Yeah like, it kind of gave me the same feeling I get whenever I hear about a female serial killer or something? Like, oh good! Disabled people can be just as fucking terrible as everyone else. Equality! Everyone is the worst, lol.
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I feel the same with toxic members of the trans community
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I didnt know the begining part of rhe story. The him being fast and killing his girlfriend was big news. I didnt realise people were trying to argue he had an advantage over non amputees
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I didn’t know he was an amputee. I thought he was an Olympian, not a Paralympian. So I was like “wow Allhat’s story sounds really eerily similar to this other huge news a few years back…”
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Yes - Oscar Pastorius. I think he was in Paraolympics first, and then petitioned to be able to compete to be in the Olympics. The push back was interesting (the prostheses giving him an advantage)
He had a congenital condition that resulted in his legs being amputated below the knees before he was a year old.
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He was in the 2012 Olympics, carried the South African flag in the closing ceremony. Killed his girlfriend after that, not before. Apparently he gets out next year.
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Side note (not saying you were saying this- you just reminded me), but I really really really hope one day they are combined so people see para athletes as the same league as able athletes because…they are relative to their competitive field? It’s just like the reason for women’s sports IMO. But it’s not like we have the real Olympics and then the LadyOlympics like a few weeks later but not televised as much, or something, lol. It’s the same concept though! Without para sports the vast majority of disabled athletes wouldn’t be able to compete at all and without women’s sports the vast majority of women athletes wouldn’t be able compete at all. It’s just an even playing field thing, not like, an entire reimagining of the sport or something?
ANYWAY, I think para-sports, in general, should just be seen as a category in sports, like men’s or women’s. We could just add para men’s and para-women’s categories to the normal Olympics so easily. I even have a dream idea of how to market it to normal viewers to make it more palatable, haha, I’ve thought about this a lot! Imagine a super badass compilation-style ad of badass para-athletes and then the tagline “You’ve seen the Olympics, but you haven’t seen this.” Few more awesome shots then, “Welcome to sports on hard mode.”
I do think the Paralympics is starting to get better coverage though! Mainstream outlets used to literally not even cover it at all. AND I’ve seen a couple para athletes actually get real non-disability related sponsorships in ads and stuff. So that’s a big step too. I just think the segregation of the games is like, really fucking weird and unnecessary. They literally use the exact same facilities. The only reason it’s separated is because people of how people view it as lesser. The paralympics aren’t even allowed to use the iconic rings logo. Like, think about that, lol.
It doesn’t even work on a basic logic level! Like, the fastest able man/woman in the world on two legs is the fastest in their field. Of their human-category-type they are the best. The fastest man/woman in the world on one leg is the fastest in their field. Of their human-category-type they are the best. The level of relative excellence is the same, and yes the competition field total is smaller for adaptive because most people are able-bodied but relatively it’s still the same in terms of level of excellence. Drives me fucking nuts that people don’t see that, lol.
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The absolute dumbest part of this argument was that they (able people) imagined the protheses as if it were an organic part of his body. But it wasn’t, which is the entire point. It still had to fit over his actual biological body which causes all kinds of massive pain and issues and nerve shit and skin problems, etc.
They looked only at how supposedly more aerodynamic the prosthetics were in relation to a biological human leg design. But, they are inherently not the same because a natural leg is actually attached to the body. Like, you don’t worry with your real legs that the heat is creating sweat and that your legs might fall off, which is a thing. Or that you might swell and not fit in your leg, or have to wrap it so tight that you cut off circulation to the end of your biological leg so that you can shove it in the prosthetic. Or that you will often have to wear your leg with open wounds where your real leg connects to your prosthetic, because otherwise you can’t run/walk at all. Or allll the infections that result as part of that and how you can end up losing even more of your natural leg over the years because of it. Or the weight differential! A human leg does not weight the same as a prosthetic! Oh and there are no nerves in it at all, like you can’t actually feel yourself running. Also zero foot or ankle articulation, not less than normal, zero- that’s huge. And you can’t run at an intense side body angle because there is no side-to-side articulation either. Or the fact that you cannot build muscle in a prosthetic, so his only biological muscles firing are above the knee, which means all of his power comes from fewer muscle groups. That can impact your hips hugely, as well as your glutes. I mean you can see the results pretty clearly if you even look at sports records-- the fastest amputees are categorically slower than the fastest able runners. He was just exceptional.
None of that was factored in, lol, of course. They were just like, “it’s aerodynamic I bet that means it’s easier for him! That must be why he’s good!” lol, no. It’s literally like claiming that it’s easier to be blind than sighted because you don’t have to buy lamps or something. So insulting. IMO it’s all part of this pervasive idea that somehow it must actually be easier for us than for able people, that the world must actually be kinder to us than it is to everyone else, especially if we achieve anything big. I’ve gotten lots of comments that fall in this category.
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Points all completely valid, I just meant I’d only seen him referenced as an Olympian and never heard anything about his Paralympics or that kerfuffle at all, despite that clearly being in the media in the US? Or more likely I forgot details of all the things he’d participated in.
It would be great if sports could be more like “Ah yes, you were in the Wimbledon cup and now you’re playing in the Australian open” and less “there is only one competition, no opportunities to show off a different aspect of your sports skillset, stay in your lane”
Which now I think about it is yes probably related to the higher prizes and funding available for abled mens competitions compared to the other ones… What if someone else took home all that prize money?!
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Oh I wasn’t directing it at you specifically, I’m really sorry! It’s just your comment reminded me of that whole deal and how it’s stupid that they are separate (which you’re correct, he was one (paralympian) and then the other (olympian) so your point totally stands. Sorry if I was unclear, lol, I’m on a shitton of cold medicine rn and weirdly even though I’m super adapted to pain meds cold meds make me…like this. I also accidentally put a ton of conditioner in my hair after showering instead of my styling cream so…that’ll be fine…I’m sure. I’ll let you know.
Also I know you’re not ableist at all! I just meant, like it sucks that it’s true that he moved from one to the other since…they should all be one thing anyway? And I don’t even know enough about tennis to understand your example but I am nodding like I know, haha, fancy dinner party style. “Ah yes, Nantucket, I also shoot whales there on occasion.” -Me, probably
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just FYI I think you’re awesome
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Thank you. My hair is super frizzy and kind of gooey in the center. Just an update for everyone involved.
ETA: Also didn’t everyone kind of think conditioner vs. curl cream was all a sham and was secretly the same thing? Well, it isn’t. Hey, I guess that’s another thing I learned today! Huh. Thread is back on topic.
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Totally, just an excuse to sell conditioner in a tiny bottle for $15! Guess I will start appreciating my curl cream more haha
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Not really relevant but my friend got a bronze in the Paralympics for swimming and I think that’s super cool. He’s a blind swimmer and someone would tap him on the head when he reached the end so that he would turn around. Though at that level I’d have to assume that he would know how many strokes was the right time to turn!
Also, he was the one who told me that swimmers shave off all their body hair, and a couple of times he got his nipple (ouch!). They don’t do it during practice but then do it right before the competitions and he said it’s amazing and makes him feel like a dolphin 
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This is true…we were actually forbidden to shave our legs/arms for most of the season, and then allowed for the big meets at the end of the year. Being a girl in high school with hairy legs was interesting, but honestly helped me to give way less fucks about what people thought of me. Also the feeling of swimming with shaved legs/arms after months is incredible!
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Wow, forbidden! I thought it would be a suggestion, not a rule!!
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I thought this was pretty interesting, I feel like I’ve been seeing more studies that echo this sentiment lately- thought people might find it intriguing.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/04/01/drinking-alcohol-health-effects/
Obviously just one study but here it is:
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The original Juliet of Romeo and Juliet has no balcony. They were totally unknown in England at that time. She was just, like, standing at her window talking into the air.
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I guess it makes sense that he references a window then. Omg this delights me.
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Wow, apparently the whole Catch Me if You Can story about Frank Abignale is like…mostly made up.
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