Is Tonya Back or Not!!
- Thread starter Dee4707
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2003
Not true.
At least in the US, the difference between a crime of passion and premeditated murder can be the difference between a prison sentance and the electric chair. Prosecuters go to great lengths to prove premediatation in order to secure a tougher sentence.
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2003
RGirl
I liked the corny line and feel it works very well when applied to Tonya Harding.
I've never jumped on the band wagon that loves to hate her. Certainly, I don't respect or condone her involvement in the Nancy Kerrigan attack at all, but I do feel sorry for her. I've really gained a new perspective working as a teacher in inner city and poor rural schools. People can say that a bad childhood is just an excuse...until you actually see what it does to a child. I've had some of the most brilliant children that struggle because they aren't given proper support. You can see them teetering on the edge...wanting naturally to try and be a part of things as they should be, but so often eventually just following the example provided by their parents. Their moral foundations and reactions to situations are far different from those from stable homes. I'm not trying to make excuses for Tonya, but you must consider her background and upbringing when judging her. She's done so much that is wonderful and that was far beyond anyone's expectations (her National title and World silver), but she's also done other things that have branded her as an outcast (the Kerrigan attack, the domestic disturbances, etc.). She's teetering on the edge now as an adult, trying so hard to do what is right....but always her bleak and unproductive upbringing plagues her. Many will say that there are so many that have overcome bad childhoods, but I tend to classify those people as extraordinary. Tonya isn't extraordinary, she's just ordinary. And, she's trying to get on with her life. I say give her a break and quit playing the "love to hate" game. I'm with Cianni....I choose not to judge her. Who can say they could have been a better Tonya Harding?
I liked the corny line and feel it works very well when applied to Tonya Harding.
I've never jumped on the band wagon that loves to hate her. Certainly, I don't respect or condone her involvement in the Nancy Kerrigan attack at all, but I do feel sorry for her. I've really gained a new perspective working as a teacher in inner city and poor rural schools. People can say that a bad childhood is just an excuse...until you actually see what it does to a child. I've had some of the most brilliant children that struggle because they aren't given proper support. You can see them teetering on the edge...wanting naturally to try and be a part of things as they should be, but so often eventually just following the example provided by their parents. Their moral foundations and reactions to situations are far different from those from stable homes. I'm not trying to make excuses for Tonya, but you must consider her background and upbringing when judging her. She's done so much that is wonderful and that was far beyond anyone's expectations (her National title and World silver), but she's also done other things that have branded her as an outcast (the Kerrigan attack, the domestic disturbances, etc.). She's teetering on the edge now as an adult, trying so hard to do what is right....but always her bleak and unproductive upbringing plagues her. Many will say that there are so many that have overcome bad childhoods, but I tend to classify those people as extraordinary. Tonya isn't extraordinary, she's just ordinary. And, she's trying to get on with her life. I say give her a break and quit playing the "love to hate" game. I'm with Cianni....I choose not to judge her. Who can say they could have been a better Tonya Harding?
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2003
ITA Bronzegolden, and citing Kwan and Galindo as proof of rags to riches just does not apply to everyone. Inner city kids have their own set of rules and keeping up with their peers in that social setting is not easy when the kid wants OUT.
I feel for Tonya but a bad bad thing happened which she may well have been a part of. It was a case where she had to prove her innocence more than the authorities had to prove her guilt. Does anyone think her father would pay for a top lawyer?
Joe
I feel for Tonya but a bad bad thing happened which she may well have been a part of. It was a case where she had to prove her innocence more than the authorities had to prove her guilt. Does anyone think her father would pay for a top lawyer?
Joe
Tonya - continued
Some have mentioned a double-standard for men and women in sports when it comes to questionable and/or bad behavior.
When the subject of corrupt judging was raised during the 2002 Olympics, I recall Dick Button made some interesting remarks. He talked about a skating judge that was found to be unethical in judging. What was the punishment? IIRC, just a suspension for a year or so, and the judge was back skating. May even have been a judge at the 2002 Olympics.
Dick Button commented on how harsh, in comparison, the punishment that Tonya Harding was given. It was okay for a judge to be corrupt - just a slap on the hands and he or she is back judging again in a season or two.
But gosh, Tonya Harding, and she's banned forever. And banned from professional skating as well.
For all those who enjoy her antics and make comments about hub caps and brawls, I'd like to suggest this: The ONLY thing that Tonya knew how to do professionally was skate. Was she involved in the whole Nancy debacle? Sure looks like it.
But let's make the punishment fit the crime.
Was it fair to ban her forever?
I don't think so.
She didn't have a solid family to fall back on. She didn't have education. She didn't have economic resources.
She was a skater.
Period.
Personally, I wish she would have been allowed to skate again in certain venues. Goodness, it's been ten years. Can't we give her a little room to breathe?
I still recall her triumphant 1991 Nationals when she nailed the triple axel and that huge grin on her face.
She was something.
Christine
Some have mentioned a double-standard for men and women in sports when it comes to questionable and/or bad behavior.
When the subject of corrupt judging was raised during the 2002 Olympics, I recall Dick Button made some interesting remarks. He talked about a skating judge that was found to be unethical in judging. What was the punishment? IIRC, just a suspension for a year or so, and the judge was back skating. May even have been a judge at the 2002 Olympics.
Dick Button commented on how harsh, in comparison, the punishment that Tonya Harding was given. It was okay for a judge to be corrupt - just a slap on the hands and he or she is back judging again in a season or two.
But gosh, Tonya Harding, and she's banned forever. And banned from professional skating as well.
For all those who enjoy her antics and make comments about hub caps and brawls, I'd like to suggest this: The ONLY thing that Tonya knew how to do professionally was skate. Was she involved in the whole Nancy debacle? Sure looks like it.
But let's make the punishment fit the crime.
Was it fair to ban her forever?
I don't think so.
She didn't have a solid family to fall back on. She didn't have education. She didn't have economic resources.
She was a skater.
Period.
Personally, I wish she would have been allowed to skate again in certain venues. Goodness, it's been ten years. Can't we give her a little room to breathe?
I still recall her triumphant 1991 Nationals when she nailed the triple axel and that huge grin on her face.
She was something.
Christine
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2003
that wasn't the USFSA's fault. That was Tonya's... everyone keeps blaming other people for her problems... whether her family life sucked or not she DID grow up to be an adult... therefore TONYA was the one that didn't go and get education fit for something else. So what if she was a skater first and a human being second, she should still live up to "man's rules".
And she's not banned from skating in pro shows... it's just no one wants to skate with her. And very few want to see Tonya the hasbeen... sure if she owned up to her life and not blamed everyone else... maybe she wouldn't have the problems she has now... I don't know
what I do know is, all of us blaming other people for her problems is not helping her at all...
My point was that Dick Button argued that the ban from figure skating was much more harsh on her than it was on judges who were caught openly cheating!!
I'm asking for some compassion for her. I'm not trying to put the blame elsewhere at all. Far from it. Just saying that she didn't have many options left when this ban came down. Some of us would have families from whom to draw nurturance and guidance. Some of us would have had money for education. Skating was all she knew. And she was quite a skater!!
And I DO believe that the USFSA's ruling DID limit professional involvement, didn't it? She was not allowed to be in any USFSA sanctioned amateur or professional events.
I would argue that the judges who conspired together to mark certain skaters favorably or otherwise deserve a much harsher consequence than a one-year suspension. Such 'judging' does far more harm to the sport, in general, than Tonya's cover-up. It is the 'judging' that 'cause folks to look askance at the sport and even question, then, whether it is a sport.
A one year slap on the wrist and ban from judging, then welcomed back with open arms is what happens for judges.
For Tonya, a lifetime ban.
Seems rather disproportionate.
IIRC, that was Dick Button's view also.
Kindness. Compassion. Grace.
I'm asking for some compassion for her. I'm not trying to put the blame elsewhere at all. Far from it. Just saying that she didn't have many options left when this ban came down. Some of us would have families from whom to draw nurturance and guidance. Some of us would have had money for education. Skating was all she knew. And she was quite a skater!!
And I DO believe that the USFSA's ruling DID limit professional involvement, didn't it? She was not allowed to be in any USFSA sanctioned amateur or professional events.
I would argue that the judges who conspired together to mark certain skaters favorably or otherwise deserve a much harsher consequence than a one-year suspension. Such 'judging' does far more harm to the sport, in general, than Tonya's cover-up. It is the 'judging' that 'cause folks to look askance at the sport and even question, then, whether it is a sport.
A one year slap on the wrist and ban from judging, then welcomed back with open arms is what happens for judges.
For Tonya, a lifetime ban.
Seems rather disproportionate.
IIRC, that was Dick Button's view also.
Kindness. Compassion. Grace.
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
I don't remember if I have posted on this subject before. When you are belittled to the nth you have no respect for yourself. You have no way of knowing how to think. (Unless you like corporal punishment.) It has all been taken from you. You aren't allowed to say anything or make any decisions. Most children have been brought up to think for themselves and that they have worth. You have such an inferiority complex that it is really hard to get along in the world. Some of us take different ways of handling it. Luckily, I never was mean or thought the world owed me anything. And when you have 6 younger brothers and sisters that are treated the same way you do nothing but fight and scream all the time. After all, that is the way you were raised!
Instead of criticizing someone like that, how about a little empathy?
Instead of criticizing someone like that, how about a little empathy?
Similar threads
