Tuesday, September 04, 2012

This is NOT a Freak Show



The unique aspect of the swimming is that, whereas with all other Olympic sports, the athletes appear to compete together with their mechanical and cosmetic aids such as those running blades, wheelchairs, you name it; in swimming they appear, then divest themselves of all those things that help them cope on land.

So they line up, the shriveled, the lame, the amputees - not that long ago that would only have happened in a freak show. Disability was something to hide away, something families were ashamed about. But here they are, Olympic athletes whose dedication is second to none ready to compete in front of us. This takes the phrase "differently able", wrenches it from the hands of the politically correct and shows us all what it truly means.

Spasticus Autisticus, the shout from thirty years back, echoes down the years; sung in the opening ceremony (on C4 here, starts at 8 mins in, an excellent piece on the song here and a warning here)

Tomorrow I will share my favourite image from the games on the same theme.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 2

Comments on "This is NOT a Freak Show"

 

Blogger Petrea Burchard said ... (04:50) : 

I had never heard the song before. I had to go find it on Youtube (probably more about my connection than your link).

I like the fact London is treating the Paralympics as the world class events they are. And I especially like what you wrote.

 

Anonymous CornishCockney said ... (13:57) : 

Well said.

 

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Name: Ham Location: London, United Kingdom View my complete profile