Obama Jabs Putin, Picks Openly Gay Delegates For Winter Olympics In Russia

[Philbert]

Denial is a pretty big thing. You have to be pretty deeply immersed in denial to think something like, "Clearly EVERYONE else is wrong, and they're all just ganging up on me. I'm obviously correct on everything I post, and EVERYONE else is wrong."
Can you imagine living like that?

No.

I agree...your life is hell.

 

[lurkingdirk]

No.

I agree...your life is hell.

:1orglaugh

Yeah, that's how you argue, "I know you are, but what am I?" Very good. Let the butthurt flow through you.

 

[ApolloBalboa]

For gay athletes, the U.S. isn’t much more tolerant than Russia

By Avery Stone, Published: December 27

Avery Stone is a senior at Amherst College.

As teenage hockey players, my teammates and I were girls obsessed with a tale of American triumph on the ice: The 2004 movie “Miracle,” about the 1980 U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team defeating the Soviet Union, played on repeat in our parents’ cars as they drove us to games. We would quote legendary coach Herb Brooks’s pregame speeches, shouting Al Michaels’s question before that final buzzer: “Do you believe in miracles?” Our answer was always “Yes!”

Now my country is poised to face off against Russia once again. But this time, the stakes are higher than gold or silver medals. The focus on Russia’s violations of its gay citizens’ civil rights has made Sochi a test of moral as well as physical strength. President Obama, Vice President Biden and first lady Michelle Obama made a seemingly bold statement in announcing that they would not travel to Sochi, and that the U.S. delegation will include three openly gay athletes: tennis legend Billie Jean King, figure skater Brian Boitano and Caitlin Cahow, a two-time hockey Olympian who acknowledged her sexual orientation in an interview with me last month.

The gesture is meant to convey a strong message: U.S. Olympians will compete with grace and show Russia just how far this country has come in terms of sexual freedom. But while Russia trails the United States in gay rights, the United States can’t claim much of a moral high ground for its own athletes. In 2012, the activist organization Campus Pride released a study of more than 8,000 student-athletes from 164 NCAA institutions, concluding that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) athletes were harassed — in person and online — twice as often as their straight peers. One in four gay athletes felt pressured to be silent about their sexual identity.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...b5b-a77187b716a3_story.html?tid=auto_complete

Somewhat related to what I was saying earlier in this thread. The author's piece is poignant and quite sad; for however much America views itself as progressive, there are still too many examples of how far we have yet to come. Again, are we better than Russia? Yes, but obviously not by enough.

 

[meesterperfect]

If they were given the jobs based on their experience ect. thats fine.
If they were given the jobs becauase they are homosexual its many things such as spiteful, exploitive, indifferent, vindictive, egotistic, ect.
And just freaking gay.
Why does this guy, why does this country always gotta try to be the center of attention. Worse than a 13 year old spoiled rich girl.

 

[Jagger69]

Somewhat related to what I was saying earlier in this thread. The author's piece is poignant and quite sad; for however much America views itself as progressive, there are still too many examples of how far we have yet to come. Again, are we better than Russia? Yes, but obviously not by enough.

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to ApolloBalboa again.

That's a great point. Rather than grandstanding about how much more enlightened the USA is when it comes to LGBT rights, we need to make sure there aren't a bunch of skeletons left in our closet. Rather, it appears, the message ought to be, "Sure, we're homophobic. But you guys are REALLY FUCKING HOMOPHOBIC!!!".

 

[HehehehehehehehehehahaHyena]

"You can't say closed gay. But you can say Tory cabinet minister"
-Omid Djalili