics.

[Sympthsical]

29. More or less. Athletes have become more political

The more overtly political the athlete, the more overtly partisan the reaction to them. Megan Rapinoe was very, very outspoken as anti-Trump. So Trumpists now want to see her lose.

I don't get the surprise, or the weird pretense that this never happens on our side. We politicize everything, too. Any famous person who says something we dislike, we dump on, dismiss, and hope for failure.

"Can you believe this partisanship?!"

*checks website he's on*

Uhm, yes.

[MisterNiceKitty]

33. very true

[Effete Snob]

15. Case #2 - Ann Romney's Horse - Some DUers actually rooted against a horse in the Olympics in 2012

Romney's Horse Heads To The Olympics

https://upload.democraticunderground.com/10021040942

Unlike Ryan Lochte, whom we all must dislike for not living up to what is expected of "a guy who can swim fast", Ann Romney's horse is an interesting Disfavored Olympian since, as a horse, it didn't even CHOOSE to be in the Olympics in the first place.

But, yes, several threads on DU expressing disdain for an Olympic horse to choose from:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10021035467

Good News! Dressage Isn't Elitist: Possible On A 'Normal Budget,' Says Romney Rider

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1002977635

Implications Of An Ann Romney/Refalca Dressage Medal Bid/Win

Down the memory hole with them....

[apnu]

28. Republicans are the anti-America party.

It should be obvious at this point.

[SouthBayDem]

30. In their minds the "wrong" people are representing America.

Opposing "the left" is MORE important than loving their country.

[ScratchCat]

31. 100% this

Spot on

[Johnny2X2X]

32. Maybe she has Bone Spurs

I find a good way to shut down the Cons across the internet is to state, "Hey, we don't know, maybe she has bone spurs!"