Posted on 08/03/2012 1:09:35 AM PDT by jdirt
Is it just me? I was watching the Olympics tonight in a restaurant. There was no sound. Gabby Douglas was receiving the Gold medal for her all-around performance in gymnastics. She did wonderful from what I saw.
BUT when she received the Gold, she did not put her hand over her heart when they played the National Anthem.
She was holding flowers in the middle of her body with her right hand and had her left hand behind her back.. I blew it off, kinda. But hubby saw it too and we both went into shock. I have never seen an Olympian not do this and I don't think I have ever seen someone not put their hand over their heart during the National Anthem.
Is it just me? Did anyone else see this and wonder the same thing? Has anybody mentioned it on the news? Should I give her a pass because of her age, nerves and the excitement of it all?
The Russian did better on the floor program.
Any contest with judges having all the power = fixed.
watch the replay, she held the flowers over her heart. I had no problem with it.
Announcers were also silly. They wanted to say first black to gold in all around gymnastics. But said African-American.
Are blacks from Africa Africa-Africans?
What’s a white African now in the US called?
She’s not the only one. I’ve seen a few others do the same. It’s possible they don’t want to cover up the medal during the ceremony. Since you didn’t hear the audio, it might be worth noting that she gave thanks to God during her post-win interview on TV. I’ll give her a break——she’s only 16 and lives at the gym!
The answer to your last question in the post is YES. They’re in the moment and it’s not rehearsed.
That said, The One does not receive a pass for the multiple times he’s been pictured not following proper flag etiquette. His (in)action is most certainly a rehearsed choice, IMO.
I’m not an expert on gymnastics, but the all-around winner should be the best without making mistakes. You must not have been paying attention to Komova’s vault performance-—she walked to the floor on her landing. Gabby deserved to win because she made no mistakes and you can watch all 4 of her performances and be amazed. Also, the analysts agreed with the judges’ decision. I believe some of Komava’s moves were not as difficult as Gabby’s, and that makes a difference.
I only saw the floor and know NOTHING about the sport.
Seemed like it was close and glad US won.
Hoping we can stop China from dominating us in something - even if it is just sports.
For such an egregious disrepectful unamerican gesture let's just ban her from the sport as well
Gabby looked confident and happy. Sometimes that makes all of the difference in the judging. She did deserve it.
I kinda agree. I remember she had the flowers close to the heart but you know, her hand was in the middle of her body.
I don’t buy the, hiding the medal, idea. the medal is way below where her hand would or should have been.
I understand she was in the moment and she is very young. I guess my husband and I are on the same frequency. We both thought the same thing at the same time.
Just seemed strange to watch. I have no problem with letting that go. Maybe we expected what we didn’t have to.
Anybody else feel it too?
You should have watched the whole all-around event. It was one of the most exciting events I have ever seen. The team competition on Tuesday was good, too. After DECADES of seeing the Russians dominate in sports like gymnastics and pairs skating and dancing it was wonderful to see the Americans finally win both events. It was interesting to watch the differences between the Americans and the Russians—the American girls were upbeat and happy with smiles while the Russian girls were sad and tearful and never cracked a smile. I wonder why.
“The glory goes up to Him, and the blessings fall down on me” – Gabby Douglas
would that mature adults could be bold enough to convey that sentiment.
Mine too! And I’m not a believer, just an admirer of those who do.
Idiots...
You must have missed the last Summer Olympics then, because several American champions were failing to cover their hearts and were seen talking during the national anthem. These new athletes have evidently been reminded to show respect.
Gabby kept her hand over her heart for the duration of the anthem. She praised God, even. If you're wondering where her dad is, he's serving in Afghanistan.
OMG! Is that what she said? Really? That just gives me chills, it’s so profound and so sweet.
Yes. I watched her say it. That means it will be the last we see of Gabby Douglas from the MSM.
Source on the dad being in Afghanistan? Just seems like it would have been mentioned.
I remember as a kid a couple of atheletes in the late ‘60’s olympics holding their fist up during the anthem. Now that was controversial.
I know a few white African-Americans. They have a lot of fun with it.
On that note, if you didn’t see South African comedian Trevor Noah’s sketch on Leno from earlier this year, watch it.
He *really* has some fun with the whole African American thing.
Since her Dad is in the Army she gets a pass from me. She showed real class from start to finish. If she forgot to put her hand over her heart it was damn near her only mistake last night. :)
When I was in high school, I went to Boys’ State. This was in 1988. They taught us that the hand goes over the heart for the Pledge of Allegiance, but that for the national anthem, one was to stand in a state of reverence with arms at your side. Boys’ State is an American Legion event that takes patriotism very seriously. I don’t know when this changed, but the hand over the heart has not always been expected for the national anthem.
You are joking, right? You must be ... I can’t imagine anyone taking true offense about something so petty. The overwhelming excitement, life’s dream coming true, all the cameras and noise, the nerves ... and you think this 16-yr old child should have had the where-with-all to make sure her hand is properly placed over her heart during the anthem?
You are joking, right? You must be ... I can’t imagine anyone taking true offense about something so petty. The overwhelming excitement, life’s dream coming true, all the cameras and noise, the nerves ... and you think this 16-yr old child should have had the where-with-all to make sure her hand is properly placed over her heart during the anthem?
What I loved was she gave God the credit in her interview and I believed she was sincere and not just a pat answer. That respect to God is much more needed today then flag etiquette.
You guys all need to switch to decaf.
She is holding the flowers over her heart. She is pretty much standing at attention.
What do you “people” want?
IMO, it’s you. She wasn’t trying to make a statement. She’s 16 years old!...and hasn’t known what’s going on outside her gym. Looked to me she was hholding her flowers over her heart.
Look, folks, we should celebrate this talented, focused, determined Black American young lady, not bring her down. She is a winner and champion due to her personal dedication, hard work, competitive spirit and support from her family & friends . This what Black Americans need and do not have, due to the miserable leadership of their so-called leaders, starting with Barack Hussein Obama on down.
Some day, maybe Blacks will wake up and realize how badly they have been treated by their own leaders, who accept high unemployment, poor education, massive out-of-wedlock births, and assimilation of Blacks into general American society. Until that self assessment occurs, the overwhelming majority of Black Americans will remain adrift at sea, never moving forward towards real freedom, liberty and opportunity in America. Sad!!!
16-year old girl probably nervous out of her mind = PASS
President of the United States = FAIL
To tell the truth I never put my hand over my heart during the anthem, or almost never. I was brought up to place my hand over my heart during the Pledge of Allegiance but not the anthem. Plus for some reason I am always a little embarrassed at public displays of patriotism. Doesn’t mean I’m not pro-America.
I was taught to stand at attention for the anthem. The only time the hand goes over the heart is when you are holding your hat in it.
Good grief! You expect any of those MSM sports announcers to mention something like that?
Go Google “gabby douglas+afghanistan”. Her parents are apparently separated from what I can tell. Dad is in the Air Force and has been in Afghanistan. He would have been there about the same time my son (USAF) was there.
There are dozens of stories.
According to an interview this morning, she was so overcome with emotion she couldn’t remember the words to the national anthem. Towards the end of the ceremony, she was one deep breath from fully bursting into tears. She held the flowers up and in my opinion gave proper respect to the flag and our country.
We should be far enough now to where we should get over the skin color. The NBC announcers turned it into a Ken Burns documentary.
It was close but you are correct about Komova. Gabby was a delight to watch. They were all very fun to watch but boy those Russian women were poor losers. Both nights they cried like a baby when they didn’t get the first place. I would be embarrassed. That annoyed me very much.
you do understand I was being sarcastic do the petty nature of the post ?
In an interview where they tried to make a big deal of her being the first “African American” to win the gold in gymnastics, she forgot that, too. She was just so excited to win.
She’s 14, it’s her first Olympics, and she won. She didn’t cheat like the Chinese, and she didn’t disgrace the country with bad behavior like Phelps’ bong hits. We’ll expect more decorum from a mature athlete next Olympics.
Yes, you are being silly.
Quit looking for the bad in things. She is a 16 year old kid who has been training constantly for years.
She probably didn't get the memo about the exact placement of her body parts at a pinnacle time in her life.
This stuff makes us look silly. Not personally attacking you with any of the above by the way...
to the US media "Afican-American" is a color not a race. It reminds me of two stories about tortured political correctness:
One was an ESPN reporter asked a black player who scored a game winning goal what it felt like to be the "first African-American to score a game winning goal" in the NCAA tournament. He looked at her and said "I'm Canadian." She then said, "Okay, but how does it feel to be the first African-American to do so."
Second was when Jay Leno's wife was describing her trip to Africa to work with the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation and she described the black kids as "African-American...who live in Africa".
Hilarious...
Now that is funny!
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I'm sure that Gabrielle breathes so much easier now that you have decided to be so generous and forgiving...I heard she was losing sleep with the worry that rather than acknowledging and, dare I say, respecting her years of painful work to get there, you and hubby had focused the full weight of your pettiness on where she placed her hand at a moment when the pain and labor of those years bore fruit.
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Gee, does your define her as a "determined Black American young lady" mean that we should differentiate her from the average "determined American young ladies"?
Why does her color matter enough to you that you used it to define her?
Her medal represents her effort and her effort alone.
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Really? Then how about you show us any post you or the poster you are defending ever put up here that, in a story that is not about race, you described a White American as just that, White.
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