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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder what Black athletes have....

544 replies

CrispyCod · 04/08/2012 21:21

......that make them so superior in performance. It has to be genetic. I am in awe of them as they appear to glide effortlessly around the track. The Jamaican athletes are just wow! Their speed is just amazing.

OP posts:
musicismylife · 15/08/2012 10:43

Thanks roundtable Smile

worldcitizen · 15/08/2012 10:44

roundtable Thanks for this last post. Smile

worldcitizen · 15/08/2012 10:45

x.posted with music Grin

Original poster
CrispyCod · 15/08/2012 10:50

music thanks for clarifying.

OP posts:
musicismylife · 15/08/2012 10:50

And Thanks, Creighton, for opening peoples' eyes.

:)

musicismylife · 15/08/2012 10:52

That's ok, CrispyCod :)

porcamiseria · 15/08/2012 10:57

bar 1 comment, OP has NOT been bullied

she should never have picked on this issue in the first place

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 15/08/2012 10:59

iismum as roundtable points out you've got to the core of the problem that many of us have with this thread. You can extrapolate from a very specific group of people to a much wider group who solely on the basis of single shared characteristic such as skin colour.

It may be valid to ask

  1. What is it about the Jamaican sprinting programme that they produce so many world class sprinters?

  2. What is it about the Kenyan long distance running programme that made Stephen Kiprotich (men's marathon winner) leave Uganda at the age of 17 to go and train in Kenya?

3)What is it about the British cycling programme that makes them so much better than all of their rivals?

It is not valid to extrapolate to

  1. Jamaica produces very good sprinters so this means all black people can run fast.

2)Kenya produces good distance runners so all black Africans are good distance runners.

3)Sir Chris Hoy is an exceptional track cyclist so all Scottish people / British people / white people can cycle well.

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 15/08/2012 11:00

gah "you can't"

worldcitizen · 15/08/2012 11:04

Chazs thanks, thanks, thanks for this

I am writing it all down...so, I can have good lines of arguments to apply these to for other similar discussions/debates.
And I do not mean debates about athletes or Blacks or whatever, I mean all sorts of other stuff gobshite people also tend to come out with.

Original poster
CrispyCod · 15/08/2012 11:09

she should never have picked on this issue in the first place

Oh, I'll run all future topics by you first next time Hmm

OP posts:
worldcitizen · 15/08/2012 11:15

crispy

there were plenty of people, including myself, who have expressed that it is okay to raise these questions, and how it could possibly be worded differently in the future and also why there is an issue with the wording etc.

I think, chaz's last post gives very good insight and explanation, without wanting to dismiss other similar posts from others.

Again, crsipy, I am glad you did Smile

worldcitizen · 15/08/2012 11:19

crispy I mean, sorry about that.

Also, in case there might be misunderstandings, I did not belong to the group of posters who have given very detailed explanations to why there is an issue with this etc. Lots of others have, though.

dranksinatra · 15/08/2012 11:20

While we're asking dumb questions.
how come white people are so good at genocide?
low blow?
Dividing people by colour of skin is divisive, please don't get drawn into it.

OuEstCoco · 15/08/2012 11:24

Mo Farah puts his success down to "grafting". Making references to black people as if they were a homogeneous group is ridiculous and offensive. It intimates that the individuals haven't worked hard for their achievements, they just got lucky with their genes.

I thoroughly agree with this. Sorry, I can't articulate it very well but it feels like there's sometimes an implication that successful black athletes are less deserving of praise than white ones because of their supposed "genetic advantages".

Someone did actually have the nerve upthread, to say that the achievement of the white runner who came second in the 10,000 metres was greater than that of the winner Mo Farah because of his skin colour Hmm

I think there's also an element of it in tv talent shows when black singers with incredible voices often don't get anything like the praise that more mediocre white singers are given.

porcamiseria · 15/08/2012 11:25

your question was offensive to many people, and if you even bother to read some of the more intelligent posts you would see why it has offended people

but you clearly could not give a flying fuck if you offend people, right?

post after measured post have sensibly and politely said why it was offensive

but you IGNORE them, and instead only bother to send snide little one liners to the less poltite posters (like me!!!)

NoComet · 15/08/2012 11:26

So the OPs question makes you uncomfortable therefore she shouldn't ask it.Hmm

Even the BBC were openly asking it. It's to blatantly obvious to be the elephant in the room any longer.

OuEstCoco · 15/08/2012 11:28

Mo Farah puts his success down to "grafting". Making references to black people as if they were a homogeneous group is ridiculous and offensive. It intimates that the individuals haven't worked hard for their achievements, they just got lucky with their genes.

I thoroughly agree with this. Sorry, I can't articulate it very well but it feels like there's sometimes an implication that successful black athletes are less deserving of praise than white ones because of their supposed "genetic advantages".

Someone did actually have the nerve upthread, to say that the achievement of the white runner who came second in the 10,000 metres was greater than that of the winner Mo Farah because of his skin colour Hmm

I think there's also an element of it in tv talent shows when black singers with incredible voices often don't get anything like the praise that more mediocre white singers are given.

OuEstCoco · 15/08/2012 11:30

Oops sorry for the extra post Blush

Original poster
CrispyCod · 15/08/2012 11:40

Exactly StarBallBunny

OP posts:
waterlego6064 · 15/08/2012 11:42

I'm with worldcitizen here. I have learned a lot from this thread and thank those posters who have been patient and courteous in their responses.

I don't consider myself stupid and evidence from my own life and experiences tells me I'm not. Ignorant however, I guess so, at least in this particular area of thought. No-one wants to consider themselves ignorant since it's such a negative word but it just refers to a lack of knowledge or understanding and that's where I now understand myself to be on this topic. It reminds me of the four stages of competence, only with knowledge rather than skills. I was clearly in the 'unconscious incompetence' camp but at least I've now graduated to the 'conscious incompetence' level. :)

I grew up in a 'white' area. I was educated in a school with few non-white pupils. I still live in an area with relatively few ethnic minorities. This is not because I've made a conscious decision all my life to avoid mixing with people who have a different skin colour; it's just that this is where I was raised and where I've stayed. Perhaps this is why my understanding of these issues has been so poor.

roundtable · 15/08/2012 11:46

No star the op's question is far too general to be an answerable question.

Could you provide a link to where the BBC has discussed black people being better athletes? Or were they talking in more specific terms like Chaz's excellent examples at 10:59am today?

Another AIBU where the OP refuses to reflect on whether they could be in fact, being unreasonable.

worldcitizen · 15/08/2012 12:07

waterlego thanks for your post and also you sharing about yourself, I feel exactly the same and could place myself where you did.
And I grew up very cosmoplitan, lots of mixture with folks from all over the world, different cultures, languages, shades, religions...all that.
And yet in this specific area I am not as knowledgeable, and no I refuse to to describe myself as ignorant, as this word has a terrible taste to it.

And I would like to second what you said, especially this

I have learned a lot from this thread and thank those posters who have been patient and courteous in their responses

porcamiseria · 15/08/2012 12:16

ah another snide little reply

thansk OP, proving yet again that you cant be botherered to read the more reasonable poster on here

porcamiseria · 15/08/2012 12:21

I do not, FWIW, classify myself as a reasonable poster! but many have been