This article comments that after the issues with the Super bowl "conservatives were primed for outrage"....But seriously. Is their any time when this is not the case? I don't know why but they positively seem to enjoy getting outraged and angry. Fox New's business model seems to be based on it. I don't know why this is so. Frankly I don't enjoy getting angry and outraged at all.
Additional Nerdy Comment: Saying 3% of the Olympic team are immigrants and 13.5% are children of immigrants doesn't tell anything unless you know the % of Americans or American residents who are immigrants or children of immigrants. For all I know (I'm an Australian) the Olympic team might have less immigrant membership and connection to immigrants that the general population.
trump will not politicize the LA Olympics, because that’s two years away. Either his dementia will overwhelm any ability to speak, or the cheeseburger-Filet-o-Fish combo will overwhelm his circulatory system.
We can hope. And also hope that the cabal of handlers won't just quietly do a "Weekend at Bernie's" lookalike scenario. It would be just like them to try, anyway. They aren't very original thinkers.
God bless Hess, Glenn, and their fellow US Olympic athletes. The important thing to remember about them is their YOUTH. Their generation is showing that they're disgusted with everything MAGA represents, and that's an excellent foreshadowing of the future of American politics. My Boomer generation has definitely fallen short of what we should have been, but these youngsters give me hope that things are about to get better...
Well said! US Olympic athletes -- all of them, not just the medal winners -- are certainly a reason for pride. Hope your phrase becomes a meme; I'm certainly going to pass it on (with attribution, of course)!
I am proud of the athletes for speaking their truth when asked how the felt about our current reality- would they be expected to lie by saying that everything is hunky dory in the United States, and that the videos of protesters and killings are a hoax? But I do think that it is unfair to expect them to have to deal with the press asking political questions when they are going to be under attack for having given honest answers.
Two things that I don't agree with here. I would never publicly refer to an athlete as "hot". At this level, athletes bodies are not presented to us for our approval as sex objects.
They are elite athletes.
Second, and just my preference, "Deal With It" as part of the lede seems juvenile.
I'm used to better work from you.
Lastly, I don't remember an Olympics that was not political. The 1968 Olympics is the first time my family was proud of the athletes who risked something of value.
I've had this kneejerk reaction to not cheer for US athletes and thus haven't been paying enough attention to the Olympics. I don't trust anyone anymore because I live in an area full of MAGA and this has led me to believe everyone white is MAGA unless proven otherwise. Someone will be nice and normal in public, and then I see the Trump-loving bumper stickers on their truck or I'll overhear a friendly cashier saying horrible things about immigrants. This article was an excellent reminder that there are brave people out there, because for these athletes to speak up publicly knowing the hate they'll receive is even more inspiring than their skills. Not that my support matters to anyone, but I'll try to be more charitable!
To all those who commented about Olympic athletes opining about what’s going on at home, disagreeing about some of the horrific things in the news, these athletes will be voting in upcoming elections. They are influencers who will convince others, many others, to throw you all out on your butts. Certainly you have the right to complain. But so do they.
Do professional athletes get any training or guidance on what to say or how to say things in press conferences? I’m not suggesting clamping down on freedom of speech in any way, but maybe the Olympic athletes would appreciate and benefit from a little guidance on public relations from the Olympics. I think Hess did a good job with his responses but it’s uncomfortable sitting with a mic and being asked difficult questions!!
The republicans are collectively the whiniest group of individuals this country’s maybe ever had, but I suppose it’s hard when the world collectively hates you and you want to be loved.
As so well described: Olympic level athletes are almost universally young. They are ALL driven by extreme motivations, far beyond a job or simple patriotism. They are the truest form of meritocracy, competing in sports with as objective a method of measurement as possible to determine who WINS their place on the team through sheer mastery of their sport.
Young people who spend most every waking moment focused on their sport, are still people and almost of necessity not driven by hate, and are still living among other young people, will be aware of the nation they are living in. They are not trained trolls, nor are they trained to be politically evasive. They must by nature be true to themselves and others. No room in their level of mastery at such a young age for lies.
There are different ways to view athletes: As examples of greatness, like art, their form and beauty of motion, to be admired and inspired by... Or, as entertainment, to be watched just like any other 'reality TV show or professional sports, except non of these 'performers' are there as professional athletes... Or, as a giant scoreboard for pride as their nation ranks against other nations. Which completely ignores the personal journey that brought those athletes to that podium.
Trump, who never understood the concept of selfless service, of mastery of any subject or skill, of winning by not cheating (see his history of golf), and who views athletes as toys to be purchased and paraded around to serve him (see his USFL experience). On top of that, the entire MAGA movement is based on hate and resentment, intolerance, racism and (judging by the staffing in this administration and ICE) incompetence and lack of self control and it becomes inevitable for such comments as described from the right wing to be as they are.
What Trump and MAGA do not register is that every time they attack these athletes for speaking their truth is that even as they 'feed' their base, they shift even more away from them. Those who are not fully committed to the hate, will see young people attacked for speaking their truth. They will see young people who they WANT to 'identify' with, being attacked. They will see beauty and greatness being torn down for 'political' reasons. This will not move any towards MAGA, only away.
Trump does seem to have given up on winning the majority of people to like him. He just seeks ever stronger control over his 'base' of haters. Holding the levers of power, pushing those bound by the rules from his position of power, he seeks to hold onto power for his own selfish gain and to stay out of jail... Everything else is to serve those two goals, even his attacks on his political enemies.
I'm really hoping the rest of the world decides to boycott the world cup and the LA Olympics. They could and should move them to different venues and ban American athletes.
This article comments that after the issues with the Super bowl "conservatives were primed for outrage"....But seriously. Is their any time when this is not the case? I don't know why but they positively seem to enjoy getting outraged and angry. Fox New's business model seems to be based on it. I don't know why this is so. Frankly I don't enjoy getting angry and outraged at all.
Additional Nerdy Comment: Saying 3% of the Olympic team are immigrants and 13.5% are children of immigrants doesn't tell anything unless you know the % of Americans or American residents who are immigrants or children of immigrants. For all I know (I'm an Australian) the Olympic team might have less immigrant membership and connection to immigrants that the general population.
trump will not politicize the LA Olympics, because that’s two years away. Either his dementia will overwhelm any ability to speak, or the cheeseburger-Filet-o-Fish combo will overwhelm his circulatory system.
Hope springs eternal!
We can hope. And also hope that the cabal of handlers won't just quietly do a "Weekend at Bernie's" lookalike scenario. It would be just like them to try, anyway. They aren't very original thinkers.
That’s what I keep expecting, if he should happen to succum. They’ll just wheel him around with his eyes closed.
Thanks...the mental image I got of that made me laugh. The up side is that at least he'd probably smell better--at least for a while.
I actually just mentioned "Weekend at Bernie's" to my husband after reading the article. Great minds...
We can only hope.
His next Executive Order will require future Olympic athletes to wear MAGA caps which may cause some to skip the event. Ha! Just kidding.
God bless Hess, Glenn, and their fellow US Olympic athletes. The important thing to remember about them is their YOUTH. Their generation is showing that they're disgusted with everything MAGA represents, and that's an excellent foreshadowing of the future of American politics. My Boomer generation has definitely fallen short of what we should have been, but these youngsters give me hope that things are about to get better...
Some Boomers have fallen short. However, I have noted that a large number of us on Substack are Boomers, and many of us are paying subscribers.
A+ post
After reading this I think that our counter to MAGA should be MAPA - Make Americans Proud Again.
Well said! US Olympic athletes -- all of them, not just the medal winners -- are certainly a reason for pride. Hope your phrase becomes a meme; I'm certainly going to pass it on (with attribution, of course)!
Dems should start a MAPA movement during the election year.
Trump, Vance and all their cult are really in another victimhood pickle aren’t they? Don’t they ever get tired of whining and complaining?
I am proud of the athletes for speaking their truth when asked how the felt about our current reality- would they be expected to lie by saying that everything is hunky dory in the United States, and that the videos of protesters and killings are a hoax? But I do think that it is unfair to expect them to have to deal with the press asking political questions when they are going to be under attack for having given honest answers.
Two things that I don't agree with here. I would never publicly refer to an athlete as "hot". At this level, athletes bodies are not presented to us for our approval as sex objects.
They are elite athletes.
Second, and just my preference, "Deal With It" as part of the lede seems juvenile.
I'm used to better work from you.
Lastly, I don't remember an Olympics that was not political. The 1968 Olympics is the first time my family was proud of the athletes who risked something of value.
I've had this kneejerk reaction to not cheer for US athletes and thus haven't been paying enough attention to the Olympics. I don't trust anyone anymore because I live in an area full of MAGA and this has led me to believe everyone white is MAGA unless proven otherwise. Someone will be nice and normal in public, and then I see the Trump-loving bumper stickers on their truck or I'll overhear a friendly cashier saying horrible things about immigrants. This article was an excellent reminder that there are brave people out there, because for these athletes to speak up publicly knowing the hate they'll receive is even more inspiring than their skills. Not that my support matters to anyone, but I'll try to be more charitable!
Please don't call them "conservatives"; let's call them what they actually are - fascists.
To all those who commented about Olympic athletes opining about what’s going on at home, disagreeing about some of the horrific things in the news, these athletes will be voting in upcoming elections. They are influencers who will convince others, many others, to throw you all out on your butts. Certainly you have the right to complain. But so do they.
Do professional athletes get any training or guidance on what to say or how to say things in press conferences? I’m not suggesting clamping down on freedom of speech in any way, but maybe the Olympic athletes would appreciate and benefit from a little guidance on public relations from the Olympics. I think Hess did a good job with his responses but it’s uncomfortable sitting with a mic and being asked difficult questions!!
The republicans are collectively the whiniest group of individuals this country’s maybe ever had, but I suppose it’s hard when the world collectively hates you and you want to be loved.
I am very proud of the remarks made by Rich Ruohonen, a fellow Minnesotan. They were extremely measured and absolutely correct.
As so well described: Olympic level athletes are almost universally young. They are ALL driven by extreme motivations, far beyond a job or simple patriotism. They are the truest form of meritocracy, competing in sports with as objective a method of measurement as possible to determine who WINS their place on the team through sheer mastery of their sport.
Young people who spend most every waking moment focused on their sport, are still people and almost of necessity not driven by hate, and are still living among other young people, will be aware of the nation they are living in. They are not trained trolls, nor are they trained to be politically evasive. They must by nature be true to themselves and others. No room in their level of mastery at such a young age for lies.
There are different ways to view athletes: As examples of greatness, like art, their form and beauty of motion, to be admired and inspired by... Or, as entertainment, to be watched just like any other 'reality TV show or professional sports, except non of these 'performers' are there as professional athletes... Or, as a giant scoreboard for pride as their nation ranks against other nations. Which completely ignores the personal journey that brought those athletes to that podium.
Trump, who never understood the concept of selfless service, of mastery of any subject or skill, of winning by not cheating (see his history of golf), and who views athletes as toys to be purchased and paraded around to serve him (see his USFL experience). On top of that, the entire MAGA movement is based on hate and resentment, intolerance, racism and (judging by the staffing in this administration and ICE) incompetence and lack of self control and it becomes inevitable for such comments as described from the right wing to be as they are.
What Trump and MAGA do not register is that every time they attack these athletes for speaking their truth is that even as they 'feed' their base, they shift even more away from them. Those who are not fully committed to the hate, will see young people attacked for speaking their truth. They will see young people who they WANT to 'identify' with, being attacked. They will see beauty and greatness being torn down for 'political' reasons. This will not move any towards MAGA, only away.
Trump does seem to have given up on winning the majority of people to like him. He just seeks ever stronger control over his 'base' of haters. Holding the levers of power, pushing those bound by the rules from his position of power, he seeks to hold onto power for his own selfish gain and to stay out of jail... Everything else is to serve those two goals, even his attacks on his political enemies.
I'm really hoping the rest of the world decides to boycott the world cup and the LA Olympics. They could and should move them to different venues and ban American athletes.
Why ban American athletes who did nothing wrong and are speaking out?