Judith,
I think that you need to look at the other viewpoint here. There are a
number of factors to consider:
(a) The number of disabled athletes compared to the number of able
bodied athletes. Is the sum paid proportionate to the numbers? I don't
know.
(b) There are other social factors to consider. Putting money into
athletics is relevant to reducing hooliganism.
(c) I was also a first category cyclist in the dim and distant past and
have raced against world, Olympic and national champions (and occasionally
beaten some of them!). The effort and dedication required at the level I
was at, forget a higher plane, was incredible. I don't know how one can
compare the performances of able bodied athletes against those of disabled
however the standards may well be quite different.
(d) The Olympic symbol, when I was competing, never meant anything to me
nor many of my compatriots so I don't have any thoughts about the Olympic
rings being taken down - to be quite honest I think that they are naff
anyway. It was more the thought of competing and winning that inspired me.
I am all for supporting disabled people, have to be with a disabled son, but
there also has to be a big picture view taken.
Regards,
Patrick
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2000 6:54 PM
To: [log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]
Subject: Paralympic pride
Hello everyone,
We have all just experiences the celebration of one of the greatest Olympic
games ever,
but it is not over. The Paralympic Games have yet to start. I hope we will
all shoe our
support to the athletes and their families in some way.
I was watching the National Lottery the other night and was disgusted to
find that around
£53 million went to the able-bodied UK athletes and only around £9 million
went to fund
the disabled athletes yet I'm told by a Paralympic competitor that the
disabled athletes
probably bring home more medals, but get less support financially and
publicly. When
are disabled athletes going to be seen as equals?
Anyway I received the following email from a friend, if you feel strongly
about this issue
please sing the following and pass it on. You might not agree with the way
this man puts
his point across, but his heart is in it.
Take care, Judith
>From [log in to unmask]
Subject: Please read
As I was travelling to work on the ferry this morning I noticed that
overnight workmen had begun to remove some of the Olympic rings. As you all
know,
the Paralympics are now only 2 weeks away, yet Mr Knight has decided to slap
the athletes of the world in the face by removing this great unifying
symbol!
I am very angry. The paralympians deserve our respect and our support
equally as much
as their able bodied counterparts. Indeed most of them have had to surmount
far
greater obstacles to reach the pinnacle of their sport than most of us will
ever
face.
Just imagine that you had not only spent considerable time overcoming a
physical or mental disability, but then years training so that you could
compete
in front of your home crowds. Then imagine you had witnessed the last two
weeks
of the Olympics and felt the huge generosity of spirit that overcame us all
- you'd be so
inspired at the thought of what lay ahead, wouldn't you? Then imagine that
with a
fortnight to go you saw the symbol that had burned brightly on the bridge
torn down,
the symbol for which you have been spending our soul in training every day,
the symbol that is meant to overcome the barriers of race, religion, sex and
disability. How would you feel?
The wet weather that has spread across the city will mean that no more
can be done until the heavens clear. Accordingly, given that email can
spread
like the wildfire that has surrounded Sydney over the past few days, can you
please place your name on the petition below and send it on to those you
think may do
likewise (hell, forward it to those who won't - it will only take them 10
seconds to press
delete and get on with their day).
If you are the 20th / 40th / 60th etc person on the petition, please
also forward it back to me ([log in to unmask]). I will be
contacting the media through some paralympic sources to see if there is any
interest in
this issue.
Please do this small thing to support those that have overcome so much
and who stand on the verge of the time of their lives.
Please don't let petty political decisions marr the great generosity of
spirit that has blossomed in our most beautiful of cities over the past
weeks.
Please act.
PETITION
We the undersigned urge the NSW Government to retain the Olympic Rings
on the Sydney Harbour Bridge as a symbol of excellence and unity for the
Paralympic Games.
1. Matt Keogh - Mosman, NSW
2. Amber Cerny - Paddington, NSW
3. Andrew Perry - Castle Hill, NSW
4. Bridget O'Donnell - Petersham, NSW
5. Jeffrey Niemoller - Petersham, NSW
6. Lisa Pender - Maroubra, NSW
7. Natalie McKee - Dee Why, NSW
8. Raymond van der Zalm - Surry Hills, NSW
9. Jason McKeen - Darlinghurst, NSW
10. Craig Pearce - Camperdown, NSW
11. Catherine Gray - Bondi, NSW
12. Shelley Kenigsberg - Bondi NSW
13. Desney Shoemark - Berowra, NSW
14. Jeanne Brown - Liversedge, England
15. Jane Simpson - Huddersfield, England
16. Judith Irving - Manchester, England
Judith M. Irving BSc Arch.Envir.
Research / PhD Student
S U R F A C E
Salford University Research Focus on AcCessible Environments
Bridgewater Building
Salford University
Salford, M7 9NU
England
Tel:0161-295-3194
http://www.scpm.salford.ac.uk/surface
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