when you are engulfed in flames

[intertribal]

Watching the news on the Spanair crash last night I was surprised to recognize NBC's "aviation expert" - John Nance, from Air Crash Investigation.  John Nance, by the way, says that there is no precedent for what happened - that the plane shouldn't have banked right if there was a fire in an engine on the left, and that the pilots should have been able to fly even with an engine down.  I've unfortunately discovered that there are many others obsessed with air crashes on YouTube, and am watching all the episodes I haven't seen.  It's even more intense through headphones.  I feel like I'm breathing air crashes.  My mother has forced me to stop talking about them. 

The IOC, God save them, has refused to make any official note of mourning in the Olympics.  Also, I hate the Olympics, but that's old news.

I am back in the U.S. and I am alive. 

Comments

[royinpink.livejournal.com]

not that i have much love for the Olympics, but why do you hate it?

[intertribal.livejournal.com]

As I told my doctor, the short answer is "I think it makes nationalism worse".

[royinpink.livejournal.com]

ah, yeah, i can see that. at least, or especially, when competition gets intense, and cheating/accusations/jealousy get involved, etc. like with women's gymnastics recently. by which i mean... if you're really into it to win, or to see your country win, or stereotype other countries--everything that works to increase those divisions/pride/etc. instead of just getting together and enjoying the event.

i don't think all of it has to be that way, though (but it's probably inevitable that it will when teams are by nation, and the whole event is a competition) and despite the fact that like everyone else isn't, i'm kind of glad that it's in china this year, though i have my reservations. i guess that's just from being in china when it began, with people from other countries who were all just excited to be there and cheer for multiple teams and tease each other. but that's kind of different than watching it in your home country, only knowing your own team, etc.

[intertribal.livejournal.com]

I've always felt like I would enjoy the Olympics much more if one of the following conditions were satisfied:
1) It was a within-country competition, as in states and provinces of a country compete against each other; provided that it is a country more like the U.S. and not like Indonesia or Georgia, where there are major disparities between provinces and separatism issues. The National Games in Indonesia are like a miniature Olympics with similar problems, because the top teams are always Javanese teams even though they hold it in many different provinces - the other provinces are just too underdeveloped to win anything.
2) We had a world government and an economic aid system that cut down massively on the gaps between the really rich and healthy and the really poor and sad countries, so that essentially it was more like a within-country competition.
3) The "national" aspect of it was practically eliminated and it was organized as a competition between individuals, not nations, the way the tennis Grand Slams and the iceskating Grand Prix are. Even the Grand Prix is organized by country - each country holds its own qualifying national competition (the U.S. Figureskating Championships, for instance) that means a lot to the skaters in the first place, and the top however many are eligible to compete in the Grand Prix, but they're not really teammates and they're all just out for themselves. Brian Joubert, a French skater, has fans in China, for example. Everyone just likes who they like. In both of these sports the commentators have over the years given up trying to push the Americans competing and just focused on the stars.

For me, that's the only way the Olympics could not make international relations worse.

[royinpink.livejournal.com]

Hm, well, a within-country competition may solve some problems, but it wouldn't really be the Olympics... also, I'm not so sure how good that'd be in the US--maybe we're more unified than some places, but the north and south still don't get along so well, not to mention there are real religious, economic, and other social differences...I mean, if it doesn't help nations, it might not be so good for states, either.

On #2, though, yeah, totally agree. I felt so sad for the countries that had like 3 people on their team and seemed totally overwhelmed in the opening ceremonies (speaking of which, the national costumes thing is a little ridiculous). I haven't really been watching beyond that, but yeah. Did some countries get booed? It almost sounded like it...

this is related to why i'm sorta glad it's in china this year, because people there are so freaking happy to be recognized on a global level and have their own Olympics. but the downside is all the nationalistic advertising and govt. regulations and people, there and abroad, making it about china and how worthy china is and what china has to be proud of. that part is dumb. but like, most people are just happy they get to be part of it, they have something to be proud of. so i have reservations, and some of them might be solved if the olympics were more like something you describe here

And #3...yes. I am all about individuals (hah). and if the people watching aren't going to be more individualistic and global, then the people competing have to be. ideally both, but that's a long way off.

[intertribal.livejournal.com]

I think #1 would still work, but yeah, it definitely wouldn't be the Olympics.

I don't know who all got booed. I think the U.S. did a little, and I think Iran definitely did. Not sure though.

I await for the day that #2 and #3 combine in general, for people to be more individualistic and global and for nation-states to become less important.

[royinpink.livejournal.com]

jesus, the US has hosted both the summer and the winter olympics 4 times each. that's more than any other country, even greece. i wonder what the 1980 olympics in moscow were like. but really, the list of people who've held the olympics is like an elite club...

i think you're right about iran too, but it seemed like there was at least one other besides the US, maybe iraq

[royinpink.livejournal.com]

btw, the day of the opening ceremonies i was going insane trying to find gifts for my teachers, so i was trying to get back to my room after shops closed (all the shops closed an hour or two before the ceremonies began), but in shanghai (which, sidenote, isn't exactly a place full of love for beijing) there are a few big screens downtown, and so tons of people went to people's park and a few other places to all sit out on the grass and watch it played on the building. a few of the other students went and met bobo there, so i got to hear about it. there were little kids cheering and chinese people laughing at ben cheering for canada. it sounded sweet, everyone outside together like that. the sunset that night was gorgeous, too. myself, i had to make it home on the bus and all the buses were PACKED with people heading home to watch it, holy crap. i was squished btwn. people and the door. it's funny, i've lived in the US for both a summer and winter olympics, but i never paid it much attention, but i couldn't not notice it there, even though i was more than 20 hours by train from where it was being held.