dboy wrote:
Poppycock!
They certainly weren't the "Nazi Olympics", as you put it and trying to link the white supremacism of Hitler, to the idea of a torch as a symbol of evil is nonsensical and myopic.
Indeed, if a torch was being touted as a symbol of Naziism, then celebrating the Olympic torch as a beacon of goodness, community and hope is the perfect way to reclaim that symbolism.
Just my opinion, of course.
It's always sad when sport gets dragged down to the level of politics, and when it does it's invariably the fault of the politicians. It's sad but unfortunately true that the 1936 games will always be tainted by association with Adolf Hitler and his obnoxious ideas. Not being around in the 1930s I really don't know how they were perceived at the time, but retrospectively my feelings have been formed far more by people like Jesse Owens, who proved Hitler's 'master race' theory to be the claptrap it is, just as 1980, from a British perspective, will be remembered for the glories of Coe and Ovett rather than Thatcher's miserable attempt to suck up to the USA with her boycott .
Actually I'd no idea the torch relay started at those games (is that actually true, btw?) Personally, I've no real interest in the torch, opening ceremonies or any other of the fripperies surrounding the non athletic parts of the games so I'll not be watching the flame and wouldn't have been even if there hadn't been something far more important going on a the same time, like our game!
