The 2024 Summer Olympics

The Olympics have always been a source of pride and inspiration, but this year's games have been marred by controversy and disappointment. From the "offensive opening ceremony" to the inclusion of a convicted sex offender, the Olympics have lost their luster.

The Paris Olympics opener seemed to shock and offend widely, and all of that was over a misinterpretation. Somehow, so many got their selves in a tissy thinking it was performed to be a depiction of a heretical desire to blaspheme a painting of the Last Supper by Da Vinci. When, in fact, it was a Bacchanalia presentation that referenced the parties of Olympus and worshipping and entertaining the gods of their pantheon. Since the Olympics originated in Greece and is named after Olympus - where their gods are supposed to reside, this made sense, but leave it to an under-educated world to entirely miss that lesson somehow.

The worst thing I've seen, is the inclusion of Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, who was sentenced to four years in prison for raping a 12-year-old girl, which is an insult to victims of sexual abuse. It sends a message that the Olympics, and its world spectators are more concerned with ratings and sports than they are protecting children.

Then there's the case of Imane Khelif, an Algerian woman who was born a woman and has always identified as a woman. She has never identified as transgender and in her country it is illegal to be transgender. Yet, she is being pressured to conform to Western standards of femininity, and is being labeled as something she is not. This is a prime example of the prejudice and discrimination that transgender people face.

The way that other people are responding to this and what they are choosing to hyper fixate on when it comes to the Olympics has also baffled me. I cannot comprehend how the world around me can be so connected to information and sharing that information, yet be so very ignorant of what is going on around them and with the Olympics themselves.

This is what makes sharing misinformation so dangerous. When you insist that you are the height of knowledge yet are completely wrong about your assessments the margin for error and what you are teaching others becomes astronomical. We each have a clear responsibility to be aware of what kind of impact we have on the day to day, but most especially how that impact will affect future generations as we are the ones presently creating history as we speak.

What happens when people continue to label a person something they are not when doing so directly jeopardizes their welfare and security?

Sadly, now the world is embroiled over a fallacy and the danger this could cause to Imane within her own country is now unprecedented - what does that say about those perpetuating this falsehood and how it correlates to the protection of people who both are and are NOT trans or intersex?

And the worst of this is, while all this occurs we are moving into 300 days of ongoing genocide in Palestine and though many have called for the Israeli team to be barred from participating - they were still allowed to because the Olympics were supposed to be a time that all differences were put aside in favor of the world sports competitions.

They even had Snoop Dogg carry the Olympic Torch and he said he felt it was ideal because he wants to unify people.

How can people be unified when Olympists are being targeted and slandered in ways that could truly cost them their lives?

The Olympics are supposed to be a celebration of human achievement, but this year's games have been anything but.

It's time for the International Olympic Committee to get its act together and start focusing on what's truly important: the athletes.

I won't be watching anything Olympics related unless or until these horrible practices and situations are addressed properly.