Forums >Off the Beaten Path>Lance Armstrong appears finally to have run out of rope.
Why is it sideways?
Incorrect extrapolation my friend. I said I distributed to athletes, not high school kids. You're drawing an incorrect conclusion. The circle I ran in was amongst individuals of my own age bracket. Not once did I distribute to minors. I knew of them. The kid down the street drove across the border and got "popped" upon his return...Not terribly bright on his part as his car was full of 4 young bodybuilders (these boys were quite big) and then they claimed nothing at Customs? LOL! They tore that car apart and found quite a stash. Heh.
Let's start over.
I come from a running background -- use of PEDs in track and field is ethically different from use of PEDs in body building. I think it's fair to assume that "everyone" in body building in the 80s and 90s was using, and it was accepted. I don't really pretend to know how folks view it in that community anyways because I have practically zero experience in that community.
In track and field, however, the use of PEDs is and always has been looked at as cheating. In cycling, too (even though it probably was as rampant as use in bodybuilding circles.) I have a good friend who was once a bodybuilder then a pro-level cyclist, and he has told me some stories of drug use that were crazy. They used to get high on speed and ride for hours and hours.
Anyways, I appreciate your honesty and straightforwardness, but I think that part of the difference in our attitudes towards Lance's doping comes from the difference in our competitive backgrounds and sport of interest.
I'm not naive about the use of PEDs in sport, but I don't think that the prevalence of PEDs is a good justification for use of PEDs.
Feeling the growl again
You brought illegal drugs into the country, distributed prescription medication without a medical license so that athletes could cheat, and you are surprised that someone says "you suck"?
If it had been me I would have chosen stronger language.
"All pros cheat" is an incredibly weak, unsubstatiated argument. Science was a major part of Lance's demise, if you really sought to understand what happened. That same science would indicate that not all pros cheat. Besides, it's been pretty well established in 44 pages that the fact that others are cheating is poor justification for adding to the problem.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
The Scrub
The saga continues: http://www.outsideonline.com/news-from-the-field/Lance-Armstrong-May-Admit-to-Doping-on-Oprah.html
Wait. He's going to be on Oprah?
That was so three pages ago.
The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff
2014 Goals:
Stay healthy
Enjoy life
Also, does bodybuilding operate under the rules of WADA? Im leaning towards NOT or there would be no need for "Natural" competitions that are tested.
Thought it was new news. Didn't see the link 3 pages ago. Don't mind me.
In other news, today is the day that we'll see how ignored Clemens, Bonds, and Sosa are wrt HOF. (Sosa. Heh.)
You brought illegal drugs into the country, distributed prescription medication without a medical license so that athletes could cheat, and you are surprised that someone says "you suck"? If it had been me I would have chosen stronger language.
Surprised? No. I don't believe I even implied that I was surprised, just that somebody chose to take the opportunity to attack when all I was doing was being honest. I harbor no illusions that what I did "then" was ethical...which is precisely why I chose to get out when I did. My candor in the matter does come from personal experience with athletes that included swimmers, team sports and whatnot. My approach to the whole issue is somewhat "libertarian" and who am I to judge what a person wants to do? I make every effort not to judge others for their behavior, and I used to view the world as very "black or white" while discounting situational ethics. What I find sad is that the media exploits human nature to a great degree. There's a whole science to crafting what the public takes in as "news" to obtain a goal(s). I've even fallen victim to it. There was even a time and place when I used to view Fox News as "gospel"...Yes I admit it.
Queen of 3rd Place
Yup. http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/50410208/ns/sports-baseball/
Ex runner
Prince of Fatness
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8828339/baseball-hall-fame-fails-add-new-member-2013
Not at it at all.
Well you are right, the media is adept at leveraging human nature and controlling the spin they put on events/news to push the agenda they want. Anyone who takes in any media source at face value and thinks there is not inherent bias is naive.
Regarding judging behavior, everyone is entitled to their own world view but I do judge people by their behavior and I don't feel bad about it in the least. Now when it comes to personal decisions that really affect only them, or viewpoints on things, I typically try to take a similar attitude to you and let them worry about their own lives. But ethics, while some situational nature may apply, are not endlessly fungible. Do you not judge murderers or child molesters? You probably do.
When someone opts into a set of rules that all are supposed to abide by, and advances themselves by breaking those rules, that is wrong. Period. (IMHO). This applies both inside and outside of sport. And I will think less of people like Armstrong who do that (even as a former fan...well, having been a fan probably makes me even harder on him).
When you decide to "be honest" and especially when you personalize your honesty to something you have done... in public... you kind of open the door to feedback.
Interesting reading.
"If you have the fire, run..." -John Climacus
Do you not judge murderers or child molesters? You probably do.
Judge? No. Is it easy "not" to judge sometimes? No. Have my own feelings? Yes. I used to be in favor of capitol punishment; I no longer am so. In fact, 2 months ago we were the victims of a home invasion while I was at work. My wife was severely beaten, bound, and we were robbed. You see, my wife is a MMJ grower/patient. After they tased her, beat her, bound her and drug her into our bedroom, they clearly stated "We're here for the weed!". They took everything. Now...I won't deny what went through my head, as I looked upon my wife's battered and bruised face, was anything close to resembling acceptance, but we both decided to let the police do their thing in hopes that one day they will be caught and the "rule of law" will decide what should be done to these men. Do I want to see these men held accountable for what they did to my wife? Most certainly. Is it up to me to judge them and decide what is done to them? No.
In fact this horrific event has changed me, and how I view others, in such a profound manner that I can't even explain it. I've begun reading the works of Gandhi and the Dalai Lama.
I apologize for the tangent.