Tuesday 23 August 2016

How Brazil had to face its African self. ft Tekno - Pana [Official Video]

How long before the world tires of Usain Bolt's 'off the track' antics and he becomes 'Jamaican' again? :)
Hmmm.. the clock is ticking
I suspect it will depend on what he chooses to do once he officially retires, who he chooses to marry, and who he chooses to hang out with. It will be interesting to see just how far male 'Jamaican-ness' outside of Bob Marley will travel.
I jest , somewhat.

It's fair to say that I watched as much of the Olympics as I could and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was an event filled with highs lows and outright laughs ( thanks Haiti).
Well done to all the athletes who took part; and as the sun shone today, the country welcomed home team GB, with pundits hailing these games the most successful in a century.
I absolutely adore Nicola Adams and felt a real sense of pride watching the athletes emerge from the plane showcasing their winning medals.




2nd on the medals table is very impressive, team GB has come along way with many putting the medal haul success down to investment in the form of National Lottery funding.

There were many stand out moments, but one of the funniest moments for me was watching Haitian hurdler Jeffrey Julmis, who after showboating for the camera then went on to show the world he must have trained with 'baby hurdlers!' no seriously, it was funny. Got to feel sorry for him though..he'll probably want to forget that race


Funniest comment came from an anonymous Tweet which said.. 'he had one job.... smh. I'm no longer Haitian'.

Other funny comments included the after race commentary of.... 'Kenya' will be disappointed' (2nd place not good enough Kenyans?)
another gem came from Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe who allegedly called the entire Zimbabwean Olympic team useless!, and ordered for them to be detained as soon as they landed back at Harare International airport! lol
( Is someone making this stuff up?)

“We have wasted the country’s money on these rats we call athletes. If you are not ready to sacrifice and win even copper or brass medals (referring the 4th and 5th positions) as our neighbors Botswana did, then why do you go to waste our money” [click]

Too funny for words!.

The Olympics is a social scientist's dream in many ways.
The games 'harmlessly highlight' our prejudices, biases, sense of nationalism, ego, views on gender, classism, racism... the works.
On one hand it may appear as though the arena of sport transcends race and class but it doesn't. From lying about being robbed to cover for causing a disturbance and thinking it OK, to the questions of whether or not a woman with higher than average levels of testosterone should compete with other women. Questions as to why with such an impressive Olympic display from the black American athletes and the love they show for their country and visa versa, is there still an issue with police brutality and overt racism across many parts of the States.


Perhaps one has to be a 'winner' to get some love. It reminds me of the old adage that anyone of colour has to be three times better to get by.
The world will celebrate Bolt on the podium, yet fear his lookalike, on the sidewalk.



There was certainly no shortage of beautiful black women on the podiums of Rio.



A fantastic sight given Brazil's unfortunate but not uncommon attitude towards black women of African heritage.


In fact Rio could not escape or deny that the excellence they may wish to deny or subject to discrimination in private, had to now be revered in public.








Surely these games will be a game changer for Brazil
Peace x










3 comments:

  1. The world will celebrate Bolt on the podium, yet fear his lookalike, on the sidewalk.

    I feel this sentence and actually this entire post. If I had daughters, I'd like to think my wife and I would be watching the olympics together, and be just as excited as they are, and I'd imagine their minds spinning with possibilities. What a great time. Of course I vouch for Team USA and Ghana, but every time I see a black woman on the podium, no matter the country, I'm just as proud.

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    1. Team USA did GREAT!. It was also nice to see the reactions of smaller nations who earned their 1st medals!. I like to see women succeed. For the ignorant who choose to devalue, undervalue judge or subjugate black women, watching the women on the podium must be a mixed bag. Brazil does not favour dark skin, colourism is rife. Well..well..well.. the irony

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  2. thanks for sharing the love and visiting historypak :) feel free to visit again

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