What is your take on the Paralympics?

Anyone else feel that the Paralympics is nothing but a spectacle? Something akin to a laugh or joke at the Disabled??

Or am seeing something that isnt there??

Is this the Future of entertainment? Watching disabled people in what could be described as a circus act?

I don't mean to sound like i'm against disabled people (if thats how it sounds)... it just looks like a bunch of people trying to achieve things when its not really necessary IMO....

Aren't they risking their health further by putting on a show?

Or is this the future? Like ? Robotics? All who are able will be doing nothing much while half human half robotic people will be doing the work??

I even seen the Media paying attention to people with 2 heads.... I dunno but I find it kinda strange..... I remember a few Films which kinda matches todays scenario....

Maybe what I described as the Future is already here.... getting us used to the idea that Robotics or Robots have taken over/are taking over... or is the media merely saying that anything is possible? At the moment its half human half robot but not long from now we will be watching complete robots on the Olympic stage and probably all kinds of Sports events!!

reply to post by TruthxIsxInxThexMist


Being married to a disabled person has given me a totally different outlook as far as the Paralympics goes. I'm not a massive fan of swimming or track and field events on the whole, but I'm loving the basketball and find it more exciting to watch than the able-bodied version. I'm also looking forward to watching the wheelchair rugby (AKA: Murderball)

It is my belief that these disabled athletes deserve more respect than any of the able-bodied athletes because they have risen above adversity/disabilities to become the world class athletes that they are. I've been much more inspired by the Paralympics than I have been by any other sporting event that I've watched and I actually find myself looking forward to the next event I want to watch, which is very odd for me as I'm usually a doer and not a watcher.

!!!GO TEAM GB!!!

Rev

reply to post by TruthxIsxInxThexMist

Why don't you ask the participants how they feel about it? I'm sure their opinion is more important than that of a random sampling of the internet.

Im deeply ashamed this question should be asked on the board - the paralympics are anything but a "show" - Im in London right now and get to see the thing up close and personal. I was also someone involved with Stoke Mandeville as a scout. I went to school with a kid who came skiing with us and was very disabled.

The Paralympics actually display more of the ability of human spirit to overcome obstacles than the Olympics ever can.

As someone who is working as a supplier of both Team GB and Paralympics GB all I can say is our Golds shine through the miss-information.

This Summer has made me Proud once more of my country and the image we project in the world.

(This is MY opinion and as a Member participating in this thread I will take no action / censure any commments, nor should anything I say be construed as an opinion of The Above Network LLC)

The paralympics are a necessity, to aid the disabled. There should be a lot more done to advertise these olympics, for the purpose of aiding those with a disability.

Let me take an example ...

A man with a wooden leg, won't run far ... but if he's got a modern leg, he can run faster than any man with his good legs.

Imagine if the paralympics took a jump, where it would suddenly be profitable for companies to produce and advance technology and robotics, for the purpose of aiding the disabled. You might start to see people lumping higher than you can imagine ... swim as fast as a dolphin ... run as fast as an antilope.

If the paralympics were done correctly, it might end the fear of losing a limb ...

reply to post by revmoofoo


Good for you.... I understand what you are saying and of course I also say 'good luck' to them....

I think its just the World is changing real quick!!



*cheers for the replies.... I guess i'm seeing things which aren't really there.... and I didnt watch the Olympics or any of the paralympics! Watching people with no legs throwing a discuss or people in wheelchairs racing around a track doesnt really do it for me...

But as I say 'good luck' to those involved

I watched a blind woman win a 100 meters race in 11.5 seconds (approximately) today. It left me with a feeling of awe, admiration and respect for their incredible will and sheer determination. Imagine the falls she must have taken and the pain endured to be able to achieve such a feat.

Most able bodied people complain when they can't find the tv remote.

These magnificent athletes make me want to try harder in life.

I'm all for it.

It gives them a forum to compete despite their disability. I wish all of them nothing but the best!

i think the paralympics are amazing and inspirational! i love it!
i have barely noticed that its for disabled athletes, yes some events like visually impaired 5 a side and wheel chair basket ball remind me but the running, cycling, swimming and horse riding....wow just wow.
i cant speak for the athletes but i think they enjoy it, the pride and joy i've seen on there faces and the effort they put in.
i think some of the paralympic athletes would give the olympic athletes a run for there money!

reply to post by TruthxIsxInxThexMist


I've organized charity events (through us evil Masons) that have raised tens of thousands of dollars for paraolympics, and for the participants it's anything but a joke. The parents and kids especially take great pride in the athletes. If YOU find it amusing, and laugh at the athletes, it's not that it's a circus.. it's that there is something seriously freaking wrong with you, that you should probably get checked out.

Originally posted by Rockpuck
reply to post by TruthxIsxInxThexMist

 

I've organized charity events (through us evil Masons) that have raised tens of thousands of dollars for paraolympics, and for the participants it's anything but a joke. The parents and kids especially take great pride in the athletes. If YOU find it amusing, and laugh at the athletes, it's not that it's a circus.. it's that there is something seriously freaking wrong with you, that you should probably get checked out.

I really do wish people like yourself would read posts properly..... maybe you should get checked out!!

Go take some 'Understanding English' lessons!!!

That's a pretty cold, insensitive, and iggnorant quetion/ topic for an Op...

The subject of your Op... the disabled... they are people...humans. They have a spirit inside even if they lack an operable appendage or appendages. The point of the paralympics is to excell and thrive beyond one's limitations. It is to compete... to be better than what you or others may believe you to be.

The measure of a person is how they overcome adversity...

Any good coach, leader, commander will tell you ... it is heart. You could be in top physical condition, but without heart... you are a loser.

I find it inspiring that a person of any abilities can go out and try to be better than the day before.. all the more so with some form of disability... they believe in themselves and they believe in others... that makes them better people.

Too many people have all their body parts but are handicapped by fear, iggnorance, greed, hate, hurt... and all of it by their own choosing.

When I think I have had a bad day or some obstacle seems like a mountain that i can't begin to climb... I se the obstacles in front of these people and I feel ashamed... and then I begin my own ascent from self pity and self loathing.

This has to be a troll thread designed to anger people, specially the "arent they endangering their health when they are putting on a show?".

I will not take the bait.

Originally posted by TruthxIsxInxThexMist

I don't mean to sound like i'm against disabled people (if thats how it sounds)... it just looks like a bunch of people trying to achieve things when its not really necessary IMO....

You pretty much described every sporting event out there disabled or not. There is little need for a person to compete in a marathon or run a ball up and down a field in the greater scheme of things, but they may get personal satisfaction for completing a personal goal for themselves or their country.

Originally posted by TruthxIsxInxThexMist

Aren't they risking their health further by putting on a show?

Yes. Just as Usain Bolt is.

There is NO difference.

reply to post by AlreadyGone


I really wish you people would understand and see the point of this thread!!

You, for one just dont get it at all....

Listen, i'm not saying those with Disabilities shouldn't be trying in Life.... what i'm saying is that they really don't have to prove anything to anyone.... going out onto the field with no legs to throw a discuss is IMO pretty silly thing to do to prove that you can throw something and compete.... its not really showing any intelligence is it??

They compete to bring out the best in themselves.

My take is - I hope the games will help to encourage admiration and better understanding that we are all Human Beings

Source of quote;-

en.wikipedia.org...

"The first organized athletic event for disabled athletes that coincided with the Olympic Games took place on the day of the opening of the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. German born Dr. Ludwig Guttmann of Stoke Mandeville Hospital,[5] who had been helped to flee Nazi Germany by the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics (CARA) in 1939,[6] hosted a sports competition for British World War II veteran patients with spinal cord injuries. The first games were called the 1948 International Wheelchair Games, and were intended to coincide with the 1948 Olympics.[7] Dr. Guttman's aim was to create an elite sports competition for people with disabilities that would be equivalent to the Olympic Games.[7] The games were held again at the same location in 1952, and Dutch veterans took part alongside the British, making it the first international competition of its kind. These early competitions, also known as the Stoke Mandeville Games, have been described as the precursors of the Paralympic Games."

reply to post by Pedro4077


Thanks for the vid.

Much appreciated thanks.

Originally posted by TruthxIsxInxThexMist
Something akin to a laugh or joke at the Disabled??

Watching disabled people in what could be described as a circus act?

I don't mean to sound like i'm against disabled people (if thats how it sounds)... it just looks like a bunch of people trying to achieve things when its not really necessary....

...putting on a show?

...while half human half robotic people will be doing the work??

Only a DAMNED HEARTLESS FOOL would write the things that were written in this thread above...

And WHAT KIND of person laughs at people who are in position such as the disabled??

What kind of twisted folks do that? What kind of folks ask these questions like in this thread?

So you are NOT against disabled people?? Could've fooled me.