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• Saturday, November 3, 2007 02:29 PM

  Pathetic, Sexist, Tedious

  I can hardly believe that this article was even published, or taken seriously by anyone....except it's the dark ages now in American culture and so this is par for the course, to use a sports metaphor. I hate sports. I hate the persistent and damaging myth that competition is somehow an elevated, good thing. As other writers have already said, it just supports the existence of an elite class of physical freaks who offer little to the world, if anything.

  This guy shows his stripes (baseball metaphor I assume) when he refers to Oprah as a middle aged woman dragging her flab around. That's the stupidest, most offensive thing I've read in ages. I could not care less about these types of races, but I'm glad that non-elite bodies are getting out there and crossing personal boundaries that have to do with health, strength, and spirit, rather than useless competition -- a bunch of juvenile over-trained men showing off.

  I know a lot of people who run. Some of them have beautiful, healthy bodies, and they make running into a practice that is inspiring as a form of outreach and vision. Others race in wheelchairs, and I celebrate their pleasure in speed and freedom of movement.

  I'm physically disabled. I move through the world mainly by means of language. I'm not competing with anyone. I'm happy that some people like to run and are able to do it as a communal practice, encouraging their running mates rather than just trying to "beat" them.

  We have more than enough aggression in the world.

  I'm not a huge Oprah fan, but she's trying to help. She luxuriates in her money and power a bit too much for my taste, but she helps people too. She's not out there representing any national fantasy, or political agenda, or corporate sport. She's trying to maintain her weight and to show other women (and men) that it's possible to overcome personal struggles of all kinds.

  That's ok by me. I have better things to do with my precious time, in my insignificant opinion, than run (or limp) around trying to go faster than other creatures. I'm trying to be a better a person. Atheletes are boring. Let them all go read a book, just as fast as they can.

  —skypillar Read skypillar's other letters
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