Celebrating mediocrity

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ummm, is there something I haven't answered? perhaps you could be more specific UD

Meanwhile,

https://www.news.com.au/sport/olympics/ ... fb8bb2f653

A Bronx break dancing pioneer has called for an investigation into the Olympics governing body that allowed Australian dancer Raygun to compete in Paris.

Richard “Crazy Legs” Colon said the dancer — who went viral after losing all three of her battles by scores of 18-0 — should have been better vetted by officials.

“There should be an investigation into why the World DanceSport Federation allowed this to happen,” Colon, 58, told The New York Post.
“Breaking comes from a culture of people who have lived a difficult life — so when we see something like that we’re like, ‘Yo, is that a joke?,’” Colon said of Raygun’s style.

“Maybe it’s a hobby for her — and that’s fine. Do your thing, girl, have fun. But you’re on the wrong stage.

“You can’t just go in there and disrupt a whole culture of people.”

I watched her dancing one more time, and I can't get passed the obvious....she had 4 attempts. and zero points.
Something does not add up. You train for 2 decades, study the art and get through Olympic trials and look like a complete amateur.

It's called "Choking Up".  Similar to stage fright.

If an entertainer practices only in private, he or she will be more likely choke up in public and mess up the performance.

I think this may have happened.

In what way did my commentary give you the impression of unrestrained begrudgement.

And how did it grow from "sarcasm" to "irritation" to "begrudgement" so very quickly, despite it referring to the same content.

The feedback would be a handy perspective.

The fact that these threads are easily quotable makes it simple to jog that memory of yours.

Naturally you can certainly play a fun game of "huh, what question, ain't seen no question!" - but that itself is an answer as well. Normally you love being chatty, so when you clam up, it's a pretty good tell.

Anyways, regarding Raygun, have fun pondering your "mystery".

(Spoiler - while thus far I've tried to give her the benefit of the doubt regarding her abilities, the other simple alternative is that she just wasn't as good as we were led to believe. Hell, if she somehow managed to get ranked as high as she did prior to the olympics, by an accidental fluke or flaw in the ranking system, its possible that even she was led to believe that she's better than she is)

I too suggested this, and made a similar point about practice, but the point seems to have been ignored or dismissed or simply forgotten, for whatever reason.

I haven't stopped in case you haven't noticed.

thanks UD. Yes I love a good mystery. Yes she does she believe she is good enough. On that we agree.

It's not Fnord. She was smiling through her whole performance, She did not look stressed.

I know you haven't stopped clamming up.

Oh sure, you'll keep babbling about (anything else), but you sure don't wanna answer certain specific questions.

"what question?"

Exactly. Clammed up so tight, trying to pretend the question didn't even exist.



Yes, because there's no such thing as a nervous smile or inappropriate affect. And just cos someone doesn't "look" a certain way doesn't mean they can't be that way. (You don't LOOK disabled! You don't LOOK autistic!)

Hmmm she does actually have a bit of a competitive record before finishing in the middle of the pack at world events, like 42 of 78 at a 2021 world championship
https://www.worlddancesport.org/Competi ... irls-57494
and 30 of 58 at a tournament in Madrid last year.
https://www.worlddancesport.org/Competi ... irls-59558

So what does that tell us? a. she's not afraid of crowds and
b. She's nowhere near the best in the world. somewhere in the middle

I did also raise that competitive breakdancing might require $$ which a lot of street kids don't have access to. So the competitors are the ones who have sponsorship or like raygun a 9-5 job that pays her to compete.

But I will let Raygun speak for herself:
Gunn, who has a background as a jazz, tap and ballroom dancer, had publicly defended her routine as “artistic and creative”.
“I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic and the power moves, so I wanted to move differently,” she said last month.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg54k40857o
I'm sorry, her admission was she qualified through a suspect process but never intended to beat her competitor's? isn't that against the olympic spirit? Elite sportsmen and women who train for years to win right? She apologised to hr fellow Australian breakdancers but how would you feel, if you thought you had a shot at taking a gold medal because you wanted to win?

Sounds like you have plenty of mysteries to keep you busy.

According to google, the spirit of the olymics is as follows:

The Olympic spirit is a set of values that encourages people to come together, respect each other, and work towards peace:
Mutual understanding: The Olympic spirit promotes understanding and tolerance between people from different backgrounds.
Fair play: The Olympic spirit requires fair play and a spirit of solidarity.
Friendship: The Olympic spirit encourages people to be friendly with each other.
Respect: The Olympic spirit encourages people to respect their fellow competitors.
Global citizenship: The Olympic spirit aims to develop global citizens who honor their national identities.
Personal best: The Olympic spirit is about working hard towards a goal and discovering your own capabilities.

Doesn't say anything about "winning". Only mention of "best" is in reference to PERSONAL best.

Winning is nice and all, but at some point, it stops mattering so much. Winning isn't the only reason people compete. Some people don't actually even care about winning. They're just happy to be doing.

I am 99.9999% sure every elite athlete wants to win at the Olympics. Do you really think anyone wakes up at 3am in the morning every day for 4 years and trains for 7hrs per day sacrificing freedom and personal life and battle exhaustion so they can go to the Olympics and aim to beat their personal best for no medal and go home satisfied?

Have you ever even watched the Olympics? Many competitors know that they have no chance of winning or receiving any medal whatsoever. It’s an honor to even be invited. Even if you come in last place, you will always be considered an Olympian and have memories of “the Olympic experience.” Winning is certainly not the only reason why people go there.

I just think that hating on folks for such reasons is really toxic and bizarre. It reminds me of the behavior of envious 13/14 year olds.

Are you suggesting people like the founder of breakdancing culture Richard Crazylegs Colon posing questions is equivalent to hating? I do not by any means begrudge raygun monetising her "notoriety", but she does not seem to be addressing or acknowledging the consequences. Colon points out she and most of the other Olympic competitors and judges are not actually connected to to the people who are part of the culture who originate from urban street breakdancing culture which is a manifestation of social struggle and social marginalisation.

As they own the culture, they have the right to speak about it. She actually doesn't. She and her husband and probably most of the Olympic competitors are self-evidently middle class who appropriate the B-girl and B-boy culture and insert themselves into it. It's equivalent to Japanese people who wear dreads and dress like African Americans inserting themselves into hiphop culture or Kpop performers inserting themsleves into Afro-American boyband cutlure. Neither of the latter give any credit, they just insert themselves and create a subculture.

So creating a subculture is fine, but when you go to the Olympics and claim to represent the culture (which is what raygun has said she was doing) then the reactions from people who live in marginalised communities who are offended are coming from a real place. and they have every right to comment (unless you want to their reactions to the long list of things you gatekeep )

I see that you sidestepped my main point/question which isn’t surprising.

I wasn’t really referring to him “posing questions” or engaging in any other activity although I’m pretty sure you know that. Like I said, it’s juvenile behavior appropriate for middle school.
She doesn't need to address or acknowledge a damn thing.
She actually has every right to speak about it. There's no law saying she can't. People don't have to agree with her or like her, but they can't make her shut up OR speak if she doesn't want to.