I have had other things on the mind instead of the Olympics this year. I am thrilled for the athletes, I think that this is an amazing achievement to be able to compete at Olympic level. I was incredibly proud to wake up and hear that Wayde van Niekerk had won South Africa’s first gold medal at Rio2016.
But I was pissed when I read an opinion piece that included views that Caster Semenya, was not a woman and should not be able to compete in her events. Caster Semenya has been through hell and back, the way in which she was treated by the world wide media and publicly submitted to all kinds of gender testing was nothing short of despicable.
So, I come to vent, and to reveal bits of my psyche to you. The first Olympic games that I remember were the 1992 Games where South Africa was not yet able to formally compete, just entering the global arena and trying to navigate into a post-apartheid society.
I remember Elana Meyer running under the South African Olympic Committee’s flag, and I remember Freddie Mercury singing Barcelona. My parent’s also bought a commemorative CD (they had just come onto the market at that stage). At 8 years old, the music resonated with me, especially the lyrics of the first track, entitled “Forever Part of Me”, by Ar Be Em.
They are looking for a photo opportunity
An instant one off media event
Five seconds on the news,
A chat show for your views,
Watch out! They’re looking for you now.
They think that you shouldn’t ever show emotion,
Have a personal computer for a brain,
But once you have given them your trust,
Your reputation turns to dust.
Watch out! They are looking for you now.
But I don’t care, if you come nowhere.
No, I don’t mind, if you are left behind.
So long you face the test,
So long you do your best,
You’ll always be forever part of me.
They want your tears, it gives them stimulation.
Like a child, they just refuse to do without.
To gratify their need, to satisfy their greed.
Watch out! They are looking for you now!
They are waiting for a major confrontation,
But a simple private tragedy will do.
The vultures at the beast,
They are waiting for the feast.
Watch out! They are looking for you now!
But I don’t care, if you come nowhere.
No, I don’t mind, if you are left behind.
So long you face the test,
So long you do your best,
You’ll always be forever part of me.
The Olympics have a level of magic for me, and this song has always carried the meaning of the Olympics for me. Once upon I took it as an insult to be compared to my mother, now I take it as a compliment to take on her optimism, and so to all of the South African athletes, I am proud of you. So perhaps, tomorrow I will end up watching some Olympics tomorrow after all.
Love and Olympics,
Trisha