I participated in the USATF Masters Indoor National meet last weekend in Winston-Salem, NC. It was good meet for me and I will add the details of the results in another post later this week. What I want to reflect on here is the quality of people in that building. I am just so impressed with the high level of competition and caring for each other that goes on for 3 days.
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| Hug and Cry Area for Awards |
There were around 1000 competitors for the event, and with families and officials, generally 500 to 2000 people were in the building during the times the track was open. It was not completely full at JDL Fast Track, but a really good crowd.
North Carolina passed some very hateful and just plain repressive legislation a few years back concerning rest room usage and anything that did not meet the "hateful Jesus" religion that they were promoting. The NBA pushed back and moved their All Star Game location and I think this may have gotten the attention of the politicians. With that political environment in place, what was the feel of this meet going to be?? The answer is quite simple: one of the most loving and inclusive environment that will ever exist anywhere on this planet. First off, there was no security presence, no police anywhere, no metal detectors--just walk and get on with the show. You would think that without any security force around, it would not be a safe environment. Nothing could be farther than the truth. Cells phones were laying about and if you were inclined, you could have a basket full to take home.
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| Really good 800 meter race |
Nobody was waving the Southern battle flag, showing their gang colors, talking trash or belittling any group. It was quite simply, families with young babies and mature kids, track teams and individuals just having fun on the track. As I say, "let's go racing".
How far has humanity (the USA) moved to a more accepting society? I have two examples that I saw with my own eyes and those events really were the genesis of this blog. One of the members of the SoCal track team has a 5 month old daughter and she is still breast feeding and also racing in the distance events! After an 800 meter race, her daughter was hungry, so they nursed right in the stands and guess what? Nobody even showed any concern or outrage. A hungry baby had some lunch right in front of every body. The USA just struggles with this sort of thing in public. It reminded me of a visit to France when a mother was feeding her baby as she checked out in a grocery store, just normal life. This group of people were enlightened enough to accept that life really is breast feeding in public without any taboo or regrets. The second event may have not been so big a deal in Canada or Europe, but we were in NC. There is one main restroom that is very busy at all times and has 4 urinals and 4 toilets and had a very strong smell of camphor. Late in the meet it needed service and a young women was filling the towels and cleaning out the trash cans while the old timers were just coming on going as usual. No signs for closed restroom, nothing! Nobody, including the woman, gives a damn about your stupid legislation, North Carolina. I think it is a direct reflection on the quality of people and their outlook on the world-- the restroom needs towels and I need to pee-- that is not something that needs legislation to protect. By the way, Mom raced again and her daughter was still hungry and she fed her again, that is a different kind of racing shape.
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| 4 x 400 Gold team |
Mom asked for a picture of her breastfeeding to show her daughter when she is older what happened at her first National track meet. That should be a fun show and tell in a few years!
Why is this "Really Important Information"? Because I have found a group of people that care about the rest of the world. The athletes and families I raced and visited with are some of the most enlightened people as a group I have met. They are accepting of all kinds and competitors. In many types of athletic competition there is always someone that thinks that booing or being derogatory is appropriate behavior. This building was free of any of that activity. There was only cheering and encouragement during the events and a real handshake or hug after the race-- " Congrats and we made it" type of hug. Anyone was approachable and would generally give you "the time of day" if you had something to add to the conversation. I really think this is model behavior that the modern society must try to emulate or it will ultimately suffer.
I am really proud to be associated with this group of competitors and their families, hopefully it can a long and enlightening relationship.
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ReplyDeleteGlad you found other open minded people!
ReplyDelete-Betty
Masters track is truly a diverse group and it's nice to be involved in any event that promotes diversity these days. As a white person, I've observed we live in a society of division where one group has chosen a president who rode to prominence on a campaign of portraying white christian Americans as a class of persecuted victims under threat from all those who don't look and pray like they do - with him as their savior. Trump even fakes religiosity, which the gullible are more than happy to be conned into believing. Trump supporters are largely white christians who fear minorities and the loss of white male christian dominance in America. The wall is their symbol, although it won't achieve anything. Trump has exploited this fear, played his racist base like a violin ... shown so obviously in his promotion of "the caravan" story leading up to the election where the GOP was clobbered. (He stopped talking about the caravan after the election, of course). It's a desperate situation for them, they put all their eggs in one rotten basket and now that they elected a career criminal, it's killing their party because they are SO devoted. Not as smart as rats that would flee a sinking ship... they're determined to ride it to the bottom.... with the GOP being dragged down with them. Trump will undoubtedly continue to incite right wing terrorists as he goes down. The fact is, they're gullible enough to be played by 'con man Trump,' he's made a living conning people and he's deliberately inciting these pathetic people. Not the sharpest tools. They've been manipulated into believing that they're the victims and everyone is against them... the press, the justice system, US Intel, law enforcement, minorities, academia, science, etc... Trump has really brought out the worst in this white fearful strata of society. It's great to be a part of a microcosm of Masters Track, where race doesn't matter and everyone competes with the same goals and support for each other.
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