PUBLIC NUISANCES: Designer Slits/Death of a Champion
Tyrrell, R. Emmett Jr.
7 8 T H E A M E R I C A N S P E C T A T O R N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 7 Designer Slits WASHINGTON OR MONTHS NOW, stuffy old London has been all jittersaboutanewcrazeinwoman'sfashion,the niqab....
...But once the event is about to start, a calmness settles over him...
...He died at 71, but he died after overcoming a lifeofhighbloodpressuresinceyouthandcardiovascular problems...
...It is because--as I have been saying for years-modern liberalism no longer produces such liberal paragons, just hustlers and the Clintons...
...Six days before his event the 6'4" athlete, who weighed nearly 300 pounds,hadfallenonawetpavementandtornribcartilage on his throwing side while also damaging his neck.Teamdoctorsadvisedhimnottocompeteandto lay off for six weeks...
...In 1964 O'Brien finished fourth.Bothoftheseathleteswereinnovatorsintheir events and legendary competitors, without displaying the guff we often see today...
...The heavy black garment is generally worn only by British Muslims, though possibly non-Muslim Britishladiesarealsowearingniqabs.Howwouldone know...
...He competed until 1987, after reaching the finals in the Olympictrialsof1984attheageof47.Whenhequithe observed, "The drug culture had taken over...
...So possibly I am wrong...
...It is my hope that the British authoritieswillbantheniqabandreturntoacelebration of the miniskirt...
...I suspect the "drug culture" is a concomitant of thebigmoneythathasbeeninjectedintosportsatthe highest level today...
...Two slits, somewhat reminiscent of the slits in armored personnel carriers, allow the ladies to see out...
...Even their arms are covered...
...He's nervous before the meet...
...The response of Western democracies to the excesses of fundamentalist Islam has transcendedtheabsurdandheadedintouncharteredcoursesof preposterosity...
...7 8 T H E A M E R I C A N S P E C T A T O R N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 7 Designer Slits WASHINGTON OR MONTHS NOW, stuffy old London has been all jittersaboutanewcrazeinwoman'sfashion,the niqab...
...He also was often afflicted with injuries in competition, injuries that he usually overcame, often heroically...
...No one knows what is going on under a nearby niqab...
...You can be sure that American liberals would go along with the recent fatwa of the Egyptian cleric Ezzat Attiya...
...R .E M M E T TT Y R R E L L ,J R . N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 7 T H E A M E R I C A N S P E C T A T O R 7 9...
...Endeavoring to allow unmarried men and women to work together in a modern workplace, the Rev...
...HaroldConnolly,anotherOlympicgoldmedalist from Oerter's era--Connolly was a hammer thrower--esteemedOerter"thegreatestfield-eventathlete of the century...
...His response was, "These are the Olympics.Youdiebeforeyouquit...
...Possibly our liberals will allow American Muslims to don flowing robes and masks,atleastduringacrossburningatFridayprayers...
...Only recently did authorities in Minneapolis act against Muslim taxi drivers who booted passengers from their vehicles ratherthanallowtheinfidelstostopoffatalocalliquor storetopickupsomefirewater...
...Calculatingthathe couldonlythrowinfiveoftheallowedsixeffortshelet fly with a tremendous heave on his last effort sending the discus far enough to beat his great Czech rival, Ludvik Danek...
...That's their life...
...Another who passed away recently was shot-putter Parry O'Brien, winner of two consecutive Olympic golds and in his third attempt in 1960 a bronze...
...I'm happy that I had a normal life, with a career and family...
...Thus the male worker who nursed from his colleague would not be suspected of coveting her or having any sort of adulterous relationship whatsoever...
...True, the Klanspersons' robeswerewhite,butthatisaminordetail.Thefactis that,owingtotheKlansmen'scontroversialviewsand tendency towards extreme mayhem, we Americans banned most of their behavior long ago, including cross burning...
...It is a black gown that covers the ladies from head to toe...
...Why is a modern Eleanor RooseveltorBertrandRussellnotstandingherewith me...
...Perhaps they could even engage in ballroomdancingafterhours.P U B L I CN U I S A N C E S FR . E m m e t t T y r r e l l , J r . Ifallthissoundsfaintlyabsurd,thathasbeenmy intention...
...His first two golds were the easy product of a prodigiouslygiftedyoungathlete,butin1964and1968his feats amazed...
...There are no openings for the nostrils...
...There's a magic about him when he's competing...
...That makes a person whole...
...Well, whatever he did it would always be by the book...
...I personally admire a woman who has nothing to hide...
...And Lewis, though one of the greatest athletes of his era, competed in a different era, an era after the Olympic ideal of amateur sporthadbeenmaculatedbyprofessionalsportscontracts...
...The other athletes see it, and it intimidates them...
...The niqab was originally devised as an attempt at modestymeanttomollifytheraginglibidoofMuslim males,butnowitiscausingtroubleinBritainwhereagentleman'slibidoisnotsoproblematic.Throughout therestofEuropetheniqabhasalreadybeenbanned, and the French have even banned the hajib (pronounced Ha-cgsd), which only covers a woman's hair, somewhat like a babushka...
...Attiya ruled that if the men breastfed from their female co-workers working together would be A-OK...
...ThepureamateurismoftheOlympicswasa19thcenturyliberalideal.Ihavealwayswonderedhowthe liberalscouldallowthisidealtofallvictimtothemercenary impulse...
...They watch him, and they are afraid of what he might do...
...I wonder how American Muslims would be treatediftheyadoptedthepracticeofcrossburning.Actually, for some Muslim fundamentalists, cross burning wouldbeoneoftheirmoremoderatereligiousexpressions.Americanliberalsaretakinganincreasinglytolerant view of Muslim pietism...
...There is in our free societies abundantprecedentforlimitingprovocativebehavior.Unfortunately,manyofourliberalsaresusceptibletothe complaintsofthosewhohateus.Theyweresusceptible to Communists and in the 1930s they were even susceptible to Nazis...
...Death of a Champion WASHINGTON THE DEATH LAST MONTH of Al Oerter, four-time Olympic gold medalist in the discus throw, prompts some thoughts on the great generationof field-eventathletesthatisnowpassing.Oerter is the only Olympian to win four gold medals in his event(1956,1960,1964,1968)withanOlympicrecord everytime.Sprinterandlong-jumperCarlLewiswon golds in four straight Olympics but he did not set Olympic records in each win...
...That is the problem, according to British authorities...
...Breastfeeding, according to Islamic law, establishes a maternal relationship...
...Some months ago, the Labour Party politician Jack Straw barred niqabwearing women from his offices, even if they were wearing Chanel No...
...In Oerter's day there was no money in amateur sport, but there were plenty of great athletes and not coincidentally great characters...
...What happened to the rest of it...
...For that matter, how would one know if there weremorethanonewomanunderapassingniqab,or perhaps a man, or two women and a goat...
...5 and whistling "God Save the Queen...
...It was one of the ideals that they got right, and I have not heard a peep of protest from them as the Giant Corporations and the super patriotssubvertedthatideal.Well,hereIstandwavingthe banner of amateurism...
...I doubt the niqab will become popular in America, where it would doubtless bring to mind the flowing robes and masked headdresses of the longdiscredited Ku Klux Klan...
...After visiting an Olympic training facility in the 1990s, Oerter rendered his judgment of the professionalism that has subverted the amateurism of his day.AccordingtotheNewYorkTimes,helamented,"I saw these athletes in their 30s training full time...
...Both times he was injured, and in 1964 the injuries were appalling...
...According to my research, the niqab (pronounced Ni-&+(c)) is a relatively new fashion trend among Muslim women, dating back only 600 years...
...By the time Oerter's discus landed he wasconvulsedinagony...
...Frankly,Iwouldthinkthatreligiouslystrictmullahsalsowouldbealarmed.Therecouldbeamanand a woman illicitly cohabiting under a nearby niqab, or just a rude woman sticking her tongue out at every mullah in the vicinity...
...Before that, the ladies wore relatively primitive garb...
...Compared to a miniskirt or a thong,aniqabisactuallyquitesubversive.Thatisthe view of British authorities...
...With its passing has gone the love of sport for its own sake, the sheer fun of competition...
...They were also lifelong athletes who exemplified the athlete's highest ideals:character,competitiveness,health.Onthislast point Oerter's experience might not be totally convincing...
...The Olympic ideal of amateurism is long dead...
...He doesn't eat well and his hands shake...
...How theladiesbreathisamystery.Perhapstheycarryoxygen packs...
Vol. 40 • November 2007 • No. 9
