What the heck is wrong with China??

[DomS]

OK, so I was watching women's gymnastics tonight, and the announcers were talking about the 20 year old team captain for china...this is what one of the announcers said:

"She was taken away from her family at 3, and put into the olympic program. She would get to talk to her family maybe once per year. One day she called her family and said she wanted to go home. Her family knew what it would do for their status having her compete, so they told her 'no you can't come home'.

I mean seriously, wtf is wrong with this country? Talk about an inferiority complex. They take these kids away from their families when the kids are as young as 3, and then stick them in these olympic-factory programs...I thought I'd have a hard time being more disgusted with this country, but that anecdote about their gymnastics team captain actually lowered my respect for their country even more. What a bunch of heathens.

 

[shiner]

this

 

[IgorFL]

Meh... it's been going on for years, and not just in China. Athletes in Russia and Eastern Europe routinely left home at early ages before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

It's not just sports, either. For decades, promising pianists and violinists have moved away from home to live with their teachers.

 

[waggy]

you don't think that nearly the same thing happens in the US? they ahd a report about one of the gymnastics girls in the US. She moved out at like 9 and had visits with family a few times a year.

 

[shiner]

It is the whole "The glory of the state is more important than the life of the individual" thing they have going on.

 

[invidia]

This shit happens everywhere, including the US. Don't think there aren't any US parents out there that don't push their kid for over-achievement and pride.

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: invidia
This shit happens everywhere, including the US. Don't think there aren't any US parents out there that don't push their kid for over-achievement and pride.

yeh, the the United States is a regular ole China.

 

[shiner]

Originally posted by: invidia
This shit happens everywhere, including the US. Don't think there aren't any US parents out there that don't push their kid for over-achievement and pride.

Pushing your kids is one thing. Turning them over to the government so you can live a more comfortable life is quite another.

 

[WingZero94]

Originally posted by: invidia
This shit happens everywhere, including the US. Don't think there aren't any US parents out there that don't push their kid for over-achievement and pride.

While i'd agree in concept, I don't think it is taken near as far as in China.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: WingZero94

Originally posted by: invidia
This shit happens everywhere, including the US. Don't think there aren't any US parents out there that don't push their kid for over-achievement and pride.

While i'd agree in concept, I don't think it is taken near as far as in China.

damn near close to it. some parents send the kids away at a young age to train.

usually the age is higher though.

 

[ctark]

Oh how easy it is to judge another culture. China's no saint. But people who grew up in that environment percieve things differently than you and I.

 

[shiner]

And I perceive cats to be water buffaloes.

Doesn't make it true.

 

[d33pt]

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: invidia
This shit happens everywhere, including the US. Don't think there aren't any US parents out there that don't push their kid for over-achievement and pride.

Pushing your kids is one thing. Turning them over to the government so you can live a more comfortable life is quite another.

don't worry..plenty more kids where those came from.

 

[OCGuy]

Originally posted by: waggy
you don't think that nearly the same thing happens in the US? they ahd a report about one of the gymnastics girls in the US. She moved out at like 9 and had visits with family a few times a year.

No, I dont. Next.....

 

[QurazyQuisp]

Not to mention two of the girls look like they are 12, max. Even though their birth certificates magically say they're 16.

 

[Shlong]

I think there was a segment on this on the documentary China Rises (I believe it was on Discovery HD). They find kids who seem to have the body for being a gymnast, they test them - if they're not good they don't bother with them. If they're good they ask them to leave their families and train full time (given a choice). Most choose to go train and most are sad at first because they miss their families but eventually they adjust and are happy (according to the documentary). They get an education, something a lot of them wouldn't have had (some coming from the poor countryside).

 

[shiner]

Originally posted by: QurazyQuisp
Not to mention two of the girls look like they are 12, max. Even though their birth certificates magically say they're 16.

You be the judge

 

[IEC]

All hail the power of a strong-armed state.

 

[EGGO]

Not quite the level of Spartans.

 

[TallBill]

Well they did win.

And shinerburke, while I agree that most of them look young, that picture is fucking horrible quality so it defeats itself.

 

[z0mb13]

hooray for uninformed people making conclusions!

you have to also know that a lot of people in interior China are still dirt poor, so their families voluntarily give up their son/daughter if he/she are good enough to practice for the olympic program. This will bring glory to the family and probably will also bring them out of poverty.

families LINE UP to send their offspring, because their offspring would have a better life than if they stayed with the family

 

[dbk]

Well they're not enslaved...they're put into the programs and groomed to become athletes. I don't think the parents would object too much - their child has a chance to be the darling of the nation.
I don't think it's a big deal. What little girl wouldn't want to see their family at that age?

I'm sure the girl understands it now. She just won gold.

 

[shiner]

Originally posted by: TallBill
Well they did win.

And shinerburke, while I agree that most of them look young, that picture is fucking horrible quality so it defeats itself.

Hey....it's the best I could do with a nearly lethal combination of Bushmill's and Percodan running through my veins.

 

[Shlong]

Originally posted by: z0mb13
hooray for uninformed people making conclusions!

you have to also know that a lot of people in interior China are still dirt poor, so their families voluntarily give up their son/daughter if he/she are good enough to practice for the olympic program. This will bring glory to the family and probably will also bring them out of poverty.

families LINE UP to send their offspring, because their offspring would have a better life than if they stayed with the family

Yeah in the documentary the featured girl at home lived in a farmland with no electricity. When she moved to the city, she was given an apartment room to live with a roommate. It has all the modern amenities, bathroom w/ full shower & toilet, electricity, air conditioning, etc.

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: TallBill
Well they did win.

And shinerburke, while I agree that most of them look young, that picture is fucking horrible quality so it defeats itself.

Hey....it's the best I could do with a nearly lethal combination of Bushmill's and Percodan running through my veins.

Not to mention that that picture is 2 y/o, so it just goes to show that they have been cheating for years.

http://www.daylife.com/photo/0dH26ChgnZ33v