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“So many Africans in Greece, at least West Nile mosquitoes will eat homemade food.”
-- Voula Papachristou
Ms. Papachristou is a Greek Olympic track star, as well as a hot blonde, and that quote is a tweet she posted on her Twitter account. Because of that comment, she has been kicked out of the Olympics.
I am genuinely confused. I can only suppose that I am really behind on the latest memo of what is socially acceptable for public figures.
I understand that this is not the most charming comment a person could make, and I do not doubt that she is probably a little racist, as I would not be surprised to learn that she does not date black people and does not have any really good black friends, but how many white people can say otherwise about themselves? I don’t see a lot of hatred in her tweet. She didn’t even use the N-word.
If an issue had to be made of it, I could see putting the screws on her and telling her that the authorities are considering her case, squeezing out an apology from our Olympic princess, and then let the matter go as a warning that one need be on the most formal and courteous footing when making any public statement, even on twitty Twitter.
If I were a somebody on the national or world stage, I think I would be afraid of saying anything ever in terror that my words could be taken by someone to be offensive to any ostensibly endangered group. Maybe I could find some courage behind the fact that I am not among the privileged white men of the world, but I do not think I could count on that for full protection, especially, say, with respect to gays and women. And I am among the most endangered groups in the world - a Mexican in the south!
-- Voula Papachristou
Ms. Papachristou is a Greek Olympic track star, as well as a hot blonde, and that quote is a tweet she posted on her Twitter account. Because of that comment, she has been kicked out of the Olympics.
I am genuinely confused. I can only suppose that I am really behind on the latest memo of what is socially acceptable for public figures.
I understand that this is not the most charming comment a person could make, and I do not doubt that she is probably a little racist, as I would not be surprised to learn that she does not date black people and does not have any really good black friends, but how many white people can say otherwise about themselves? I don’t see a lot of hatred in her tweet. She didn’t even use the N-word.
If an issue had to be made of it, I could see putting the screws on her and telling her that the authorities are considering her case, squeezing out an apology from our Olympic princess, and then let the matter go as a warning that one need be on the most formal and courteous footing when making any public statement, even on twitty Twitter.
If I were a somebody on the national or world stage, I think I would be afraid of saying anything ever in terror that my words could be taken by someone to be offensive to any ostensibly endangered group. Maybe I could find some courage behind the fact that I am not among the privileged white men of the world, but I do not think I could count on that for full protection, especially, say, with respect to gays and women. And I am among the most endangered groups in the world - a Mexican in the south!
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Date: 2012-07-26 02:15 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-07-26 02:22 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-07-28 02:18 am (UTC)From:_ _ _
But here's the thing: Her tweet about mosquitoes was just the chocolate shavings on top of the cupcake. She had retweeted links related to an extreme right-wing group called Golden Dawn, which went from the sidelines to a spot in the Greek parliament after earning 7 percent of the vote in last month's parliamentary elections. Its spokesman, Ilias Kasidiaris, one of Golden Dawn's 18 parliamentary members, punched one female parliament member and threw water in the face of another during a television show several weeks ago. By all accounts, "deranged" might be a compliment. But on July 20, Papachristou tweeted to Kasidiaris, "Many happy years, be always strong and true!!!" (The triple exclamation, it seems, is something of a trademark.) She erased that tweet, and every other one related to Golden Dawn, after the uproar regarding the mosquito tweet.
-- ESPN (http://espn.go.com/olympics/summer/2012/story/_/id/8205097/voula-papachristou-leaps-infamy)
_ _ _
I think this does give more moral heft to ther banning, but it's still a bit of a tough call, I think. Though, I also have a weak spot for beautiful blondes.