Frankly, this is a dumb story. But then, considering how politicized everything “Olympic” really is, it makes me wonder whether there is more to this one that meets the eye.
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| Voula Papachristou |
Pretty simple summary: a Greek athlete called Voula Papachristou posted the following joke on her Twitter account:
“So many Africans in Greece at least West Nile mosquitoes will eat homemade food.”
I don’t know about you, but I cannot say that this is absolutely hilarious. Can’t say that I find that offensive either. Am I missing something here?
“So many Africans in Greece“. Dunno if that is true, but for the life of me I cannot see what could be considered offensive about this statement either.
“West Nile mosquitoes will eat homemade food.” Okay, calling any human “food” is not very respectful but, hey, we *are* food for the mosquitoes. Here were I live, in Florida, tourists even purchase T-shirts with a nasty looking mosquito on it and with the caption “I gave my blood in the Everglades“. Human, including Africans, are potential food for many animals, even if we rather not think about it.
So its got to be the “at least” part which suggests that Africans in Greece are a negative phenomenon which is only partially compensated by the fact that “local African” mosquitoes get some homemade food.
Fine, let us assume for a moment that Ms. Papachristou really does not like seeing Africans in her country. So bloody hell what? Its her right to like or not like whatever she wants, no?
Is her “crime” (as in “crimethink” of course) that she actually expressed her displeasure in this tweet? Well, either its a crime and she should be prosecuted or is a lack of “sensitivity” towards those who might find her statement offensive. But she did not get sued, so her only fault, assuming that it was one, was to have shown a lack of humor, a lack of sensitivity, or both.
So, okay, maybe her coaches should remind her that Olympics are a high-visibility international events which includes participants from all over the world and that she, being part of the official Greek team, might show some common sense and not share any of her opinions without thinking about this context.
But no.
Voula Papachristou actually got banned from the Olympics!!
Poor Ms Papachristou could not even get a break by publishing the following snivelling apology:
“I would like to express my heartfelt apologies for the unfortunate and tasteless joke I published on my personal Twitter account. I am very sorry and ashamed for the negative responses I triggered, since I never wanted to offend anyone, or to encroach human rights. “My dream is connected to the Olympic Games and I could not possibly participate if I did not respect their values. Therefore, I could never believe in discrimination between human beings and races.”
Setting aside the usual misconception about the existence of some “African race” that type of completely over the top apology did not do the trick either: Papachristou is out, no clemency considered.
But the worst part comes now. Its not even the International Olympic Committee which kicked out Ms Papachristou: its the Hellenic Olympic Committee! The Greeks did this one to themselves!
And, sure enough, the notorious Greek Fascist party Golden Dawn had a fit over this and released the following statement:
“The expulsion of an athlete in the wake of backstage political interventions — simply because of a joke that is going around the Internet — proves how miserable and anti-Greek our state and the international bodies that use the Olympic ideals as their own are (…) The only racism in Greece is the racism against the Greeks,” (…) “Anybody who says even a word against illegal immigrants is held up to public ridicule… It would be more honest to pass a law condemning everybody who has different views to death by stoning”
Now this is no laughing matter. Why? The current pro-banking coalition government has absolutely no chance of survival, and everybody knows that. It is also very likely that the anti-banking coalition of the radical Left “SYRIZA” will win the next elections. So what do the bankers do? They fan all types of extreme movements inside Greece to turn the anger of the Greek people away from its legitimate target (the international plutocracy) and pitch one community against the other, in this case Greeks versus immigrants.
Unlike SYRIZA, the Fascist Golden Dawn is – like all Fascist parties – more of an ugly joke than a credible force capable of actually administrating a country, nevermind leading it through, and out, of an inevitable crisis. However, just like all the other “official bad guys” parties in Europe, Golden Dawn might be very useful to the bankers to take just enough votes away from SYRIZA to make the difference.
The French author, sociologist, historian and philosopher Alain Soral has devoted a great deal of time to this most interesting topic: how the “system” creates and promotes all kinds of extremist parties and movements with the double aim of a) channeling the people’s anger away from itself and the trans-national plutocracy ruling the West, and b) taking away as much of the “protest vote” as possible from any party which might successfully challenge the status quo. And this is exactly the tactic which we see now used in Greece.
Kicking out Ms Papachristou will achieve only one thing: it will give votes to Golden Dawn. Nobody in the IOC forced the hand of the Hellenic Olympic Committee and no African team or country has demanded that Ms Papachristou be kicked out. Frankly, if some oh-so-clever “observers” had not made a huge deal out of nothing, I don’t think anybody would have cared.
Cui bono is, as usual, the key question. And, in this case, I think the answer is self-evident.
The Saker
The finance oligarchs and their ZOGpuppet minions in the West hate the Golden Dawn as they do all nationalist parties. It was organized Jewish interests that rer-wrote immigration policy in the 1960’s to promote overwhelmingly non-white immigration to white countries. It was also Jews who promoted feminism, and the derogation of traditional values, beliefs, and peoples who had comprised the historic majority throughout Western nations.
Only in Israel do they promote nationalism and separatism.
Like the BNP, Vlaams Belang, Jobbik, Front Nationasl, Lega Nord, Slavic Union and other nationalist parties, Golden Dawn is being dismissed as an “extremist right-wing political party” for merely suggesting that Greece should restrict immigration.
In the meantime, the ruling party in Israel is actually deporting Africans, going so far as to conduct door-to-door searches, and calling them a “cancer.”
Last I checked, the Israeli Olympic team is still scheduled to compete and the Likud Party has not been labeled as “extremist.”
Jewish ethnopolitics extends far beyond support for Israel, and neoliberal finance-driven economics. It also encomapsses relentless support for globalism, multiculturalism, and mass immigration to promote the demographic displacement and dissolution of White Europeans from the nations they built as well as deep-seated hostility to Western civiliztion, traditions, and peoples. That is what drives policy throughout the West and Golden Dawn is not a tool in their arsenal.
Totally agree. Maybe she is a racist. (though a VERY hot one I must say) If she is…and I sure wont make that judgment over one tweet…that’s her business and her loss. To punish her for a freeking tweet(!?!?!?) is nonsense and almost certainly indicates an agenda.
@anonymous:BNP, Vlaams Belang, Jobbik, Front Nationasl, Lega Nord, Slavic Union and other nationalist parties, Golden Dawn
All these parties serve a crucial function in the European political system: they re-direct the popular anger away from the real power structure and towards all sorts of scapegoats which then, in turn, make it possible for the system to dismiss any opposition to it as an assembly of idiots, extremists or “dangerous individuals” who, of course, must be constantly surveilled by the state. These parties are all, in reality, fostered by the European elites. Example: it is well-known that Mitterrand himself demanded that Le Pen be invited to a major TV talkshow to make his case. The examples are all well-known, you can look them up yourself.
Or read Soral :-)
My 2cts.
@Lysander: Maybe she is a racist.
I doubt it. Frankly, to say that there are too many people of the ethnicity X in country Z is, IMNSHO, not at all a sign of racism. It’s an opinion which one can agree with or not, but it is in no way necessarily an expression of racism. Now, it *IS* true that racists will often have that kind of opinion, but that is a non-sequitur since most racists also believe that the earth is round, which hardly makes that statement a racist one.
Frankly, I think that our society is hiding its very REAL racist roots and feelings by going absolutely overboard with what is labeled as ‘racism’. If I say that there are too many Germans on the Spanish beaches does that make me a racist? What if I say that there are too many Albanian immigrants in Switzerland? Or even if I say that 2nd generation Algerians account for most crime in France. None of these opinions are, I believe, racist in any way. Likewise, if what this athlete really meant by her tweet is that there are too many Africans in Greece, she is not in any way being racist, at least not in my book.
Frankly, I am almost as sick and tired of the “anti-racist” censorship as I am sick and tired with racism itself. Both disgust me immensely, though I will admit that the latter is worse. I just don’t believe that we have to accept the choice of the lesser evil.
Cheers!
Gosh, finally a true neutral journalist. Let me remind you people that the job of journalists is to inform people in a neutral manner, not to support any kind of ideology. But since the mass media is now “private” you are forced to listen to the ideologies that the journalist preach because they are afraid of losing their jobs, so everybody gets brainwashed by what the owners of the mass media wants to want us to know.
I don’t wish them bad things though, I believe in justice, karma exists, if they hurt the people of Europe. They will get hurt back, not by europeans but by their own evil actions against the greeks. They have no idea how many thousands of greeks they are hurting by calling all the greeks who do not think like them racists.
And now they dared to destroy the career of a greek athlege who had a happy life a few weeks ago, and you can confirm it by checking her facebook past posts. I see nothing of hatred in her heart but just truth. And things that thousands of greeks feel but are just afraid to tell because of politically correct tirany.
Even though I am not a greek. Thank you for contributing with so many things to the world. Philosophy, Politics, Astronomy, Science, Architecture, Biology which is basically what made Europe a great continent. I’m reading the politics of Aristotle and it is amazing how much knowledge this incredible man had for the time he lived in. It’s simply amazing the kind of knowledge greeks have. The politicians of today’s are an embarrasement and a disgrace to the old greek philosophers. Even Aristotle didn’t like the idea that Alexander The Great would integrate non-greeks into Greece and conquer more lands. Aristotle believed It was better to have a well controled goverment in order not to lose control and the greek identity.
Long Live Greece!
Gosh, finally a true neutral journalist. Let me remind you people that the job of journalists is to inform people in a neutral manner, not to support any kind of ideology. But since the mass media is now “private” you are forced to listen to the ideologies that the journalist preach because they are afraid of losing their jobs, so everybody gets brainwashed by what the owners of the mass media wants to want us to know.
I don’t wish them bad things though, I believe in justice, karma exists, if they hurt the people of Europe. They will get hurt back, not by europeans but by their own evil actions against the greeks. They have no idea how many thousands of greeks they are hurting by calling all the greeks who do not think like them racists.
And now they dared to destroy the career of a greek athlege who had a happy life a few weeks ago, and you can confirm it by checking her facebook past posts. I see nothing of hatred in her heart but just truth. And things that thousands of greeks feel but are just afraid to tell because of politically correct tirany.
Even though I am not a greek. Thank you for contributing with so many things to the world. Philosophy, Politics, Astronomy, Science, Architecture, Biology which is basically what made Europe a great continent. I’m reading the politics of Aristotle and it is amazing how much knowledge this incredible man had for the time he lived in. It’s simply amazing the kind of knowledge greeks have. The politicians of today’s are an embarrasement and a disgrace to the old greek philosophers. Even Aristotle didn’t like the idea that Alexander The Great would integrate non-greeks into Greece and conquer more lands. Aristotle believed It was better to have a well controled goverment in order not to lose control and the greek identity.
Long Live Greece!
She was not ejected simply for expressing her views; she was ejected because she violated the terms of the Olympic Charter that she signed.
From the “Fundamental Principles of Olympism”, pg 11:
Article 6. Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of RACE, religion, POLITICS, gender, or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.
Article 7. Belonging to the Olympic Movement requires compliance with the Olympic Charter and recognition by the IOC.
Reference: http://www.olympic.org/Documents/olympic_charter_en.pdf.
@anonymous: could you please explain in what manner she discriminated against anybody? Specifically, please, please explain WHOM she discriminated against, in WHAT WAY she discriminated against that person(s). Finally, please outline for us the jurisdiction of the body which took the decision to expel her? Specifically, does her offense need to be committed ex-officio, as an Olympic athletic, or do these regulations also limit her actions outside her capacity.
Lemme guess? The answer is “whatever the hell the Hellenic Olympic Committee says”, right?
No need to reference principles, charters and articles, in that case, a simple “might makes right” is quite adequate, really.
The Saker
I know many of you support Voula and completely disagree with what has been done to her (and possibly, her career). I happen to disagree with all of you. Allow me to explain why.
1. Voula made a statement on her Twitter account that was aimed at a particular group of people. Many claims have been made that she was talking about illegal immigrants. The justification for this was that there is a problem with illegal immigration in Greece. I refute this assessment for this reason: she mentioned a specific continent where immigrants come from (most of whom are black). She did not say anything about Albanians, Afghanis, or any other country; she specifically mentioned Africa. The ONLY reason she has been seen as a racist, or that her comment was labeled racist, was because of her affiliation with Golden Dawn. Regardless of how loose her affiliation, that connection alone was what helped to bury her.
2. Voula did apologize. There is no argument to counter this. The problem: Voula did not apologize to those of whom the tweet was aimed at. She, instead, apologized to the IOC, to her team, to her family and friends, and her nation. She did not apologize to Africans.
3. She was not ejected simply for expressing her views; she was ejected because she violated the terms of the Olympic Charter.
From the “Fundamental Principles of Olympism”, pg 11:
Point 6. Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of RACE, religion, POLITICS, gender, or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.
Point 7. Belonging to the Olympic Movement requires compliance with the Olympic Charter and recognition by the IOC.
My point is, we can argue forever over the fairness of Voula’s ejection from the Olympics. There is, however, only one right answer. On the extreme end, Voula’s comment was racist. On the other hand, if it is not racist, the violation occurs with regard to politics. The frustration with immigrants in Greece, a polarizing political issue within that country, is an inherently political issue. In this vein, Voula still violated the terms of her agreement with the IOC and her ejection was in accordance with the contract she agreed to adhere to.
PS: Wishing her better in luck 2016! :)
@anonymous: first I notice that you were unable to reply to any and all of my specific questions. What you did do, is make the type of general statements which have no chance at all in court because they are based on nothing else but your opinion, not law, not fact. I was reading your reply and I thought “this reminds me of Bolshevik-era tribunals”…
You write Voula made a statement on her Twitter account but you do not show how the Hellenic OC has jurisdiction in enforcing any rule or regulation over athletes postings on Twitter.
You continue with “aimed at a particular group of people” without showing how this “aimed” is prejudicial to anybody.
Then you even admit The ONLY reason she has been seen as a racist, or that her comment was labeled racist, was because of her affiliation with Golden Dawn. Regardless of how loose her affiliation, that connection alone was what helped to bury her.
First, this is guilt by association and, second, this is hearsay. After a statement like that the entire case would be immediately thrown out of court as baseless.
The apology issue is a canard. Last time I checked the HELLENIC IO is not representing the people of Africa who, by the way, WERE NOT CONSULTED IN ANY WAY BY ANYBODY.
Then you conclude by reiterating the bla bla about article x, para y of regulation z.
===>>>BULLSHIT<<<===
The reality is that there is a SELF-APPOINTED anti-racism Gestapo out there which persecutes anybody who is guilty of crimethink on a range of topics, race being just one of them. Furthermore, the HOC did not take action to redress some putative damage down to anybody, it acted out of motives which can range from terminal idiocy and political correctness to being the agents of influence of the international banking plutocracy (this is my personal guess).
I am appalled and offended by the fact that anybody would defend that kind of Fascism. I urge you to ponder pastor Martin Niemöller’s famous “First they came” statement…
You know what I’ve noticed? That you’re unable to read. Try putting your thesaurus away for a moment and pay attention.
Obviously you’ve distorted what I’ve written, and I believe you’ve done so intentionally. By virtue of the fact that you’re calling the plain and simple truth “fascist” alludes to your ignorance (an ignorance which seems entirely willful), and anybody who names you a “journalist” does so misguidedly.
You may notice anything you wish. It’s not that I was unable to reply; you simply weren’t able to understand what I replied. You were incapable of even getting anywhere near the root of what I replied to you. I thought this was a no-brainer; I can’t be right all the time, I suppose, and in lieu of this, let me go ahead and break it down for you so that you may go to bed tonight having learned something.
The manner wherein she discriminated was her comment. You are already aware of the comment. Of whom she was speaking were Africans. Now, I understand there are many ethnic groups and a few different races in Africa, however, we know Africa is predominantly black. Africans, specifically black peoples, were her target, and you know it. How is it prejudicial? Her sentiments were unreasonable and they were most definitely aimed at a race. It doesn’t matter one iota that the people for whom the “joke” was meant didn’t complain. There are many colored people and white people in the US that don’t complain when they encounter racism. Are you meaning to tell me that it is righteous simply because they didn’t complain? An abused wife doesn’t complain a lot of times. Is it right for her husband to beat her all the same?
Voula made a choice to prepare for the Olympics and to be part of her team. When she made that choice, she willingly signed the Olympic Charter, as all athletes must before they can compete in the Olympics. She, in essence, waived her right to certain speech when she signed the document. She did so willingly. The fact is, the Olympic committee is not a country with a government body that needs to be feared for their restriction of speech. They are not for the people, and by the people, just like corporations aren’t. There are speech limitations in many walks of life, particularly in your career. There aren’t many careers wherein your freedom of speech is a necessary right. The rights you have to freedom of speech, as outlined by your constitutions, do extend to your jobs, but the constitutions do not protect you from the consequences. Example: United States military personnel are not allowed to speak negatively of the Commander in Chief, regardless of their party affiliation or opinion. What is the reason for this? It turns out speech, as much as it can be a defense against tyranny by virtue of its power to inform, can also be a detriment to the cohesion of a force. The same is true in the civilian world. Let me say this, that one may exercise their freedom of speech at will, but they must be prepared to reap what they sow. If you curse out your supervisor, you’re going to get fired. Are you meaning to say that your freedom of speech should be absolute, in all circumstances? You should be allowed to express racist sentiments in the workplace? You should be allowed to spread lies about people you don’t even know? You should be allowed to yell “fire” in a crowded theater? You should be allowed to do these things without formal consequences?
Try to walk into a bank and exercise your freedom of speech by saying, “I have a gun, and this is a stick up?” If you dare to do so, I can almost guarantee you that you’re going to be arrested. Enter a police station and say what you want. Go to any “hood” in the US and exercise your freedom of speech by calling the residents “N-words”. Walk into a church and testify to your glorification of Satan. There WILL be consequences. There are consequences, good or bad, for EVERY action you take, and if you are a human being and cannot understand this, you are a fool. No, freedom of speech is a necessary, but it is not an absolute. You’re on Blogspot; you only have a semblance of freedom of speech. I’m quite sure that, like most blogging platforms, Blogspot, by way of Google, has terms and conditions to which you must agree upon signing up for an account. If you violate the terms, it’s possible, near likely, that you will lose your account. If you do not agree, you shouldn’t be on Blogspot. If Voula didn’t agree with the terms of which she signed, she should not have signed. Your statement that what I’ve said would not hold up in court is categorically incorrect. She violated a term of the Olympic Charter, and the Hellenic IOC, to whom she is responsible by virtue of her being a Greek representing the Greek Nation in the 2012 Olympics, took the appropriate action as was their prerogative in lieu of the terms outlined in the charter which she, herself, signed.
Refer to page 11, points 6 and 7 in the Olympic Charter:
http://www.olympic.org/Documents/olympic_charter_en.pdf
Refer to page 2, point 2, Page 3, points 11, 12, and 13:
http://www.olympic.org/Documents/Games_London_2012/IOC_Social_Media_Blogging_and_Internet_Guidelines-London.pdf
Refer to the entire document:
http://www.olympic.org/Documents/Various/MODERATION-GUIDELINES-FOR-SOCIAL-FINAL.pdf
Any Olympian unaware of the terms to which they’ve agreed probably deserves what they get.
Oh, and be offended all you like. Quote whomever you like. Just face the facts before you go around saying people are supporting fascism, kid.
@anonymous: lol, for one thing, I am most definitely not a journalist, but nevermind that. As for the rest of your screed, there is only one part which is worth a closer look, the one where you say “Her sentiments were unreasonable”. Forgive me, but your criteria of reasonable vs unreasonable fail to elicit any other reaction from me that an amused giggle.
That is the key issue here, does somebody have the right to mention a race/continent in a non-hagiographical manner without having a self-appointed wannabe anti-racist Gestapo enforcer find all sorts of lame reasons to justify the persecution of that person or not? I say no, you say yes, and at that we part.
As they say in France “I would not wanted to meet you during the Occupation”…
…Okay, it’s clear you did not even check any of the sources I’ve sent you.
Here are the flaws with your entire argument:
1. You’ve clearly disregarded what I’ve sent you as well as coming to a conclusion based solely on your personal beliefs. Belief, as we well know, is not the same as fact.
2. The Hellenic IOC, who maintains jurisdiction, made a decision in accordance with the terms of the Olympic Charter which Voula Papachristou (as well as the other Olympians) agreed to. Your second flaw is being ignorant of the governing contract laws as well as the terms of the Charter.
3. I would never accuse you of being a journalist. Were you a journalist, you’d likely work for Fox News. You are that “fair and balanced”.
4. You are only part correct about what the key issue is. Your perspective is skewed. The IOC is not a political body, and it is not a state; it’s a private organization. Just like any private organization, such as the organization you work for (assuming you are not self-employed), violation of the terms of that organization has consequences. Your flaw is somehow comparing the IOC (and anyone who agrees with their decision) to the Gestapo, the Bolsheviks, and whomever else espoused fascist ideas. If that’s the case, any organization with which you are affiliated falls into the same category. The problem is, Voula was expelled; she was not jailed, and she was not tortured, and she was not executed. Your comparisons to the likes of tyrants are unwarranted, unfounded, and unreasonable.
5. Fascism:
a. an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.
b. (in general use) extreme right-wing, authoritarian, or intolerant views or practices: this is yet another example of health fascism in action.
6. I understand it’s your blog. You simply wish to “win” an argument as opposed to admitting on your own blog that you are, at the very least, partly mistaken, and at most, completely wrong. Your arguments are invalid on the grounds that you have not maintained impartiality, you clearly have not reviewed what I’ve written and the sources which were provided, and your arguments are little else than weak analogies and red herrings.
7. I accept your amused giggle; the vision of it is amusing in and of itself. For me, it’s always an indication that there is little else for one with an opposing view to argue and typically an admission that one no longer has any straws to grasp. Of course, I could be wrong; it’s not likely, though.