Thank you!
I have just read all the comments and it was a very interesting read, with lot´s of very good viewpoints and most of the members, also understood where I was coming from and they also pointed out that there is something good with constant availability, like with the replies by Mrs. P or Lysambre.
So I want to thank everyone for the participation so far and yes, it is indeed good to open up the markets for figure skating and it might help to get some new blood into the sport and I would certainly like to read more about the history of GS, so if MM or Doris might want to share something, I would really appreciate this.
I also had to laugh a bit, when I saw this
Second, you're 'worries' about constant available content I have heard like thousand times, mostly from, forgive me, old people who have a general mistrust towards everything new, especially in technologies.
I did not expect that my OP would come over as a post of an old man
, as actually I am still quite young - but you have a point nonetheless and yes, I am indeed very critical with the whole social media hype, that kids go through these days.
What I see as an issue is the incredible loss of privacy and what these companies will do with our data. They know everything about us and they can and will use it against us. FB as for example or Google - it´s just a strange feeling and it makes people vulnerable to attacks, as we saw recently with that girl in the US that killed herself, after she was bullied in the web.
But it also means that the positivity is also there for all to see.
Negativity might seem louder, but in fact, it isn't.
This is a very good point and I think one that I did not factor in before. If a skater has a terrible day, then she or he, might be sad and a nice comment at FB could change this. That being said...
The challenge is that negative comments have more impact...
Whether as manager/supervisors or parents, we are advised by the psychological specialists that it takes many times more positive comments to equal the weight of a negative one.
But how a critique is delivered makes a big difference too...more specific, neutral and constructive means more likely to be heard and accepted...
What I find very destructive is the amount of put someone down to prop up someone I like type of commentary. ....But it's an all too common attitude and reaction to competition throughout society, and has been for some time.
this is also how I feel. The positive while there, can have a hard fight vs. toxicity as we saw at the last GP event. While Evgenia is loved by millions and people appreciate her efforts and programs, a few evil comments, were able to completely turn the tide and in the end, we only discussed those and not the positive words that were also present like of Mathman, who gave the perfect reply in my opinion. It seems like negative comments, have a very big weight and drag us down much more, than something positive.
OP doesn't like that people are saying mean things about the figure skaters he likes.
He suggests taking figure skating away, because then people wouldn't say anything at all about figure skaters.
A relevant English expression: cutting off one's nose to spite one's face.
This user here, sadly did not understand my OP, which might be due the fact that I am not a native...
Anyways,
the point of my thread was, that the constant availability of things, impacts how we appreciate them. If something is always there, then it stops being special. Why are people unhappy who have 100 million dollars and why do they often suffer under depressions and might even commit suicide? A very common problem at Hollywood and the music industry.
Wouldn´t we think, that someone with so much money and success, would have the best life as he or she can buy everything and never has to worry about a place to sleep, food... Why do we throw good food away, even though we could still sell or eat it? At Africa, people die of hunger, they would appreciate each single one and we who have so much (speaking from EU), just throw it away, because the cucumbers did not grow straight or the tomatoes might be too big or small.
And this is also what I was referring to in FS. We have so much access, that we might forget at times to appreciate what we have, like with the constant discussions about skating missing this or that, while being over critical with everything skaters say, do or show.
I actually liked the comment of Mrs. P, where she noted that it actually helps her to appreciate skaters more, as she has time to really study their skates. It all has two sides and it was very good to see that other side, pointed out so well by many replies.
It was a pleasure reading and I agree with what "largeman" said, it gives back that community feeling, as it´s a heated topic, but people behaved and were friendly, expressing their thoughts, without being rude and the different viewpoints, were explained very well, so thanks everyone for that!
P.S.
No, I do not have a problem if someone "doesn´t like" my skaters, as I do not have a "my" skaters. At Worlds, I was happy for Ashley, Anna and Evgenia and would be so for each other medal contender, as it does not matter to me, who wins and the same it is with each GP event. I enjoy the skaters much more than the actual results, it is a great joy to see them grow up and perform (something another user also noted) and I just dislike bullies, who pick on skaters all the time to make them look bad.
It annoys me that people who never landed a triple Lutz, never actually competed in sports, always trash talk about athletes and this is not only a problem at FS, but in any sport. Couch potatoes should hold their horses, unless they can do better than those they criticize.
Ok, I'll ask: why?
