Ashley Wagner, who was the 4th place finisher at the U.S. figure skating Championship, was selected to the Olympic team over the 3rd place finisher, Mirail Nagasu. There is talk of racism in the selection. I think that is a stretch without knowing anything about the officials who made the decision. It is possible that the officials were thinking that Wagner will do better than Nagasu in Russia. I do not agree with this thinking because the whole point of having the trials so close to the Games is that the competitors who are the best RIGHT NOW should be selected. What is so important about the "whole body of work" if you can't merely finish in the top three when the pressure is on? The fact that Wagner did not do well at this or the last trials in 2010 should not give anyone a logical reason that she will do well next month. But while I strongly disagree with the selection and I can see where people may think race has something to do with it, I will not call this a racist decision without more evidence.
Contrast that with the attacks on Obama. Some of the displeasure with Obama are justified. I have complained about some of his performances myself. I also do not believe that most of the people who give Obama a poor rating are racists. But I have heard people, who claim to be fair minded, rank Obama as bad or worse than Bush. That, I believe, show that there is racism in the treatment of Obama by his extreme critics.
Lets reverse history and say Obama was elected after Clinton and Bush was elected after Obama. Say 9/11 occurred while Obama was in office. Say Obama took over a surplus and turned it into a deficit and the financial meltdown occurred during his watch. Say Obama went into Iraq, a war that cost thousands of lives and a trillion dollars, while Afghanistan was not won yet. Now say the wars are practically over under Bush and the stock market is at an all time high. Given these reversals of history, will there be one white person in this country who would say that the hypothetical Bush is worse than the hypothetical Obama? Certainly if Bush had an Irish born father, nobody would doubt that he was born here nor anyone would think he is a Muslim. So yes, I do believe that when anyone who claims that Obama is the worst president ever, there is racism there.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
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I don't know why they just don't have alternates on the team. At least you'll always get the top 3 finishers in the nationals and then maybe a couple of alternates the committee chooses.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if there was any blatant racism going on with Nagasu being bumped, but it isn't the first time this has happened. So I am a little weary when it comes to the skating committee.
Now if Wagner can medal at the games, then it'll probably be worth it.
I don't have much to say about Obama and Bush. I do agree with you to an extent that there are some people out there who don't realize they are being racist or maybe it's just prejudiced against Obama because of his skin color.
He's an easy target. But I think it should be expected. Most of the failings of his presidency are on him and no one else. Now, do I think he's done a horrible job? No. But I always think that he could have done things better or differently.
The economy is turning around but it's been a slow process. It was doing poorly when Bush was in office.
The healthcare act will be something that Obama will be known for besides being the first black president.
Only time will tell how his legacy will be determined. As long as he thinks what he has done is legitimate and best for the country, then he should be able to know that his legacy is fine.
What will be interesting is if Clinton runs and is elected the first female president. I think you'll see things said about her that wouldn't be said about, say Biden.
By the way, do you think Christie can overcome the scandal now? He has way too many enemies. It doesn't look good for him.
-LBOAYM
I do not think this scandal eliminates Christie unless more comes out. I think the Tea party people are just as happy as the democrats about Christie's problems. It is unusual that the extreme liberals and extreme conservatives are thinking the same. So maybe moderates should root for Christie to survive this!
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