When people say Meb isn't a "real" American just because he was born and raised (for only 10 years) in Eritrea, many people get up in arms and start slinging around accusations of racism. Geb and his family came to America for a better life.
So what about when LRC calls Elvan Abyelegesse "Turkish". She came here over 10 years ago. She's Turkish now. Talk about a double standard.
If she is Turkish now, as you say, shouldn't LRC call her "Turkish". I don't understand.
She's Turkish now.
If so, the presence or absence of some quotation marks will not affect that.
I think the OP is complaining about a double standard: Meb is not accepted as a real American by posters on these boards, but Elvan Abeylegesse's nationality switch is not commented on.
Sounds like a storm in a teacup to me, but obviously this inequitable behaviour has upset the OP.
They are being entirely consistent and entirely wrong as usual. According to them, Meb is an "American" and these women are "Turkish", i.e. they aren't really American and Turkish hence the need for quotes.
I think it's the rest of the "Turkish" athletes from Ethiopia that are more the problem.
Abeylegesse perhaps didn't change nationalities for athletic reasons (maybe), but the Turks have realised that they can get cheap medals by importing Africans and calling them Turkish.
I can't imagine the Turkish authorities will stop at much when it comes to winning medals for the 'glory' of Turkey. But then again, these are top athletes, Renato says that doping doesn't work on them.
usandthem wrote:
When people say Meb isn't a "real" American just because he was born and raised (for only 10 years) in Eritrea, many people get up in arms and start slinging around accusations of racism. Geb and his family came to America for a better life.
So what about when LRC calls Elvan Abyelegesse "Turkish". She came here over 10 years ago. She's Turkish now. Talk about a double standard.
I was just about to point out the same thing, and email Weldon about this.
If someone says he or she is "Turkish" and the Turkish government says they are Turkish, then they are TURKISH.
Weldon I think you owe the good Turkish runners, no matter where they were born, an apology.
I don't know much about Turkey's immigration policies. But generally speaking, a case can be made that there is a difference a nation like the US or Canada that are built on immigration, and most of the rest of the world.
If a nation that traditionally has not granted citizenship to most immigrants suddenly grants citizenship to a select few (say athletes), that's quite different from a Meb coming to America and being accepted as a citizen along with millions of other immigrants whom we are now proud to call Americans.
I don't know enough about Turkish immigration to say whether the quotes marks are justified or not, but the possibility is there.