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Athlete Expelled from Olympics For Sending Racist Tweet
Is racial sensitivity truly in the eye of the beholder as the comments might note? Is it about being overly-sensitive these days or simply unwilling to overlook a long history of jokes and taunts at the expense of other with more or less pigmentation that the jester? In fact Dr. Jennifer Richeson a professor at Northwestern University has said if we want to truly understand racial issues to look at what people do and feel without realizing it - i.e. sending a Tweet. Dr. Richeson says that thoughts which may veer more toward the negative in race aren't actually traits but rather resulting from a state of mind. So here's where it gets interesting: if we can now see each other's thoughts via tech, might the consequences become more and more dramatic? Well, one thing is for sure. It's all kicked off the Olympics with a bang.
Greece’s Olympic Committee kicked triple jumper Voula Papachristou off its team for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The reason – a tweet she sent mocking African immigrants. She tweeted in Greek: “With so many Africans in Greece… At least the West Nile mosquitoes will eat home made food!!!” Papachristou apologized and said she was making a joke. Greek athletes are not banned from using social media to express any personal opinions not related to the Olympics or their competitions. Looks like the Olympics just got a little hotter.
What Others Are Saying...
So glad people were not this sensitive when I was a kid. As a black man I find this joke kind of funny. … Much ado about nothing? Honestly this seems politically-motivated...
Had the beautiful Greek athlete been black, we’d have heard not a peep. … Would somebody please explain to me how the joke is racist. … The mosquitoes are from the African continent, as are the people. I don’t get it. … I had no intention of watching the boring, elitist Olympics. Now I can say I am not watching in protest of the treatment of this woman. … If you believe that mild joke is racist, than you are truly brain-damaged.
There is no way you could have thought that was just a joke. … Saying it was a joke is a weak attempt at spin control, but we all know what she really thinks. … She just committed career suicide. No sponsor will back her or any team she is affiliated with.