Originally Posted By vbdad55 <///he was picked on as a child for how he looked and acted... and he overcame that./// You probably just described 90% of the populace--- nothing special there. < so 10% of the populace are those doing the picking on ? OK - let's identify them since we have them outnumbered 9 - 1 and put them in their place.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <>>>You guys all being American's should have been down at WDW cheering him on instead of debating if he's a hero or not.<<<< We will see him next week Wednesday- Oprah is having an event in Millenium Park - downtown Chicago for all Gold Medal winners and he will be here....( and you get in there for free )- he also is making a number of appearances at swim clubs here that day Have a friend ( daughters trainer) who played college ball with & against Misty May and Kerry Walsh ( and on their level indoor at the time- NCAA national champ ) - and working on meeting that duo. My oldest was a Div 1 scholarship VB players - my youngest plays for the #1 HS team in the state ( and #4 country) - so it will be a thrill for them if we can work out the details.
Originally Posted By barboy ///so 10% of the populace are those doing the picking on ? OK - let's identify them since we have them outnumbered 9 - 1 and put them in their place./// Not so fast there...... sometimes or many times(who knows?) victims themselves turnaround and tease, harass, embarrass or belittle their peers thereby blurring the percentage of aggressor in relation to victim.
Originally Posted By Malin <<< Frankly I don't care if he is from Uganda, the US or Russia--- it means nothing to me. >>> Clearly what ever your views are, Michael Phelps means something to you, or why are you overtaking this board with such heavy criticism.
Originally Posted By barboy Malin, as you know I haven't been shy about making statements on this topic but here is the gist of my position in case I'm confusing you: I like watching Phelps blow away the competition and he is a beautiful artist in the water--- what a cool thing to watch! He is not a hero as I reserve that status to those who selflessly risk everything, many times with their lives or freedoms, to help others Getting picked on as a kid doesn't make his story noteworthy as that has happened to millions----bringing home a truckload of heavy necklaces does. I don't care in the slightest that we both just happened to be born in the same country which has 300 million--- thus he could be Sudanese or Chinese for all care. To me in almost every case an athlete is just an athlete irrespective of his nationality or birth certificate. [Now if he were my next door neighbor growing up or we both hailed from some hole-in-the-wall dot on a map then I'm sure I would care. I'm from San Francisco(pop. 800K) and he most definitely is not. Is he from the East Coast? Well anyway that's 3,000 road miles away]
