The Most Politically Correct Olympics in History

By Yulia Latynina

Published: August 15, 2012 (Issue # 1722)

The London Games have gone down in history as the most politically correct Olympics ever. Moreover, it was political correctness in its worst form — on the verge of fascism.

First, the leadership of the Greek Olympic Committee removed triple jumper Paraskevi Papachristou from the games for the following joke she made on Twitter: “With so many Africans in Greece … the West Nile mosquitoes will at least eat homemade food!”

The joke is certainly offensive, but ruining someone’s life over this matter — someone who has spent her whole life preparing for this competition — is pure fascism. It is the Ministry of Love punishing thought crime.

In another case, a member of the German rowing team, Nadja Drygalla, was forced to drop out of the competition because of a comment that was made on Facebook. But she had nothing to do with it. It was her boyfriend, a former neo-Nazi, who complained of having to travel on a train “with blacks and Pakistanis.”

Maybe the Olympic Ministry of Truth can answer one question for me: Why should Nadja Drygalla answer for the contents of her boyfriend’s Facebook page?

What’s next?

Disqualifying an athlete for the actions of his father? Or because another athlete’s grandfather served in the SS? Or maybe because somebody’s great-grandfather suppressed the Sepoy Rebellion in India?

But the most surprising aspect is the shameless double standards of the International Olympic Committee, or IOC. The Ministry of Love, standing by with a hot iron ready to dole out punishment for having politically incorrect boyfriends, turns out to be surprisingly tolerant of Nazism of another variety.

Take, for example, when several Lebanese Olympic athletes refused to train in the same room as Israelis. That is much worse than a tasteless joke on Twitter. It’s pure racism. The IOC should have clearly said to the Lebanese athletes, “Your demand is contrary to the very spirit of the Olympic Games, so we are excluding you from the competition.”

But instead of doing that, the committee simply put up a partition in the training room to appease the Lebanese racists and ensure that their tender feelings weren’t offended.

Another example was the two athletes from Saudi Arabia who refused to compete in the judo competition without their hijabs. It would seem that the logic of the Olympics is very simple: “Ladies, these events are dedicated to the achievements of the human body. We have our own standards. If you don’t agree with them, you can simply stay home. You can even kill two birds with one stone: In between your judo matches, you can use the same mat to pray five times a day facing Mecca.”

Instead, however, the IOC allowed the athletes to compete in the hijabs.

What’s next?

Maybe they’ll start obligating other athletes to wear hijabs as well. After all, it is only fair that the playing field be level for all athletes.

The IOC is a typical example of what is wrong with international organizations. They are ready with their hot irons to burn anything that even smells of inappropriate or politically incorrect ideas about the superiority of Western civilization over others.

That is a shame because the politically incorrect ideas these organizations so vigilantly fight against would have barely any consequences anyway. Regardless of what people are writing on Twitter, we can be fairly certain that Greece is not going to go to war with Egypt over a bad joke.

The racism that the Lebanese athletes displayed toward the Israelis is far more dangerous. It is part and parcel of the hate-filled ideology of Hezbollah.

As for the hijab, it’s not simply a harmless indigenous custom. In this case, it is a symbol of something broader: Saudi abuse and discrimination against women — in particular women’s rights to freedom, a basic principle that the Olympics represent.

It’s time to tell IOC officials that their actions make us sick. The civilized world should say to them: “What you’re doing has nothing to do with tolerance. It’s self-righteous, hypocritical and cowardly. You’re ready to destroy the life of a Greek athlete over a joke, fully aware that no ‘Greek Nazis’ are going to blow you up for it. But at the same time, you cave in like a coward when there is even the slightest danger that protecting true Olympic ideals will hurt your thin skin.”

God forbid some Islamic shahid be offended by your ban on hijabs at the games.

Yulia Latynina hosts a political talk show on Ekho Moskvy radio.