I love the Olympics, unabashedly. I commandeer the tv, I watch about 8 times as much tv as usual, I learn the names of participants in sports I will never come near
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It's still kind of odd to me to see kids here in California playing hockey, b/c of course, they can *never* just go down to the local park's rink all winter to practice - I wonder if hockey is cheaper on average north of the 47th parallel or whatever. Gene and I were commenting on the demographics too - winter sports are pretty much 'rich people sports', with the possible exception of cross country skiing, provided you live where there is reliable snow.
I've been thinking about race a lot this Olympics. And class certainly plays a role in the whole thing.
However, I suspect the major reason most Winter Olympics athletes (and the children who want to grow up to be them) are white is that, for the most part, people in cold climates are white. There are plenty of Summer Olympics athletes from all over the world who are not white, and it costs a lot of money to train for many summer events too.
As cold-climate countries get more racially diverse, I expect we'll see more racial diversity in the Winter Olympics. But I look at my students and see that the ones from Somalia and Ethiopia and Colombia are for the most part not going to start their kids on skis or skates at age 5, even if they have the money. Their kids are, however, playing soccer, cycling, and running. There's generations of cultural tradition working to shape people's choices, in addition to the economic aspect.
My trumpet was over $2000, used, in 1990 dollars. That was the third trumpet they bought me. My lessons were $45 a pop (when not with Donna, who taught me only as long as I earned it with practice and accepted no other payment). My orchestra tuition was $500 a year, I think. Summer camp was another $300. All actual prices in the early/mid 90s.
And I was a trumpeter. The cellists, string bass players, tuba players and harpists had it much worse.
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However, I suspect the major reason most Winter Olympics athletes (and the children who want to grow up to be them) are white is that, for the most part, people in cold climates are white. There are plenty of Summer Olympics athletes from all over the world who are not white, and it costs a lot of money to train for many summer events too.
As cold-climate countries get more racially diverse, I expect we'll see more racial diversity in the Winter Olympics. But I look at my students and see that the ones from Somalia and Ethiopia and Colombia are for the most part not going to start their kids on skis or skates at age 5, even if they have the money. Their kids are, however, playing soccer, cycling, and running. There's generations of cultural tradition working to shape people's choices, in addition to the economic aspect.
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And I was a trumpeter. The cellists, string bass players, tuba players and harpists had it much worse.
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