Spoilt and Entitled

[menthe]

I don't like to criticise athletes at the Olympics and certainly I must say that I have huge admiration for their achievements.

But I see that some of those taking part have been critising everything from their accommodation to their food.  To be fair, most of those grousing about conditions are from well-off, "comfortable" countries.  I am thinking, for example, of Coco Gauff (American tennis player) who complained about the beds being made of cardboard and the food being inedible.  She isn't the only one.  Some Brits were complaining too.

So the food isn't the same as what your mother or your country would provide but I feel very much like saying, go to Gaza or anywhere else of at least a dozen countries and see what you'd get to eat.  As for the beds, what's wrong with cardboard?  I daresay they'd have to be discarded after the games and at least they are recyclable.

In fact, I don't have to go as extreme as Gaza or Lebanonon, go on the Compostelle and sleep in those beds full of bed bugs, in a dormitroy of next to about 40 (or more) people of both (or more sexes), smell the sweat and grime, queue for loos and showers used by dozens of others, eat "pilgrim's stew" most days and meet the long-suffering and indefatigable hospitaliers who do their best to clean up after one lot of pilgrims have left and another lot expected within hours and do it all for practically no reward except for the gratitude of pilgrims and, I suppose, the "good of their souls".

[DaveLister]

Quote:

The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games aim to be the most sustainable in history, with a robust action plan focused on reducing carbon emissions, waste, and single-use plastics. Key targets include:

• Carbon emissions: Limit emissions to 1.58 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent, with a goal to halve emissions compared to previous events.
• Food sustainability: Source 80% of ingredients locally, reducing “food miles” and transport emissions. Offer 60% plant-based foods to spectators and aim to halve the carbon footprint of meals (2 kg CO2 per meal) through local sourcing and reduced transport.
• Waste reduction: Achieve zero food waste through sustainable catering practices.
• Single-use plastics: Halve the amount of single-use plastic used during the Games, with a focus on reusing drinking bottles and building drinking water fountains. The goal is to reuse these fountains beyond the Games, benefiting the city in the long term.
• Offsetting emissions: Offset more CO2 emissions than the Games will generate, demonstrating a commitment to taking responsibility for the event’s climate impact.

These ambitious sustainability goals reflect the organizers’ acknowledgment that there are tradeoffs in reducing emissions, and that preserving the environment requires careful consideration of multiple factors. By setting a high bar for sustainability, the Paris 2024 Games aim to inspire a new model for environmentally responsible large-scale events.

 

It wasn't as if they weren't told. I remember a news item on the beds months ago.

[menthe]

I've seen pictures of the beds.  They look perfectly comfortable to me.  It's not as though they are all given a cardboard box placed on the ground is it?  Many homeless people would be glad of a nice, robust box.

[menthe]

What is it about these "celebs"?  What is it about these tennis players?  What is it about these American tennis players?  What is it about these American ladies tennis players?  First Coco Gauff and now Serena Williams, though admittedly the latter is an ex tennis player.

I could go on but I'm just being deliberately provocative and maybe rubbing someone up the wrong way.

There is a story this morning about Serena Williams rocking up with child in tow at a seriously swanky resto in Paris and demanding a roof-top table.  On being told that all their tables were booked, SW then posted on social media, naming the resto, showing a photo of it and complaining vociferously!!!

Imagine being that spoilt and entitled and, instead of being ashamed, actually wishing the whole social media world to know???

How much more embarrassing can one get?

[menthe]

BTW, just in case someone doesn't get the mock exasperation, this ISN'T about negativity towards tennis players, ladies or men, definitely not towards Americans or particularly condemning a whole class of people, just a light-hearted post on a dull morning.

Also I have noticed that there were times when I had gone to a resto without reserving beforehand and been sometimes told that they had no available table.  Didn't make a fuss and certainly wouldn't have posted it anywhere!