Baron who revived Olympics believed they were a religion of perfection and peace
theconversation.com
theconversation.com
> Dès les premiers jours, j'étais un colonialiste fanatique… Les races sont de valeur différente, et à la race blanche, d’essence supérieure, toutes les autres doivent faire allégeance.
> From the very first days I was a fanatical colonialist… Races are of different value, and to the white race, of superior essence, all others must swear allegiance.
> Le véritable héros olympique est, à mes yeux, l’adulte mâle individuel. Je n’approuve pas personnellement la participation des femmes à des concours publics
> The real Olympic hero, in my eyes, is the individual adult male. I personally do not approve of women participating in public competitions.
And it does give some context to what he might mean by "perfection" and "peace".
[1] Pierre de Coubertin, "L'Éducation anglaise," In: J.-M. Brohm, Pierre de Coubertin, le seigneur des anneaux, Homnisphères, 2008.
[2] Daniel Bermond, Pierre de Coubertin, Paris, Éditions Perrin, 2008, 429 p. (ISBN 978-2-262-02349-2)
Racism was prevalent, colonialism rampant. He was born 30 years before Hitler, and we all know his views and how popular they were among large parts of Europe and even elsewhere.
That doesn't excuse his views, but it contextualises them.
It's a bit hard to gauge the opinion of the masses, but jingoism was prevalent and a popular political stance to have, so I doubt the majority didn't care.
In any case, I didn't say those views were universal - just that they were normal and acceptable to have.
People appreciate it and the discipline involved, the context of “Olympic hero” based on what it aimed to showcase is still relevant today by that standard. That observation in and of itself is not misogyny.
People in wheelchairs. It's not even close. They have to put them in a different category from the, um, able-bodied people, so that the able-bodied can also win.
The world record for the women's 100m sprint was set in 1988 at 10.49s by Florence Joyner at 29. [0]
High school boys in the US easily beat those times. [1]
0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_world_records_in_athle...
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_high_sch...
What your generation did to the environment, biodiversity, the climate, will be offensive to them.
Maybe you said something in favor or against AI and that then backfires. Because if AI is used to dominate humanity tech people who made it possible will be the most hated.
Or who knows, maybe you ate an animal or used too many kWh in your house.
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone, I guess?
We know IQ is inheritable but IQ is influenced by many factors like pollution and nutrition.
The approach was very pseudoscientific in nature.
The modern Olympics organizers have taken this sentiment and updated it with a twist: women can participate but they may be forced to compete against any adult male who claims to be female.
Just as in de Coubertin's day, males are prioritized while women are demeaned.
I think that he succeeded. I see many people celebrating their nations pride, but also human accomplishment of athletes of any nationality.
One can be cynic about it, but one can be cynic about everything and enjoy nothing. But even that the Olympics exist in our reality, with its problems and injustices, it is still inspiring and enjoyable in many levels.
… and hopefully continues to succeed. Humanity needs more celebrated and shining beacons of what we can accomplish together.
- The message, that people from around the world come together to compete safely and peacefully
- Practically, nobody can be thinking of war when they are laser focused on that last tenth of a second (or beach volleyball shot)
The politics are always going to be a part of these kinds of events
But at the same time the professionalisation of the whole thing detracts somewhat. The US and China win so many medals because they invest so much money in their athletic programs. Even in a theoretical meritocracy money still speaks. The few exceptions are sports like marathon running where smaller countries can remain competitive.