Comments for Social Chat

Comment on In the Midst of Footballmania… by Alex Fricke

Alex Fricke — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:27:09 +0000

Okay well I replied to this one a month ago but it is no longer showing up so I will reiterate what I already said. I personally think that there should be some type of instant replay in every sport, but to a certain degree. I can’t stand it when the NFL replays everything within the last two minutes of the game or the half, it has honestly gotten to the point of utter ridiculousness. It makes a three hour game last nearly three and a half hours. With baseball’s strike zone I think that there should be no replay, but I think that the MLB should have review on home runs and they now do. But, I also think that they should review fair and foul balls. This because I have seen teams have their season ended basically because an umpire missed a ridiculously easy call. Overall I think it is both a blessing and a curse because yes we can watch amazing plays over again and get calls correct but they overuse it as I previously stated in the NFL.

Comment on Ten Ideas from TED by Amelia Ortiz

Amelia Ortiz — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:48:37 +0000

My favorite idea from TED would have to be STOP POLITICIANS FROM DOING STUPID THINGS THAT SPREAD HIV because drug abuse is a rampant issue in our society that at some point must be addressed in another way. Obviously the programs that are out there now are not working because there is no decrease in the amount drug abusers contracting HIV in our country. Drug abuse hits home to me because many people I know have had serious drug addictions, and it is a disease that does not care about race, social class, or level of education. This idea definitely is a slippery slope becauseI can see how some would view this as enabling people to continue to use but the more pressing issue is the reality they are going to share needles and there has to be some kind of preventative measures taken. The concern here is to find ways to stop spreading the disease and not make a horrible situation worse with someone contracting a terminal disease.
I found the ukulele idea the least appealing because I do not see the correlation. It is a cute idea but in my opinion not realistic.

Comment on Olympics? by Amelia Ortiz

Amelia Ortiz — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:29:35 +0000

I do not think we need the Olympics but it seems to be a great way to unify our world. It has become part of our norm and is more of a tradition that no one would dare break. Overall, the Olympics bring a good feeling of patriotism, which is definitely a plus for all involved. It gives the world the opportunity to acknowledge the best of the best and compete in a friendly arena. At a time of war and tragic natural disasters, the Olympics offer a relief from the reality of what is going on in the world.

Comment on Olympics? by Scott Meylink

Scott Meylink — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:33:17 +0000

I think this is a very good question in that it forces us to prioritize things individually and societally. The initial question “does our society NEED the Olympics” is very relevant. However, the follow up part of the question-suggesting the money could be spent more wisely-sounds good in theory but is a bit more problematic. I’m not so sure how much it would benefit the people of the 3rd World nations to simply clear their debt. It seems to me there are greater issues that being debt-free cannot address. I don’t believe a majority of people would say that living in a “Olympic-free world” would be significantly worse than it currently is, and I can only assume that most would agree that providing quality living conditions to those in need is not a worthy goal. Basically if we had the ability to make a swap-Olympics for a cure to 3rd World issues-I think most would sign up for that deal. What I can’t get on board with is the follow up to the original question. It seems to me to suggest there may be a “fix” to 3rd World problems but it is being held back simply due to a lack of funding. There is probably some truth to that concept, but to me it seems like some of these issues are MUCH bigger than anything “funding” can fix.

With that said, I do think the Olympics provide some very positive moments-moments greater than simply winning a given event. Are those “moments” worth the massive time, energy and money it takes to get them? Probably not, but I don’t believe those resources are being wasted either.

So after all of my rambling, I guess my answer to the original question is no, society doesn’t NEED the Olympics but yet I support their continuation until a time comes where all the resources they require can truly be better utilized-which I don’t believe is currently the case. I believe the resources do exist for drastically improving the 3rd World but they are being so poorly managed and are being used to support agendas other than to simply HELP(not just short-term) those in need.

Comment on Olympics? by Rosalinda Martinez

Rosalinda Martinez — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:49:03 +0000

I see this like an analogy. The Olympics are like the after school team sport of the world. It builds self esteem and pride on a national level. Plus, it shows we can set aside everything else and just get along once in a while.

Then, helping 3rd world poverty and disaster relief would be like the music program. We all agree it’s good, but not every school has one. Should we then trade sports for a music program? If I were Principal, I would look for a better solution; there’s money elsewhere. Yes, a lot of resources are spent on the Olympics, but I think we can find money somewhere else.

What about a national blackout? Like a moment of silence, we all fast from electricity for a day, and the money we would have spent goes to relief funds.

Or what if a major network donated the profits of Superbowl advertising time to Haiti?

Maybe McDonalds should have a “Feed the Nations” day, where all profits for a day are donated to feed starving nations?

Comment on Olympics? by Alex Fricke

Alex Fricke — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:50:56 +0000

Yes I most definitely think that our society needs the Olympics. As we can see at every Olympic games, it brings together the whole world at one large event and competition and brings about much national and world pride and most of the time it is without any type of trouble. Maybe a good idea would be to have some sorts of charity events at the Olympic games to fund organizations that will help people and nations that are in dire need of help in any type of situation whether it be natural disasters or poverty or anything else. I’m not sure but maybe they do this already? Another idea could be to include some sort of donation required or optional in the ticket price. These things sound good to me. But I think the Olympics have always brought together nations of all types, even nations that may be fighting against each other and they even stop fighting just to watch the Olympic games. There are many great things that the Olympics do.

Comment on Olympics? by Stephanie DiMaggio

Stephanie DiMaggio — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:19:09 +0000

I think that the Olympics is a very big part of our society and others. I think that it is very necessary to have it because not only does it entertain the whole world it also bring many different cultures and different groups of people together. ALso, having the Olympics creates socities where people are fighting for their own country, which brings your own country closer together. So, the Olympics is a very important thing in our society and others.

Comment on Olympics? by Carena Fassbender

Carena Fassbender — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:17:34 +0000

To be honest I don’t believe our society needs the Olympics, but I do think that they are a positive thing for the world and I don’t think it would be very easy to change the Olympics into something maybe more productive. The Olympics are a way to bring the world together, even if they are based off of competition. When tragedies strike at the olympics, everyone is there to support the victims no matter what country they are from and for the rest of the world to be able to witness this can be a great thing. I do agree that way too much money is spent on the olympics and the pressure to out do the last country int he open and closing ceremonies needs to be changed. I know that a lot of money does have to be spent regardless of amazing ceremonies because of stadiums needing to be built and places to actually play the sports need to be built but the outstanding amount spent on opening ceremonies needs to be cut! If they got rid of the olympics in hope that we could spend the money on debt, or something more helpful, I just don’t think it would happen. I think there should be something with the Olympics, where if a country spends x amount on the Olympics they have to put x amount towards something more productive for the world or for their own nation. That seems more realistic.

Comment on Olympics? by Josh Kute

Josh Kute — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:34:52 +0000

I believe our society in the United States, as well as societies across the world need the Olympics. The Olympics is a time where the world comes together, competes, hopefully in a professional manner and enjoys meeting new people, athletes and having a once in a lifetime experience. It not only unites a country together and taking pride on how your country does… but seeing people from across the world competing on the same field. All out there together. Where else can you see that without seeing people killing each other in war, or cleaning up after a natural disaster?

I believe that the money used for the Olympics is excessive but I understand why and believe that it’s okay to spend it. Olympics is an honor for the people who get to participate and are rewarded for their talent and hard work that goes into being an Olympian.

Comment on Olympics? by Larry Whitaker

Larry Whitaker — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:50:03 +0000

I would say all the countries should pool their money and synergy toward something that would help the world out. NBC spent 860 million dollars just to have exclusive coverage of the Winter Olympics and it was said that they take a 200 million dollar loss. Thats double what our federal government gave to the Haitians after their earthquake. It was also said that the Canadians spent a billion dollars on the stadiums that the winter olympics were held (The Colbert Report) that is an astounding amount of money from just one country think about all the countries participating in the Olympics with the money and manpower from just one or two Olympic events the would could take a huge bite out of the debt, and poverty going on in third world nations. Or even on their own land because the United States has a high poverty and homeless rate as well think about all the money we spend, that could go directly to the ones that need it most.