Bigotry is Bigotry No Matter What the Justification

I have been following this year's Olympic games, and one of the best stories is the achievement by double-amputee Oscar Pistorius of South Africa to run in the 400 meters semifinals. A tremendous amount of hard work and perseverance went into his goal of being in the "regular" Olympic games.

"Unfair advantage"? Oh, please. Critics have been watching too many sci-fi movies. It has to be very painful for Oscar to run on those "blades," at least as risky to run on those as "able-bodied" runners running on their own legs. If not painful, the blades are inherently a disadvantage up against "regular" athletes.

Of course Oscar didn't win; in fact, he finished last in the semis. It didn't end there:

"The Blade Runner" then further shocked the world by making last night’s semi-finals. Particularly remarkable is that even though the IAAF set a tone that the track and field community should be suspicious and resentful of Pistorius, the other athletes saw his accomplishment as something to celebrate. The winner of the semi-final race, Kirani James of Grenada, didn’t rejoice in his own victory in the immediate aftermath, but made a bee-line for Pistorius who came in last. They then in full view of the world, exchanged those paper-sized identification placards known as racing bibs, that are pinned to the front of their outfits. It was the ultimate show of camaraderie and respect

As James told reporters, "My hat's off to him, just coming out here and competing. I just see him as another athlete, another competitor. What's more important is I see him as another person. He's someone I admire and respect."

Take that, you bigots toward the disabled.