Wash Post Columnist: America's 'Olympic Chauvinism' Is 'Mild' Compared to Hitler's Germany

NewsBusters.org ^ | August 13, 2012 | Scott Whitlock

[Kaslin]

(Well, it's a good thing America's "chauvinism" isn't quite as bad as Hitler.) The Post journalist seemed to want to have it both ways, acknowledging the prestige and advertising money U.S. viewers bring to the Olympics and at the same time worrying about how Chinese athletes "don’t get many humanizing breaks." Farhi lamented, "Bob Costas hasn’t been having them over for many post-game chats, nor is Visa likely to feature them in its golden-tinged commercials anytime soon."Washington Post columnist Paul Farhi on Saturday offered an obnoxious comparison for the widespread American patriotism on display during the just-ended Olympics: He brought up Hitler. Regarding the quest for gold medals, Farhi connected, "Certainly, America's current Olympic chauvinism (USA! USA!) is mild compared with Adolf Hitler's grotesque perversion of the 1936 Berlin Games or the long arc of the Cold War era."

(Well, it's a good thing America's "chauvinism" isn't quite as bad as Hitler.) The Post journalist seemed to want to have it both ways, acknowledging the prestige and advertising money U.S. viewers bring to the Olympics and at the same time worrying about how Chinese athletes "don’t get many humanizing breaks." Farhi lamented, "Bob Costas hasn’t been having them over for many post-game chats, nor is Visa likely to feature them in its golden-tinged commercials anytime soon."

Regarding the apparently serious problem of excess patriotism, Farhi floated this idea:

If it were serious about the athletes-not-nations thing, the IOC would ban the parade of nations during the Opening Ceremonies and scrap the playing of national anthems during medal ceremonies. It might also consider banning nations altogether and letting the best athletes, regardless of citizenship, compete against one another.

However, Farhi tried to take it all back at the end of the column, noting the money and sponsorship brought in from U.S. companies. He reconsidered, "So ignore the quaint rhetoric in the Olympic Charter. By all means, root, root, root for the home team. Because if they don't win, well . . . no Games."

Whatever Farhi's muddled point, comparing, even mildly, honest pride in America to that Hitler's Germany is incredibly inappropriate.

An August 1 piece in Salon.com by David Sirota discussed the "pangs of discomfort" over watching Americans cheer Team USA.

[Da Coyote]

What’s a “Washington Post?”

[wideawake]

The UK, PRC, French and Aussie media seem to have no problem championing their home country's athletes.

Why does every "think(sic)-piece" on US coverage of the Olympics moan about the generally positive coverage given to Team USA?

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

Cheap paper liner for bird cages and litter boxes.

[FoxInSocks]

Jeez. So even just once every four years is too often for Americans to show some pride in the greatest country on Earth?

Except Michelle Obama, of course, who wasn’t proud of this country until she was 44 years old.

[Frank_2001]

So what would they LIKE us to yell: ZIM-BA-BWE! ZIM-BA-BWE!???/s

(of course if we don’t throw the current crop of DC knuckleheads out in Nov., four years from now there won’t be much of a difference;)

[loveliberty2]

Does anyone else notice that this “egalitarian” idea is never advanced with regard to Hollywood stars at the Oscars or to the promotion/election of a “superior” progressive “intellectual” to the White House?

[mmichaels1970]

and at the same time worrying about how Chinese athletes "don’t get many humanizing breaks."

I assume he's a leftist. If so, he ought to be careful what he wishes for. People might be exposed to some human-rights issues that were completely unprepared for.

I say that we should by all means showcase the life of a Chinese child of about 5 when they are identified as a potential Olympic athlete.

We can discuss how their parents weren't allowed to visit or even see many of them perform at the Beijing Olypmics.

We can talk about how female athletes are beaten when they make a mistake.

Yup...Costas' coverage of Chinese athletes at the Olympics would be a great eye-opener.

[Red Badger]

Well, at least he didn’t call it ‘jingoism’..........

[Old Sarge]

Godwin’s Law in effect, and they didn’t even make it off the title.

[Sicon]

Last time I checked, NBC was an American company broadcasting to a primarily American audience. Maybe Bob Costas would interview some Chinese athletes if:

a) They spoke English

b) People in China had the freedom, not to mention money, to actually watch TV from the outside world, and

c) NBC was being broadcast (uncensored) in China.

Seriously, there cannot be a more clueless and useless group of people on earth than today's "journalists".

Just utterly, absolutely worthless.

[Psycho_Bunny]

“worrying about how Chinese athletes “don’t get many humanizing breaks.” “

If this jackass actually cared about the Chinese athletes, he’d be writing article after article about how they’re raised and trained....

[JeffChrz]

Last night, NBC showed a video clip of the BBC booth (shot from the back) when Brit Mo Farah won the men’s 10,000m. They all celebrated, and one of them knocked over his or her chair. NBC should have played the audio of the BBC’s call.

I wonder what Al Michaels looked like when he called the 1980 USA-USSR hockey game.

[RatRipper]

And the US is championing the superiority of what master race of humans???????

Tripe!!!!

[rmlew]

Oikophobia is the state cult of leftists.

[Amberdawn]

If we take the ‘patriotism’ (i.e. countries)out of the Olympics, what’s the point in having them? The games were started and billed as a way for countries to compete peaceably.

[Kaslin]

Exactly, but then that is the LSM for you

[Kaslin]

AKA here as Washington Compost

[sgtyork]

Profound. Thanks

When oh when will an American conservative pony up and buy one of the losing rags?

[sgtyork]

Profound. Thanks

When oh when will an American conservative pony up and buy one of the losing rags?