the strib printed a nice little piece by dave zirin about the political climate of this years olympic games.
he wrote it far better than i will take the time to here, so go read it. it's good.
he poses the question about todays athletes, and really, the climate of the world today, on it's dedication to human rights issues.
would an athlete today risk a medal, (and not to mention endorsment deals), to make a statement?
is it even possible to make a statement like the one pictured above in today's world?
and, is there a point?
i have doubt any will, but i do keep hold on a small hope that someone will.
1968.
that is ten years before i was even born.
that photo, that statement, speaks clearly to me. i can feel the pride and the strength in it.
it says so much about the world in 1968.
way more than 1,000 words.
there are very few things in this world that hit me in the chest the way that this photo does.
4 comments:
There was a tribute to Tommie Smith and John Carlos during this year's ESPYs. It was a nice tribute to both of them. They still stand strong.
That photo is definitely a powerful one and you can only hope that another message will be sent at this years Olympics.
Perhaps something like this:
http://www.blognroll.com/images/judith_arndt.jpg
BTW: An interesting side note of that photo is the terrible sunken posture of the guy in 2nd place. That is an added bonus to the photo.
Actually, the guy in 2nd place wore a patch to support Carlos and Smith. That was the summer Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were murdered as well as riots at the Democratic National Convention and the height of the Vietnam War. I was 10 years old that summer and only now understand the history I lived through. The protest at the Olympics took courage and a real set of balls.
"what people fail to remember or (see) is that Carlos and Smith took off one of their shoes and is holding it. They are symbolizing where they came from...the streets."
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