The 2024 summer Olympics in France has not been short of controversy.  It started right away with the opening ceremonies that seemed to mock Christianity.

It is bizarre how those who want to tear down Western Civilization directly try to attack Christianity.  Perhaps this isn’t as big of a story as what some Christians want to make it, but they are right to point out the hypocrisy of it all.  If the people in charge of putting on the show had openly mocked Islam or Judaism, do you think we would have seen the same reaction from the media and the establishment in general?  To ask the question is to answer it.

The opening ceremonies were not all bad.  There was some great artistry and performances, and it is always a delight for most people watching to see the athletes.  In this case, instead of walking into a stadium, they came through on a boat on the river.  Unfortunately, because of the push for transgenderism and the mocking of Christianity, the opening has to go into the “bad” category.

Gender Controversy

Of course, the opening ceremonies weren’t really the start of everything, as there were decisions made beforehand, which included allowing boxers to compete with females who had been previously banned from competing with women in international boxing.

It culminated when an Italian woman resigned from her fight less than one minute in.  Her opponent seems to be a biological male, although there is some controversy about the biology.  Maybe this really is that one in a million person who was born with mixed up chromosomes and DNA and there is no clearcut gender identity at birth.  But they should be able to do a chromosome test, and you would think that having XY chromosomes would prohibit the person from boxing with females.

However, we live in bizarro world, where the evil people are trying to tear down civilized society.  The fool speaking on behalf of the Olympic committee said that the individual met the qualifications they had in place to compete with females.  But that doesn’t address the problem.  What are your rules?  Your rules are idiotic and evil.  It is evil to allow someone to compete with females just based on what it says on their passport.  That’s the whole point.  I’m sure the Olympic committee did follow their own rules, but their rules are evil and stupid.

It was already a joke when we saw biological males competing with females in weightlifting, swimming, and track.  It is completely unjust.  Now we are talking boxing, which is just plain dangerous.  If a woman dies or suffers a serious brain injury, are the committee members going to be prosecuted for negligent homicide?

It is also interesting that they do all of this invasive testing of athletes for performance-enhancing drugs, yet they don’t really care about the testosterone levels of someone competing with females.

This whole episode is definitely in the “ugly” category.  The only good thing is that it may have woken up (not “woke”) some more people.

Russian Athletes

Another decision made long before the games had ever begun was not allowing Russian or Belarusian teams to compete.  Individual athletes, in some cases, could compete, but not under their country’s flag or uniforms.  They had to compete under the Individual Neutral Athletes delegation (AIN).

It wasn’t just a matter of competing under another name.  These athletes had to be vetted by the IOC before competing.  In order to qualify, they could not have funding or links to military or state security agencies.  Worst of all, they could not have supported the war in Ukraine.

In other words, if some athlete from Belarus or Russia had just posted something on social media that was sympathetic to the Russian government regarding the war in Ukraine, this could shatter all hopes and dreams of competing.  Forget all of the years of hard work and dedication in your sport.

This is the most political and hypocritical garbage anyone could come up with.  They will only allow certain athletes to compete based on their political viewpoints.

What about every other athlete from every other country.  Do Israelis or Americans get banned for supporting the mass bombing of innocent people in Gaza?  Do Americans get banned if they supported George W. Bush or Barack Obama?  There were wars and invasions by Americans in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria.  The U.S. government helped starve people in Yemen.

Oh, and let’s not forget that the U.S. government supported a coup against the democratically-elected president in Ukraine in 2014, which led to the slaughter of thousands of ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine and directly contributed to the war that is happening there now.

Were all Olympic athletes heavily vetted to make sure they didn’t support any wars?  Maybe you think that is an unfair comparison.  Actually, it is unfair.  At least there were rational reasons for the Russian government to go to war in Ukraine.  They didn’t want NATO missiles on their border.  They wanted to stop the slaughter of ethnic Russians.

Can the same be said for all of the American wars of the last 25 years?  Was Iraq, Syria, or Libya ever a threat to Americans?

I’ll put this in the “ugly” category as well.  The Olympics are supposed to be a time of peace and bringing people together.  The IOC banning of athletes in this way does the opposite, which I believe was the intended purpose.

The Athletes

Put this in the “good” category.  I have enjoyed watching the athletes.  I enjoy most of the sports, including some of the more obscure ones.  I like watching badminton and table tennis.  I’ve seen a little bit of fencing.  I have watched a lot of swimming as well as some of the team sports.  It is an opportunity for athletes to showcase their greatness.  All of their hard work is not seen, but they are recognized during this short period of time.

I really enjoy the sportsmanship.  It isn’t always there, but generally I see mutual respect out there.  They were trying to hype up the rivalry between Australia and the United States in swimming.  But a rivalry can just mean people competing hard.  I saw two female swimmers – one from each country – talking before their race against each other.  They respect each other, and they are friends.  They try to beat each other in the water, and after it is over, they embrace.

I would encourage all athletes to be respectful towards each other regardless of country.  I want to see an Israeli and Iranian congratulate each other after a competition.  I want to see a Russian and Ukrainian hug each other.  It would have been nice to have Russian athletes there to give them the opportunity to do so.  I know this doesn’t always happen.

I see these athletes in a similar way to the people of a country.  The government is not the country.  You can disagree with your own government or governments elsewhere.  It doesn’t mean you have to be enemies with the people who live under that government.

This is exactly why the IOC and the powers-that-be didn’t want Russians at the Olympics.  They were afraid to see an American and a Russian embrace after competition.  For the establishment in the West, the Russians have to be the big, bad enemy.

It reminds me of the story from World War 1 on Christmas day when opposing sides came out from behind the lines and made peace for a short period of time.  They buried their dead.  They shook hands and played soccer.  The soldiers were not really enemies of each other.  They were fighting for their governments.

This is why I still like the Olympics, in spite of the bad and ugly things that have gone on.  It is a chance for greatness for the athletes, and it is also a time for peace and friendship.  Instead of shooting at each other, these athletes can compete and then shake hands or hug after it is done.  We need more sports and less war, and the world will be a better place.