2021 Tokyo Olympics vs. COVID-19

[JaJa]

I completely agree.

There was also a real problem in a lack of strong public laws and mandates.

Trump acted like a damned fool with regard to the mask and social distancing thing.

And then of course we have a problem because police power (health and welfare) lies with the states. Its not federal although the feds can intervene far more than they have under various clauses like the commerce clause.

So individual states that removed mask mandates are for sure to blame. But in NY many people do not bother to follow these mandates anyway. Everytime I go outside I see people with no masks or their mask being worn improperly which is equivalne to not wearing a mask

 

[megansothername]

We have done a very poor job in this country of teaching people what freedom means when you live in society. Living in a “free country” doesn’t mean you get to do absolutely whatever you want with zero consequences because freedom. People actually know this if they think about it. Is it OK for me to walk into your home and take whatever I want because freedom? Of course not. Because my freedoms are limited when they infringe on your freedoms.

That’s the purpose of a society that is not in a state of complete anarchy, to help create that balance, and weigh when it’s reasonable and important to create limits. Public health is exactly the same. You can’t just do whatever you want, because you doing whatever you want hurts me. But people think freedom means free for all, and so here we are with people refusing to wear masks and coughing on people in grocery stores.

 

[MLSWAG]

 

[MLSWAG]

I noticed Amy Jorgenson wearing a mask during two of her routines during the '21 CanChamps. I wonder how that issue will go in the Olys. No stopping them at this point, I don’t think (could be wrong. Would love to be wrong).

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

I would hope any athlete who feels more comfortable performing in a mask is allowed to do so. It should be the choice of the individual concerned.

 

[Bogwoppit]

That is due to restrictions in her province. She had no choice.

But I cannot imagine anyone saying a mask cannot be worn.

 

[Denn]

I changed the thread title so that it no longer will freak me (and others?) out every time I see “could be canceled”. 4 months ago, it was a different story, but now, it looks like it will happen.

 

[RAFIKI]

Yeah for the last few weeks I’ve been using “when” rather than “if” when I talk about the Olympics. I’m still conflicted as to whether it should go on, but I think that it will happen.

 

[Gymfan93]

Oh I’m sure it will happen.
I don’t think it’s particularly wise to hold them, but it will happen.

 

[RedBirdie]

The IOC is really the only one with the power to cancel–contractually, the Tokyo organizing committee cannot back out. And there’s no way the IOC is going to cancel.

 

[MLSWAG]

I definitely think it should be allowed. I didn’t intend to come across otherwise. good for her. And good for everybody doing the comp over Zoom.

 

[Doug1233]

 

[MLSWAG]

That subreddit kind of got me wondering: maybe it’ll happen, but then some COVID distaster happens (medical, political, or otherwise) and it gets suddenly abbreviated on the spot.

 

[Sasha]

I’m treating everything as tentative until the pandemic is over, Olympics included. It’s disrupted a lot of things that we thought were too big/important to be cancelled, and it could happen again.

Assuming they do go ahead, they have the potential to be such a shitshow on so many levels: public health, political, economic, athletic, I wonder if we’ll look back after the fact and ask ourselves what the hell we were thinking. But vested interests be vested I guess.

 

[cats]

IDK man, I think the world could really use an Olympics. After the last year and change, I’m feeling pretty excited to be reminded that humans are amazing in addition to frail, and that the world is capable of coming together over something, and that there are things to celebrate. It would be nice to remind ourselves of what we’re trying to save.

I mean, it could be a disaster too, but I’m hoping for a good moment.

 

[Sasha]

Yeah, I hear you. I want them too, but I also feel like at a minimum the results are going to be incredibly compromised.

 

[FrolovasDoubleLayout]

Do you mean for sports in general, or gymnastics specifically? In what way will the results be compromised?

 

[Sasha]

Well, maybe compromised isn’t quite the right word, but for example take the qualification process. We’ve had a whole bunch of World Cups cancelled, and some athletes could not or chose not to attend some of the qualifiers for COVID related reasons. Then we have all the training disruptions, which varied from place to place so they won’t impact everyone equally. And we may have athletes unable to compete because they test positive right before the competition, or who can’t travel to Tokyo for similar reasons. Just so many COVID-related contingencies that could have either a real impact on the results, or enough of a perceived impact that we will always wonder what could have gone differently.

 

[JaJa]

I share your thoughts to some degree Sasha. But on the other hand i think it is important on some level to have the Olympics this year. First of all the athletes really want to compete. Second, at some point we all just have to get back on track (no pun intended). This damned virus shut down the world for over a year. With serious safety protocols, assuming they are followed carefully, it really is possible to maintain a pretty high level of safety even if there is a fair amount of transmission in the community. Just praying it all goes well in Tokyo.

 

[audie83]

Thank you Denn! That title was freaking me out too!