To hope that the Olympics and Paralympics will be the beginning of the end for reality 'stars' and pointless 'celebrities'

[WhyTheBigPaws]

Or maybe just unrealistic? I am so sick of idiots who are famous for having had an affair with someone or not being able to sing very well and am sure I'm not the only one. I know I can read a different paper or turn the TV off but honestly these idiots are everywhere and I find it really depressing. Seeing the hard work and determination of the Olympic and Paralympic athletes just highlights how pointless some of these people are in comparison, especially as role models for kids.

I know while people want to watch/read about them the TV companies will continue to make the shows and the press will continue to write about them but is it too much to hope that maybe the tide will slowly start to turn given how popular the Olympics was and how the Paralympics is looking to be as well?

I could and I am not even that into football! I've been to matches where fans are hurling racist abuse at players and each other. There's talk of fining those teams or whatever but what actually happens? Maybe a few random little actions here and there but nothing substantial or concrete.

I don't think we're going to agree :) From my perspective racism is alive and well in football, and not just that but accepted. There is a lot of cheap talk but there's no actual stands - if there was, Euro 2012 would never have been held in an inherently racist country! I've seen people on here say themselves that racism in football isn't something they're bothered about.

If I was a football fan, I'd just generally feel really sad that the game I loved was being tarnished in such a way.

YANBU

I think The producers of x factor have thought of this too and feared this happening as I heard talk that some of the Olympic athletes will be appearing as one off mentor/ coaches as part of the latter stages of the show.

As you say not going to agree, I think any racist element is fairly reflective of the % of racist attitudes in society as a whole.
I'd be quite the opposite in that I think football has done more for racial integration than any other sport in the British isles

mayor there are countless reports of racism in football, amongst fans, players and even pundits. In a way that you just dont get in other sports.

I dont remember reports of monkey chants at the Olympics when Usain Bolt took to the blocks.

Ashley McKenzie is now in celebrity big brother.

Fatama Whitbread was in I'm a celebrity get me out of here, as was Lindford Christie, many other olympic stars go on to become TV presenters

Some people just have a look at me I'm fantastic outlook in life , regardless of whether they find that by running fast or shagging vernon kay

yabu

I love celeb tat, as do millons

get off that high horse!

shagging vernon kay

allegedly

not everyone can be an athlete or is good at sport, so not everyone is going to be inspired by a sporting event.
but yanbu to wish that these not talented people would stop being held up as celebrities.
the jades/jordans/Marks
wtf have they ever really done?

I hope it lasts. It was great listening to the children playing in our street during the Olympics arguing over who got to be Tom Daley

I would not particuarly want any child of mine's life ambition to be the next Jordan. However, despite finding her totally dull and a bit of a dick, I do have an admiration for Katie Price for taking what God gave her (adding a little bit more ) and making a bloody good living out of it. Same for the late Jade Goody.

I dont remember reports of monkey chants at the Olympics when Usain Bolt took to the blocks.

A few outlets reported that the man who threw the bottle was shouting racial abuse.

Having said that, I have just been so inspired by the recent athletes - they are just so amazing and I really hope that kids see what can be achieved with a load of graft!

A Greek triple jumper was also expelled for racist tweets while the black American gymnast who won gold talked openly about the racist abuse she received in her sport.

I remember all the post 9/11 headlines declaring the end of celebrity 'news' because now people were thinking and talking about more serious things, fast forward a few months and shitty gossip was back with a vengeance. The olympics/paralympics won't change anything about the repulsive 'celebrity' nonentity culture. Sadly.

Ok mayor the Usain Bolt reference was obviously a bad example as I was not aware of that about the bottle thrower.

If you type 'racism in sport' into Wikipedia, then each sport has a small handful of incidents to speak of. However 'association football' has a massively long page all of its own, and the English section of that is pretty long in itself.

Well actually I think it's a perfect example. You picked one athletics event which was the most high profile in the world as an example of how an entire sport doesn't have a racism problem, which in itself was a ridiculous standpoint (nobody would accept an argument in favour of football which was "well there's no racism in football, look at the world cup final there was no monkey chanting so that's proof of no racism in football) and yet there was still reports of racist behaviour at an isolated event which you hand picked to support your argument.

As for the wiki page the context in which the sports exist also has to be taken into account. In England there's 30 - 40 professional matches a week, most attended by crowds in the thousands and each covered by a significant amount of press. Of course there are going to be more incidents and reports, the events are far more frequent and well attended than the vast majority of other European sports.

well if it's riddled with racism that is hardly a role model for any of our children

I don't really know enough about it to comment on the race issue although I believe Gaby Douglas (I think that's her name) the gymnast claims to have encountered it which is sad :(.

To go back to my original point, I appreciate that lots of people enjoy reality TV or reading trashy mags and there's nothing wrong with that - I honestly don't mean to sound smug or self-righteous.

I am sure that most 'celebrities' are probably perfectly nice people except those who sleep with other people's husbands and I'm sure not all athletes are angels. It's tempting to put them on a pedestal after the past/coming few weeks but I expect many of them are just like the rest of us only with more talent.

I think my real point was about the hard work angle though - one thing the Olympics and Paralympics have shown is that hard work and dedication can bring their own rewards. The whole 'celeb' culture seems to perpetuate the myth that everyone deserves their moment in the spotlight and to celebrate becoming rich and well-known by doing as little as you possibly can - if you can sleep with someone famous, be outrageous on a TV show or have massive silicon boobs you can have it all - who needs to have talent or put in any effort?

That's not something I want my daughter to aspire to and I'm sure I'm not alone in that.