Tuesday, February 27, 2018

The Eternal Lure of Nationalism

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In a surprise overtime victory in the finals of the Olympic men’s hockey tournament, the Russians defeated Germany, 4-3.

But the Russians were not permitted to have their national anthem played or flag raised, due to a past doping scandal. So, the team ignored the prohibition and sang out the Russian national anthem over the sounds of the Olympic anthem.

One recalls the scene in “Casablanca,” where French patrons of Rick’s saloon stood and loudly sang the “La Marseillaise” to drown out the “Die Wacht am Rhein” being sung by a table of German officers.

3 comments:

  1. Good for the Russians. Innocent, hard-working athletes have all their dreams dashed to the ground simply for PETTY geo-political jealousies.

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  2. Russians are proud of their country. It was silly to expect them not to be patriotic. The whole OAR, Olympic Athletes of Russia, thing was a joke. They should have either been banned entirely, or those who were clean should have been allowed to represent Russia. The compromise solution with was ludicrous.

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    Replies
    1. The compromise solution with was ludicrous.

      As is most these days.

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