- These guys enlisted under false pretenses ... to run not serve & it\\\'s perfectly legal.
- These guys enlisted under false pretenses ... to run not serve & it\\\'s perfectly legal.
Lickety Split wrote:
- These guys enlisted under false pretenses ... to run not serve & it\'s perfectly legal.
No, I have no problem with what the athletes did. That would be silly.
Lickety Split wrote:
LIrunner wrote:Agreed. But remember these guys are soldiers and after done running will serve out rest of enlistment contract in a line unit
We'll see .... after making the Olympic Team these guys won\'t ever see a Motor Pool or a tour in Afghanistan. They are college graduates that utilized the Army to fast-track citizenship & further pursue their running careers: plain and simple.
What's wrong with that?
I'm having to pay for it every April: that's what's wrong!
Even their wannabe Fuhrer can't make white American boys relevant on the track.
111 wrote:
Even their wannabe Fuhrer can't make white American boys relevant on the track.
Just like your Fuhrer can't make black American boys relevant in business.
Lickety Split wrote:
I'm having to pay for it every April: that's what's wrong!
That's one thing. The other is the symbolic value. American kids are not going to strive for athletic excellence (or even mediocrity) if they know that the top tier will be filled up with foreigners. This is the whole point of the Olympic games, that each nation sends the best athletes coming from their culture, not that Africans compete for Qatar, Sweden or the US.
222 wrote:
Lickety Split wrote:I'm having to pay for it every April: that's what's wrong!
That's one thing. The other is the symbolic value. American kids are not going to strive for athletic excellence (or even mediocrity) if they know that the top tier will be filled up with foreigners. This is the whole point of the Olympic games, that each nation sends the best athletes coming from their culture, not that Africans compete for Qatar, Sweden or the US.
They are Americans. Anyone disuaded by Korir and Kipchirchir would be too weak to be relevant, anyway.
Mofong wrote:
222 wrote:That's one thing. The other is the symbolic value. American kids are not going to strive for athletic excellence (or even mediocrity) if they know that the top tier will be filled up with foreigners. This is the whole point of the Olympic games, that each nation sends the best athletes coming from their culture, not that Africans compete for Qatar, Sweden or the US.
They are Americans. Anyone disuaded by Korir and Kipchirchir would be too weak to be relevant, anyway.
Too weak to be relevant for the Olympics, yes. But not too weak to be a part of a (now dying) American culture of Track and Field.
Lickety Split wrote:
Why is the American taxpayer paying an Army Major to coach track?
The AF paid John Carney to coach football. That turned out to be a good investment.
222 wrote:
Mofong wrote:They are Americans. Anyone disuaded by Korir and Kipchirchir would be too weak to be relevant, anyway.
Too weak to be relevant for the Olympics, yes. But not too weak to be a part of a (now dying) American culture of Track and Field.
Ha! Anyone scared of competition would not make a professional runner. You are kidding yourself.
Lots of irrelevant arguments being made here against Korir and Kipchirchir competing for the US.
It is pretty simple. If they have completed the naturalization process as defined in the Constitution and taken the oath of citizenship, then they are just as much an American as anyone else.
Quit trying to justify your racism and admit that your motives are fueled by simple prejudice.
- Prejudice/Racist? Definitely take exception to that charge.
- Irrelevant Argument? It's not irrelevant to discuss "how" folks came to be Olympians. Furthermore, it's not irrelevant to critique why the US Army's investing in World Class athletes when that's not their charter.
There is a big difference between being in the Army and wearing a uniform that says "US ARMY" on it. Every male in the Army had the opportunity to choose infantry, cavalry, armor, field artillery, etc, but many do not. Most of these guys are just civilians wearing a uniform. Even when they deploy ( I use that term loosely with non-combat army types) they sit on a FOB for a year. Most never set foot outside the T-walls and basically are as safe as if they were home. Logistics, dental hygienist, water treatment, financial management, motor transport operator (truck driver), behavioral health, food service (cook), and one Armor officer in the program. Only one signed up to possibly have to fight and die for his country. Just because someone is in the Army does not mean they signed up to fight and certainly does not make that person a "hero" unless he's got a BSM w/V or higher. A large percentage of the Army signed up because they didn't want to flip burgers anymore or were drug users or spent time in prison and can't get a job. The Army has always been an option for these types. I'm not saying that is the case with these guys on the team since most if not all are college grads but by no means are people in the Army "America's Best."
Well you couldn't care less about proper grammar, that's for sure.
I didn't fund Galen Rupp to make the team, but indirectly as a taxpayer 2 x legal immigrants that just started paying taxes. That's my beef!
What do taxes have to do with this?
I get the idea that it would be interesting to have the Olympics be some type of referendum on the effect of one culture over another so that having "purity" would matter. But that's not what they are or have ever been.
An American by choice and sacrifice means a lot more to me than American simply because you were born here.
if I can, they should too wrote:
I had the good luck to randomly happen to be born in the US through no thought or effort of my own. These guys uprooted their lives to move half way around the world and complete the process of becoming citizens. If my dumb luck gives me the right to call myself American and compete for this country, their sacrifice and effort sure as hell earns them the same right.
America should be about competition from all-comers. We're all made better when we say "let the best in the world come here and we'll all fight like dogs to be the best at what we do."
Many Americans did not choose to be born in a society there everyone can compete on a level field. They wanted to be born in a country where the native born people are protected by their government from competition with the newcomers. But unfortunately, that did not happen. It was not their fault. They didn't choose to be born in the United States.
And moving to another county where native born citizens enjoy the advantage is not an option for them, because they were not born there, and therefore cannot enjoy the privilege. So they are stuck in this "lose-lose" situation. You should feel really sorry for them.
soldiers not created equally wrote:
There is a big difference between being in the Army and wearing a uniform that says "US ARMY" on it. Every male in the Army had the opportunity to choose infantry, cavalry, armor, field artillery, etc, but many do not. Most of these guys are just civilians wearing a uniform. Even when they deploy ( I use that term loosely with non-combat army types) they sit on a FOB for a year. Most never set foot outside the T-walls and basically are as safe as if they were home. Logistics, dental hygienist, water treatment, financial management, motor transport operator (truck driver), behavioral health, food service (cook), and one Armor officer in the program. Only one signed up to possibly have to fight and die for his country. Just because someone is in the Army does not mean they signed up to fight and certainly does not make that person a "hero" unless he's got a BSM w/V or higher. A large percentage of the Army signed up because they didn't want to flip burgers anymore or were drug users or spent time in prison and can't get a job. The Army has always been an option for these types. I'm not saying that is the case with these guys on the team since most if not all are college grads but by no means are people in the Army "America's Best."
Lori Piestewa was a truck driver. She died for her country.
Another Option wrote:
What do taxes have to do with this?
I get the idea that it would be interesting to have the Olympics be some type of referendum on the effect of one culture over another so that having "purity" would matter. But that's not what they are or have ever been.
An American by choice and sacrifice means a lot more to me than American simply because you were born here.
- My taxpayer dollars underwrite athletic scholarships to foreigners.
- Now my taxpayer dollars underwrite the US Army WCAP when they should be focused on the nation's defense.
- My taxpayer dollars DO NOT underwrite the Nike Oregon Project.