Olympics
I don’t really have anything specific in mind to talk about. Just pieces of stuff, so we’ll see how this works out.
First, I’m kind of disgusted by the way the gymnastics rule changes have worked out. When someone who lands on their knees beats someone who doesn’t, something is wrong. And that stupid tie-breaker? I turned the TV off as they were walking to the podium and didn’t turn it back on again until last night. The IOC needs to have a talk with the gymnastics organizations to work on better rules. Or find better judges. As was pointed out, when you keep the judges out of the mix who are from the countries competing then sometimes you don’t get such good judges. That has nothing to do with where the games are being held, nothing against China, but it’s a definite problem with this Olympics. I hope it is fixed before the next Olympics rolls around.
Next, the age thing. Unfortunately, I realize how easy it would be for documents to be created to say those girls are any age they need to be. And someone who is supposed to be 16 (or within a few months of 16) losing baby teeth? Really, how in your face did they think they could be with this? The thing is, if they are under age, it isn’t those girls’ fault. I’m sure they had no choice in any decisions that were made. But how to give consequences to the people who made the decisions without hurting those girls who worked so hard to get where they are? I have no idea. My heart breaks for them, though. All of this talk has to hurt them, and it’s not really their fault.
The Chinese diver who won gold last night? OMG? How incredible was that? And Laura Wilkinson’s goodbye? She has such class.
And the reporter who interviewed the relay guys after they dropped the baton? Just dig the knife in and twist it around why don’t you? His questions were just downright mean and I wanted to slug him on behalf of the guys.
I’ve seen a few news stories of the IOC having to intercede now on various things. They apparently had to have late night talks to negotiate allowing the athletes and reporters in the Olympic Village to have unfettered access to the internet. Apparently they couldn’t get to a lot of places that were blocked, and now some (but not all) of those sites have been opened up for them. The IOC’s official opinion seems to be that they hadn’t negotiated internet access so no rules have been broken, but I’m thinking they’ve got to be a little more than annoyed by it.
There have also been reports of the IOC speaking up on behalf of reporters when they are denied access to a person or place. They did negotiate that reporters would have unfettered access, so that was (and apparently still is) a problem.
Not really surprised at those last two points, but disappointed.
All in all, except for the “new and improved” gymnastics rules that need some work, I think things are going well. I died laughing last night as Bob Costas mangled out a “Ni Hao everyone”. And I’m looking forward to hearing what some of the athletes came away with once they are home and talking about their experiences. They aren’t seeing the China that I’ve seen, of course, but they are seeing a part of China.
Just as someone who visits New York doesn’t get the idea of what life is for most Americans, someone who visits Beijing only gets the idea of what life is like in Beijing. But that’s okay. It’s still part of China, and the world is watching.
I had hoped to not see reports of censorship, but I guess that was probably too much to ask for. From talking to others (coworkers and friends and strangers in an airport), it seems that the average American is just looking for proof of “communism” still being alive, and the censorship along with the ages of the gymnasts have pretty much made them all think that today’s China is the same as the old China but with fancier buildings and a better idea of how PR and marketing works.
Somehow, I’d hoped that the way the general population of the rest of the world felt about China might change with the Olympics, but I don’t believe that is the case. I mean, sure, they see the prosperity, but the other stuff speaks louder to them than the pretty buildings do. If the Chinese government wanted people to think they are truly different now, I think they blew it by having any censorship at all show up.
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:51 am
RQ said, “…it seems that the average American is just looking for proof of “communism” still being alive…”
The don’t have to look very far.
China4
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:57 am
RQ. I agree with your analysis about the judging. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such slopping judging. I want to point out one more place where I think there was some unfairness in the scoring. I thought Shawn Johnson did sooo much better than that Romanian girl on the floor exercises. She almost got the gold and then the Romanian girl got up and did (what I thought) was a very mediocre performance and ended up getting the gold. Same with the men’s parallel bar routine. The guy from Texas was much better than the guy from China. Yet China got the gold for that one. Don’t get it…
Yeah, I don’t think I was surprised by the censorship. Traditions and rules are deeply embedded in this country. There’s a lot of beauty and alot of positive things but there are also alot of not so nice things going on.
Thanks for your thoughts.
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:49 am
I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or groan at Bob Costas when he said “Ni Hao.” We haven’t traveled yet but I have been getting coaching from some of my colleagues at work that were born in China on pronunciation of some of the more basic phrases. I would have thought NBC would have provided a coach for Bob! Glad to know you laughed, RQ! We all need more laughter, especially those waiting for our kids.
I do have to admit we are now anxious to see what happens after the Olympics — our LID is 3.14.06.
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:52 am
I heard about the “protest area” debacle yesterday. Apparently the government demarcated an area specifically for protestors, and two women (78 and 79 years old) applied to protest after the Olympic officials bulldozed their houses but didn’t give them the compensation they were promised. Instead of being granted permission, they have both been sentenced to LABOR CAMP! apparently almost 100 people have applied to protest, and they have not granted a SINGLE applicant permission. Here’s a story:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26305623/
August 22nd, 2008 at 11:59 am
I’ve been dying to talk about the Olympics on this forum. I’m wondering how it’s affecting everyone else. My husband and I both spiralled into a MAJOR funk around mid-August, and we finally realized, “oh, it’s because we’re surrounded by this thing that has made our lives miserable and will continue to.” Mind, we don’t even have TV, and we still haven’t been able to escape all the hype.
I also have to say that the Olympics have given us serious pause about adopting from China. One of the major reasons we went with China in the first place was because it was reliable and trustworthy. Now it doesn’t seem to be either of those things. Seeing the extent of the lying and covering up by the Chinese government has been pretty upsetting. And if they’re going to lie about something that gets as much international news as the Olympics, what’s to stop them from fudging some health reports on International Adoptions? Instead of one or two “repaired SN” kids mixed in the NSN line, why not five or six or sixty? I don’t mean to fall into a slippery slope fallacy here, but it’s not beyond the realm of possibility. For the first time, we’re thinking we might really be able to tear our hearts away from the little girl in China and hope that we can trust one American birth mother to be honest about our child’s prenatal environment. It seems easier to trust one person rather than an entire corrupt government. And yet, it’s so hard… I think only people going through adoption can know how hard it is to change to another adoption program when you’ve envisioned one thing for so long.
August 22nd, 2008 at 12:34 pm
I find handling of the gymnasts’ ages (if indeed they are too young to comete), the beautiful girl lip synching, the electronic fireworks, etc. to be an interesting view into China’s mind. It shows me an emphasis on outcomes and image, form over substance. The “how we get there” and “how we play the game” part of the equation does not appear to have as much merit or value.
This helps me understand what may have happened with the NSN wait.
GD
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:36 pm
One of the things that has just driven me nuts is all the stuff in our media about the smog in Beijing. When we traveled in the hazy, hot humidity of last July I was expecting it to be horrible. Much to my happy surprise I did not find the smog to be an issue. Yes there was some smog but nothing like I’d expected. I’ve had a worse time with the smog in London, Paris, LA or New York so when I hear people wisecracking about the smog it makes me wonder if they have actually been there or not. Just my beef but it really annoys me.
August 22nd, 2008 at 5:40 pm
soxfan, you just lucked out. Pollution has been worse than horrible every time I’ve been in Beijing. Actually, it’s been that way in every city I’ve been in except Guilin. Hong Kong’s not so bad either, but it’s stormed and been windy when we’ve been there, I’m not sure how it would be otherwise.
But Beijing.. it’s bad. I sometimes wash our shirts out in the sink and when I do the water is black. And to think we breathe that in when we are there.
RK gets a sinus infection within a few days of entering China, every single time. I can’t imagine trying to compete in that. I know they’ve got the pollution to a minimum right now, and there has been a good bit of rain which should have cleaned the atmosphere up some as well. Good thing.
It’s no wonder there is so much spitting on the sidewalks. Seriously. To live there full time, I can’t imagine what that would do to your respiratory system.
Stephanie Plum talks about how living in New Jersey is kind of a survival of the fittest, you have to be tough to live there. They embrace the pollution, it makes them stronger. Sometimes I think of China when I read her talking about it like that.
August 22nd, 2008 at 8:51 pm
My heart goes out to all the waiting parents who are seeing this Olympics without their referral. I told my husband that if we had not gone by the time 8-8-08 rolled around, I wanted to go far away and never look at the TV. So, I had planned a consolation trip to Maui to see my family if we had not traveled by then. Instead, we just squeezed by, getting home on 07-02-08 with our second daughter. I watch as much as I can but it isn’t very much.
I have been reading about how proud the Chinese Government is about the lack of controversy and protest, however. I read one official said after the opening ceremony that the only other country who could have pulled that off was North Korea because they are the only other country with as much “social order.” Imagine how they must view the chaos we have here. Also, a physician I work with came into my office and told me how appalled she was by the lack of compassion shown by the government when the Minnesota tourist was killed by a deranged citizen. She is from that state and I guess they are a very prominent family. She said they have a web site about their ordeal and no one on the local news in Beijing reported anything about it. It shows the irrelevance of individuals. I realize however that with over 1 billion people, a country has to think differently to meet all the needs. But, if your ideal is North Korea, well…’nuff said.
August 23rd, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Our daughter is from Guilin and I find it to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I’m probably a little biased. :) Neat that you’ve been there too!