O/T Berlin Olympics 1936 - IS COMPET... 
turiya
17 y
3,632
† Cross †
It was asked on the Iodine supplementation forum earlier:
"-- The most outstanding on record --- Hitler's Germany won a total of 101 medals (41 gold) and 223 points. Their only credible rival was the United States, which though three times larger in population won 40% fewer, medals and points. (25 gold medals - 4 to Jesse Owens - and just 132 points).
America's size did little to reduce its humiliation. Hitler's Germany (population 80 millions) won more gold medals than the United States, Great Britain, India, Canada, Argentina, France, and Norway together, which collectively had a combined population 14 times greater than Germany's population."
"Ever think there might be something to learn about health and nutrition from the Third Reich?"
****I respond, here, with some quoted information...some thoughts of my own... as i am now banned from the Iodine supplementation forum... for some reason or other...****
IS COMPETITION HEALTHY?
http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/sr265/cardwell.htm
George Orwell famously said, 'Sport is war minus the shooting,' and there are many examples to back this up.
http://randolphefree.org/sports_-_a_biblical_perspective.htm
Most people would say that competition is good, that it prepares one for life which is competitive in nature. But even supporters of competition realize there must be limits to the competitive spirit. People whose only goal in life is to win in any way they can no matter who they hurt and no matter what they have to sacrifice are not healthy competitors but excessive competitors.
THE VALUE OF COMPETITION IS BASED ON FOUR MYTHS
1) Competition is an unavoidable fact of life, a part of human nature.
2) Competition motivates us to do our best and be productive.
3) Competitive contests provide the best way to have a good time.
4) Competition builds character and is good for self-confidence.
Kohn insists that competition is learned behavior not natural behavior, that cooperation is more productive than competition, that competition is the source of considerable anxiety, fear of rejection and defeat, that competition feeds social divisions, anger and violence, that there is no empirical proof for the tradition that competition builds character, that competition changes our fundamental orientation toward others to trying to beat them, that competition leads to envy and anger toward those who beat us and contempt for those we beat, and that competition leads people to feel and act more hostile toward others.
Here are some quotes from Kohn:
“Vince Lombardi’s famous comment “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing” is a capsule description of our entire culture.”
“The highest human values do not require competition.”
“It feels good to prove oneself better than someone else but to succeed by making another player or team fail is rather base.”
“The pure pleasure of competitive triumph is first cousin to the pleasure of punching someone in a state of manic excitement.”
“When we say that someone is ‘one of the most competitive people around’ we are not generally recommending that person as a friend.”
“Competing drags us down, devastates us psychologically, poisons our relationships and interferes with our performance.”
“Competition is the most pervasive occasion for anxiety in our culture.”
“Compassion can be construed as a weakness if it is experienced in a competitive situation.”
“Competitive pressures are a prominent contributor to the alarming risk of suicide.”
“Competition has at its heart self-interest.”
“Competitive and spectator sports raise aggressive feelings.”
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My own feelings about this are that competition is a necessary road for human beings to take on their way through this existence... it is part of the "getting lost" that everyone goes through in this corporeal world - But a very necessary journey one has to take before one is able to understand what "coming back home" really means...
It is a path, guided by ego, that takes us through the many hills and valleys of successes and failures... for it is a cut throat business living in today's world... it is easy for the ego of the mind to become obsessed with the idea of beating the others out in a race to survive... in the struggle to get to the top... it is a learned behavior... it can become a deeply seated habit... it leads one further and further away from himself... from his precious health... further away from a world of sharing with others... and more into one that has us feeling that we are all very isolated and separate from each other...
And then, if your lucky, one day, it finally comes... that you have made it! ...you have arrived to the ultimate peak ... there you are, all alone at the top of your mountain... the one thing you've desired so hard to achieve... and finally you've got it... but very soon, this aloneness turns into a loneliness... because this entire game that is played depends on the others to be there with you... to compete with... to keep you driven... to keep you moving upward towards your isolated goal - of being #1 ...this is your ultimate separation from the rest of existence... because there can only be one #1... and then comes the despair and the real anguish... and the wondering of 'what happened?'...'where's the joy in being victorious?' ...that you've been fighting with others to get? ...but it isn't anywhere to be found...
it is said, there is no failure like the failure that comes with being successful... because, then you come to find... there is just emptiness in your hands... in your heart... and it really doesn't mean a damn thing...
I imagine this is what Hiltler felt in the end... as he put the gun to his own head...
peace- Could it have been drugs? #13594
17 y
2,808
MoreThis is a reply to # 950,700I remember the 1976 Olympics and the East Germans won a lot of medals. Very small country. Years later it came out that many of the East Germans were using drugs and were stripped of their medals. Is it possible that there was no drug testing in 1936 and lots were in use?
- O/T Berlin Olympics 1936 - IS COMPET... turiya
17 y
2,924
This is a reply to # 950,875drugs may have played a part... germany has always been further advanced in the sciences than most other countries... infusing the masses with emotions, causing nationalism to surge to peak levels... is what supposedly Hitler had become good at... getting the hormones working in the blood streams of so many ... it is supposed that this could be analogous to the masses, in general, being on drugs...
http://www.diva-portal.org/diva/getDocument?urn_nbn_se_liu_diva-4453-1__fullt...
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‘We now have to face the reality that the Olympics constitute not only an athletic
event but a political event’ Peter Ueberroth, Former president of the Los Angeles
Olympic Organizing Committee (1984)
"Governments have many reasons to be involved in sport.
The first reason is to maintain and protect public order. The government enforces the law, defends liberties and prohibits illegal acts. During sporting events with high risk or overcrowded stadiums, the police is present to calm passions, secure access to the stadium
and to prevent tensions between both camps of supporters.
- The second reason is to promote sport facilities to diminish health problems among the population. In industrial countries, there is a high rate of people suffering from overweight. This policy of sport contribute to improve citizen’s fitness and to reduce health problems and medical costs.
- The third reason is to promote the prestige of a group, a community or a Nation. Many governments have understood the power and the prestige of a medal won in the Olympics, giving them financial helps to encourage their efforts. Local governments underline the victories of local team to promote the advantages of their regions or towns.
- The fourth reason is to promote a sense of identity, belonging and unity. Emotional unity is created during sport events, making the different members of the society closer. Regional sport events bring people together, they can meet, exchange feelings and thought about their teams, federating them behind one team. The people seem to belong to the same group, sharing an emotional unity, during the time of a game. These common values are used to unify the region rather than promote cultural diversity of minorities. [It is called building nationalism.]
- The fifth reason is to develop values within dominant political ideology. The elite sport is sponsored by some governments to develop the values these states want to promote to the citizen such as discipline, loyalty, (etc..). The Soviet Union developed the values of collectivism, teamwork, common aims and comradeships.
- The last reason is to increase citizen support of political leaders and government itself. The sport is used to create support and associate politicians to victory. The affection of citizen increased with politician interested in sport, making them closer to the population. Politicians often congratulate winners of major sport events. Former president Reagan always associated his image with winners of Olympics."
"The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was dominated by the French and they did not allow Germany to participate in the 1920 and the 1924 Olympics ‘after being held responsible for starting the war’ (Krüger in Arnaud & Riordan 1998, p.81). Germany was excluded from the international scene until 1925-6, and having been banned from having its own military and losing its borders with the neighbours.
The 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin had become a huge propaganda coup for Hitler. The siting of the games had been agreed in 1931 as a way of bringing Germany back into the international community following its defeat in the First World War. Little did the French know that Hitler would soon become chancelor of Germany.
The fact that no army could be trained gave ideas to the German government. The democratic Germany state used sports to increase mass participation and to training people and gave public facilities to sport increase mass participation and to training people and gave public facilities to sport championships. This effort of sport training gave good results, a second place in the rank medals at the Amsterdam Olympics: ‘After so many years of isolation this seemed to be quite a surprise to many, but it should not be overlooked that Germany sent the largest team, had large crowd support and a well-organized sports system’ (Ibid p.83).
Sports organisations were financed and controlled by the Nazi Party. Until the
end of the peace period and at the beginning of the war, German teams were having
international meetings sports to ‘maintain an air of normality’. Hitler started the war and he wanted to see if the ‘system of physical education’ was efficient in the preparation of German soldiers. Von Tschammer, the Nazi leader of the sport organisation, ordered that German should continue to do sport: ‘being an indispensable condition for the education of youth for military readiness’ 72 (cited in Arnaud & Riordan 1998, p.90)."
- O/T Berlin Olympics 1936 - IS COMPET... turiya
17 y
2,924
- Could it have been drugs? #13594
17 y
2,808
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