Chinese Olympic Gymnastics Hate Groups

Let me preface all of this by saying that I don't believe that the some of the women on the Chinese Olympics Gymnastics team are over 16. Obviously the government changed their passports. It does violate the rules but it's for the IOC and the IGF to decide what should happen.

But let me make this point: do the Chinese women deserve to be stripped of their medals because they are underage? Did they not show that they are the best gymnastics team in the world? Barring some scoring controversies, they showed that they deserve to be called the best gymnasts in the world. And the scoring controversies have nothing to do with a home advantage or bias, as the judging panel is not allowed to have members from the teams they are judging. If anything, scoring errors are what caused the American gymnasts to lose out on some medals that they deserved.

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Here is but one of the many hate groups you will find on Facebook.

"I Hope When the Chinese Olympic Gymnasts Get Their Periods, It Kills Them"

No explanation needed. I invite everyone to report the group.

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Some samples from other groups:

"Maybe that's true Silas. Yes we might be whiney. But we are venting about the injustice that is going on in what is suppose to be a fair world competition. It might not change, that's true. But at least we have a place where we can talk out all the cheating that's going on in these events.

The fact that Nastia tied with that Chinese girl and got second is sickening. I'm not sure how that is possible. And Devon is right. We should have known going in there that the world basically hates Americans. Especially the Chinese. Geez we have more freedom then they do, and they are working in in Sweatshops for like 5 cents an hour making products that go to America. and they probably don't see any of the profit. So the Least they could do is cheat and give their country the gold medal(s). That's probably the only gold or profit these girls will see in their lifetime. It's just disheartening."

Apparently this person thinks he can sympathize with the working conditions in China (which he misstates) and sympathize with the gymnasts and trash everything else about China. Not to mention his ignorance of the tiebreaking procedure. Once again, note the victim attitude of "everyone hates America, including China". Looking at the rapid rate at which China is consuming American cultural exports, I'd like to know where he gets this impression.

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"FUCK THESE OLYMPICS AND LET ALL THE JUDGES ROT IN HELL"

This guy really knows what he's talking about. China has definitely been suppressing the rights of Taiwanese who they don't even have control over. China doesn't deserve to have control over Tibet (a historical part of many Chinese empires) because...well...we said so? The author surely knows how to judge a gymnastics routine better than professional judges. And when American athletes get points off because they fall and make mistakes? That's called getting "fucked over".

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The rest of the groups are filled with the same kind of hate, which spreads to misinformed rants about other issues. No one seems to remember that the tiebreaking procedure that gave the gold to He Kexin over Nastia Liukin was put in place before the competition and has been released to the public. No one seems to remember the judging scandals that took place at the 2004 Olympics No one seems to remember that the point of the Olympics is to find the best athletes. If the best athletes are underage, then they deserve to win, even if they can't compete.

Nastia Liukin herself said it best. "(He) is an excellent athlete, no matter how old she is. She's done her hard work and her preparation, and she deserved that gold medal tonight."

America seems to have forgotten that it doesn't own the world. If something goes against us, we whine and scream and throw a tantrum until the rest of the world is either scared into changing things or just sick of our behavior. So the Chinese overstated their age. Big deal. Yes it's against the rules but does it help their performance? I'd say it gives them a disadvantage to have a younger team with less experience. America has no room to talk when our athletes regularly take performance enhancing drugs and don't get punished. Our athletes are all about the money and the fame that they get from success. Not to say that some don't deserve it, there are many professional athletes who are great people as well. But we have plenty who get arrested from everything from murder to dog fighting. The Chinese gymnasts are hardworking girls who came from poor families. They gave it their all to have a shot at becoming Olympic champions. They compete for their country. You may fault the government for cheating, but surely you can't fault the athletes themselves?

Once again, I repeat my belief that the Chinese gymnasts are not all of competition age and that under IGF rules, it is not allowed. The final resolution of the situation is not for anyone else to decide. But let me caution anyone who shares the views of the people posting in the various hate groups. It does not help your case when all you can do is whine and complain about technicalities. A true Olympic champion does not whine. It does not help you win a gold medal if you make personal attacks against the opponent. Just ask Frenchman Alain Bernard, whose "We'll smash the Americans" comment was just your normal pre-competition tough talk. It does not help your case when you are a country with as little international credibility as the United States. When you have many athletes back home who juice and do drugs and get arrested for violence. Yes, cheating is wrong. Yes, there were judging errors. But humans are not perfect. There is always controversy at the Olympics. This time is no different. Just because for once, the United States is losing out doesn't mean it's any more important or any worse a violation than before.