"I am going to inspire a lot of people in America and Kenya."

you are an idiot

What??? wrote:

TPaine wrote:

To the first two posters: Next time you go celebrate St. Patrick's Day or Bastille Day or whatever maybe you should think twice.

I actually am of Irish heritage and do celebrate St. Patricks Day. But I am an American citizen and, if I ever won a gold medal, I sure as hell wouldn't be shouting "Erin go bragh" from the rooftops.

If the guy truly thought so highly of America that he wanted to change his citizenship then he should have been prepared to be 100 percent loyal, not 50/50.

Lagat's Coach is also a Naturalized American Citizen.. James Li was born in China and came to the US for Grad studies....HE is obviously one of teh top American Coaches

Naturalized American=American

Dual Citizenship=Treason

[quote]lill wrote:

you are an idiot

[quote]

Wow, I'm slain.

Dusty Bones wrote:

I actually deeply pity anyone who is disappointed that he mentioned Kenya. I really do.

exactly

Nice way to put it, credit to you.But beyond the national identity/what makes an american debate - which could take forever -, i think the thing that hurts them patriots is the lack of team empathy between Webb and Lagat. There seemed to be greater affinities with his other adversaries. Every American should in theory be content of the result, period.Hoever, if either of them had also made a move to cheer not themselves, but TOGETHER the COUNTRY that won the medal there would be no room for any doubt or ill feelings given the high quality and level of the race.Similiarly, if Webb beyond acknowledging his breakdown and congratulating Lagat, the runner (and not the teammate,)had cheered for his country's gold medal, no doubts could be raised by anyone...If your only goal is to come in first, and you lose, its going to hurt no matter what the plausible reason for your self inflicted failure. If you have a greater scope, the rewards will be multiplied. An opportunity possibly missed by both of them.Still, nice run.

the way I see it wrote:

no matter what he says some people will choose to look at it with negativity.

I don't see why he can't still care about the country he was born in (especially given how much disparity there is in terms of quality of life between there and here). I do not believe that it detracts from his loyalty at all. So when you get married you have to "align" yourself only with your wife you can't care about your Mom?

Lagat's a class act, but why did he have to limit his comments to America and Kenya? Can't anyone be inspired by him? I'm also inspired by Bekele. Am I supposed to be Ethiopian for that to happen? Cuz I'm not (in case there was any doubt).

How is Lagat a "pseudo-american?"

Indeed, agree with your expansion... inspire doesn't sound right... maybe he meant "satisfy"... at his level you should be aware of "inspiring" the whole dang running and non-running planet, man...

the point could very well be wrote:

Lagat's a class act, but why did he have to limit his comments to America and Kenya? Can't anyone be inspired by him? I'm also inspired by Bekele. Am I supposed to be Ethiopian for that to happen? Cuz I'm not (in case there was any doubt).

What??? wrote:

Here's your link. Seventh paragraph.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SPORT/08/29/athletics.men.reut/

"The Kenyan-born 32-year-old only qualified to run for his adopted country last year but his three minutes 34.77 seconds was enough to a break an American drought stretching back to the 1908 Olympic Games."

KENYAN born??????? - WTF is that? Who cares? The mf'er is american - dammit. thats bullshit, thru and thru. this racist shit is bogus.

How is dual citizenship treason? I'm a dual citizen because my mother is English and my father is American. I have lived in various palces but in the US since I was 4 years old. I consider myself an American because this is where I grew up and where my friends are and where my home is. Not because of what is on my passport. This is an individual sport and it is great for a country when one of its citizens wins on the international level but I would have no qualms about representing either country at that level. If someone gives me a jersey and a ticket I'll do it and when I'm done I'll credit any country or person or organization that helped me. So shoot me !

What??? wrote:

I actually am of Irish heritage and do celebrate St. Patricks Day. But I am an American citizen and, if I ever won a gold medal, I sure as hell wouldn't be shouting "Erin go bragh" from the rooftops.

If the guy truly thought so highly of America that he wanted to change his citizenship then he should have been prepared to be 100 percent loyal, not 50/50.

Were you born in Ireland and did you live half your life there? Lagat has more or less lived half his life in Kenya and the other half in the US, so he has a very close connection with both countries

Neuropsychiatrist wrote:

Dual Citizenship=Treason

Wow, my daughter (born in the U.S. to a Canadian mother) committed treason at birth. I'm surprised that Homeland Security doesn't have agents monitoring maternity wards.

holy crap you guys care wayy too much on the subject. He lived the first (18-19??) years of his life in Kenya, of course he has ties to it. who really cares if he said that, he is obviously proud to be american.

Also, the term racist is thrown around wayyyy too mcuh with everyone trying to be politically correct. Calling someone kenyan-born isn

t racist, its just signifying that they are not white-american born, so it is not a huge shocker that they won.

Anyone who thinks this comment is in the slightest way anti-American is a complete moron.

He wants to inspire people from the US *and* Kenya. This is a good thing. I see nothing wrong with him encouraging kids who share his background.

asdfasdfasdf wrote:

Also, the term racist is thrown around wayyyy too mcuh with everyone trying to be politically correct. Calling someone kenyan-born isn

t racist, its just signifying that they are not white-american born, so it is not a huge shocker that they won.

If ya didn't say racist things such as this, the term racist wouldn't have ta be throwed around so darn much, now would it?

if anyone wants to understand the idiocy of the typical white american redneck they should consult this thread...

you guys are embarassing idiots...

stupid letsrunners wrote:

Anyone who thinks this comment is in the slightest way anti-American is a complete moron.

He wants to inspire people from the US *and* Kenya. This is a good thing. I see nothing wrong with him encouraging kids who share his background.

Exactly. He didn't mean he wanted to inspire Kenyans to become Americans. He just wants to inspire people from both nations to accomplish their dreams. Lagat IS an American citizen, but is also Kenyan. You can't expect him to just forget where he came from. Our ancestors (unless you are 100% Native American and even then some people say they migrated from elsewhere) cames from other countries at one time or another. This is the USA.

*came