A continuation of Part 3; https://watchitdie.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/the-2018-winter-para-olympic-opening_12.html
Opening Speeches:
It is protocol that each Opening Ceremony includes a sequence for opening speeches. These are given by the head of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the head of the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) of the host nations.
In this ceremony the first speech was given by the head of the RoK's NPC. A man named Lee Hee-beom.
However the way the South Korean stadium announcer pronounced this name made it sound like; "Lee Ki-bum." As in; "Leaky Bum." The sort of thing a diarrhoea sufferer would experience.
One of the themes of the Olympic Closing Ceremony was the things that are common to all humans. For example that wherever you go in the World elementary school aged children are considered adorable.
Another example is jokes about bodily functions. Wherever you go in the World jokes about bodily functions are considered hilarious.
Lee Hee-beom began his speech with a quick history to the Para-Olympics.
The Para-Olympics began in Britain at the Stoke-Manderville hospital. There Dr Ludwig Guttmann was treating British soldiers who had suffered severe impairments during the Second World War. Such as partial paralysis and amputations.
Dr Guttmann used sport to rehabilitate these men by showing them they could still achieve and participate in life despite their injuries.
The history of the Para-Olympics of course touches on the Korean Peninsula's own troubled history prior to, during and after the Second World War. Without making too big an issue of it.
The first Para-Olympics took place in Britain coinciding with the 1948 Summer Olympics held in London. 2018 is obviously the 70th anniversary of those first games. This is why the UK feels it deserves an oversized role in the Para-Olympics
Although the first Para-Olympics were held alongside an Olympics the organisation of the events then quickly diverged.
The "Para" is Para-Olympics does not mean; "Paralysed" or; "Paraplegic." It means "Parallel."
It used to be that you would have an Olympics in one year in one particular country. Then you would have the Para-Olympics in a different year in a completely different country. The two sets of games would continue on their respective tracks never meeting.
This changed at the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul in the RoK. Here the South Korean hosts brought the Olympics and the Para-Olympics together on an equal footing.
That is why the UK views the RoK are something of a threat to its dominance of the political aspects of the Para-Olympics.
This history of the Para-Olympics also established the main theme of Lee Hee-beom's speech. The transformative power of the of the games. This year the RoK is making a big effort to make sure there is little or no distinction between the Olympics and the Para-Olympics.
As an example of the transformative power of the games Lee Hee-beom cited Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.
This seemed a little dig at the summer sports which we all know are far inferior to the winter sports. After all without the Olympics Usain Bolt is just a man who can run really fast in a straight line for 100m.
Winter or summer it's clear that Para-Olympic sports are superior to Olympic sports.
For example Olympic skiers hurtle down a mountain at speeds of around 100km/h. Visually Impaired Para-Olympic skiers hurtle down a mountain at speeds of around 100km/h. While being completely unable to see where they are going.
At the 2014 Winter Para-Olympics there was something of an amusing moment. Poor visibility meant that the Sit-Ski events had to be cancelled for safety reasons. The Visually Impaired Skiers just carried on because that level of danger is normal for them.
The Para-Olympics also involve another form of transformation. The way in which equipment and techniques are used to overcome physical impairments.
As an example of this transformative power Lee Hee-beom cited the American Helen Keller.
Helen Keller was born deaf, blind and mute. The impairment in those senses were overcome using the sense of touch. Helen Keller was taught to write and communicate by using a finger to form the shape of the letters on the palm of the hand. Fiercely intelligent Helen Keller went on to become the first deaf and blind person to earn a university degree.
Lee Hee-beom also cited British Physicist Stephen Hawking.
At the time of the speech Stephen Hawking famously suffered from the degenerative condition Motor Neurone Disease (MND) sometimes known as; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's disease. This though did not stop him becoming one of the greatest scientific minds of possibly all generations.
Hawking's MND robbed him of the power of speech. However using a computer synthesiser this did not stop him acting as the narrator of the 2012 Summer Para-Olympic Opening Ceremony. Held in the UK, birthplace of the Para-Olympics.
By an amazing coincidence Stephen Hawking died today. On other famous Physicist Albert Einstein's birthday.
A day known in the US where they don't know how to write dates as; "Pi Day." It is a celebration of the mathematical constant Pi - the short version of which is written as 3.14.
As a result this small reference has become a much wider reflection of Stephen Hawking's entire life.
The 2012 Opening Ceremony touched on the Unified Quantum Field Theory. Something the South Korean ceremonies have explored extensively. Particularly as it related to the Taoist concept of the Wu Xing.
Quantum Field Theory posits that everything in the universe exists within a web of field of tiny, sub-atomic particles.
String Theory which is referenced in the sequence of this ceremony which features the giant upon whose shoulders Isaac Newton stood posits that these sub-atomic particles exists ordered into chains rather like strings or threats in a blanket.
However these sub-atomic particles are modelled an action in one part of the field will cause a hard to predict outcome in another part of the field.
Therefore it is theoretically possible that all this talk about Stephen Hawking and his work caused Stephen Hawking's death.
In much the same way it is theoretically possible that everyone humming star of the 2012 Para-Olympic Closing Ceremony Rihanna's song; "Umbrella" caused it to rain throughout the summer of 2007.
Taoists do not consider this to be a new belief. They see it as similar to the idea of the Wu Xing. Essentially elements existing in cooperation with each other constantly seeking balance.
One of the few people on the planet who could properly discuss any potential link between Quantum Physics and the Wu Xing was Stephen Hawking.
Stephen Hawking's very obvious physical impairments have, from time to time, made him a talking point about disability rights and healthcare.
One on the big talking points in this area at the 2016 Summer Para-Olympics was the issue of euthanasia or assisted dying. Belgian Silver medallist Marieke Vervoort announced before the games that her condition would lead her to seek to end her own life.
The founding ethos of the Para-Olympics is to use sport to show wounded veterans that physical impairment does not mean that their lives are over. The notion of assisted dying goes strongly against that ethos.
However there are certain degenerative conditions such as MND and Multiple sclerosis (MS) which will eventually kill their sufferers. They will kill them in extremely painful and humiliating ways. So there is an argument for allowing people with those conditions to chose the manner and time of their inevitable death.
This presents a huge moral challenge. If the person choosing to die is under any sort of pressure then we are back in the day's of Nazi Germany. Where the disabled were exterminated as part of a mass eugenics program. A notion of innate superiority the Olympic movement has never quite let go of.
One of the stranger sequences of the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony focused on Britain's National Health Service (NHS). At the time former US President Obama was trying to introduce a similar universal healthcare system.
In the arguments against this much was made of the fact the NHS denies care to patients which is considers not to be cost effective. Loud mouth American commentators went so far as to claim the NHS has death panels. Essentially committees who decided whether a patient lives or dies based on their economic value.
During this debate someone famously claimed that if Stephen Hawking were British a NHS death panel would have deemed his MND too expensive to treat and he would have been killed.
Stephen Hawking then pointed out that he is British. And that the majority of his healthcare had been provided by the NHS.
Stephen Hawking's has not been the only sudden British celebrity death today. It has also been announced that quiz show host Jim Bowen has died.
Jim Bowen provides me with an opportunity to discuss another form of impairment which is a topic of growing importance in developed nations. Albeit not one that features at the Para-Olympics.
Mental illness. An important topic for British Crown Prince William and his; "Heads Together Campaign."
I did use to know a psychiatric patient who suffered from Grandiose Delusions (GD). A from of Delusional Personality Disorder.
Sufferers of this condition believe that they are an important historical figure. Such as Napoleon, Julius Cesar or Adolf Hitler. It's similar to Jerusalem Syndrome. A condition Obama seemed to be severely afflicted with.
However the GD sufferer I knew was convinced he was 1970's British Dart's themed quiz show host Jim Bowen. He would force people to play imaginary games of the quiz show; "Bullseye."
This is every bit as insane and hilarious as it sounds. So I have told this story many times.
Most recently I remember telling it while visiting the Intensive Care/Treatment Unit (IC/TU) at Salisbury Hospital. This led to me getting told off. Apparently its a bad idea to make people suffering from Respiratory Distress laugh.
So it certainly appears that while UK Prime Minister Theresa May is doubling down on her false claim that Russia poisoned MI6 agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury the UK Establishment has been on a bit of a killing spree.
Perhaps to send the message that she no longer enjoys their support.
At around 15:55 on 14/3/18 (UK date) I will pick this up after a late lunch.
Edited around 17:00 on 14/3/18 (UK date) to add;
Having established this theme of transformation and equality Lee Hee-beom then spoke of South Koreans pride at once again welcoming the World back to their nation. In this spirit of upgraded and mature attitudes in the sectors of politics and social attitudes.
During the 1988 Summer Olympics the RoK was ruled by President Roh Tae-woo. He had been appointed as the successor to Chun Doo-hwan.
Chun Doo-hwan seized power in a military coup in 1979. This restored the military dictatorship of Park Chun-hee which the democratically elected President Choi Kyu-hah had ended just 8 months previously.
One of the most brutal episodes of this coup was the May 1980 Gawngju Massacre.
Chun Doo-wan's troops massacred some 600 students at Chonnam University who were protesting against him seizing power. Chun Doo-wan was sentenced to death over the massacre in 1996 but was later pardoned.
So the pride South Koreans feel is over their transition from the military dictatorship of Park Chung-hee. Creating a society built on civilised notions of equality and inclusion. Not just in terms of the relationship between the disabled and the able bodied but also between citizens and the state.
In short the RoK is extremely proud of no longer being; "Parkland." No matter how often US Democrats march in support of Parkland.
During Lee Hee-beom's speech there were frequent shots of the team from the DPRK.
I know that in that acronym the; "PRK" stands for; "People's Republic of Korea."
During these Para-Olympics what the; "D" stands for seems to up for interpretation.
Lee Hee-beom's speech was followed with a speech by Andrew Parsons. The head of the IPC.
Parson's speech was not as impressive as Lee Hee-beom's extremely impressive speech. It did feature a few notable moments though.
It referenced the fact that International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach was in attendence. A symbol of the Para-Olympics upgraded and equal status.
Parson's then appeared to follow directly the path laid out by his predecessor Philip Craven. He pledged to do everything to ensure that Para-Olympic sport went ahead untainted by drug use and doping. This seemed to be a laughter cue.
Due to the vast array of medical conditions on display almost all Para-Olympians are on huge amounts of drugs they need to control those conditions. So drug use by athletes is most certainly not a taboo amongst Para-Olympians. Drug cheating is almost impossible under the rules.
The equivilent cheating within the Para-Olympics is the issue of impairement classification. In short people overstating their impairments through things like taking cold baths to reduce joint mobility in order to compete against less competitive opponents.
At the same time it was looking at the granting of Theraputic Use Exemptions (TUE) such as for Bradley Wiggins the UK Parliment's Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport also examined Para-Olympic classification. Driven mainly by complaints by Craig Spence - father of T38 longjump world champion Olivia Spence.
The fact that it is almost impossible to do drug cheating under Para-Olympic rules makes the hard line Philip Craven took against Russia even harder to rationally explain.
At the end of his speech Andrew Parsons handed over to South Korean President Moon Jae-in to formally declare games open.
President Moon Jae-in continues in not being President Park Geun-hye. The daughter of dictator Park Chun-hee who rigged the 2012 election by falisfying claims of foreign interference.
Commercial Break:
Another commercial break from UK broadcaster Channel 4.
Para-Olympic Flag & Anthem:
It is a matter of protocol that every ceremony must feature a sequence in which the Para-Olympic flag is raised and the Para-Olympic anthem is played.
Again Channel 4 came back late from their commercial break. So I have no idea how the large, unfurled flag entered the arena.
However it was handed to the military flag detail which proceeded to raise it.
As this was happened a recording of the Para-Olympic anthem was played.
However the All Wheelchair Choir who led the singing of the South Korean anthem were in attendence.
I have to say that I doubt their claim to be an all wheelchair choir. There were certainly members who were standing. Including one young man who appeared to be suffering from Downs Syndrome.
This provided an opportunity to remind people that not all impairments are the same.
Although I'm not trying to be rude Downs Syndrome is a severe development impairment. It is distingushed by incredibly low IQ. As a result people with Downs Syndrome are really too stupid to participate in the Para-Olympics. They instead compete in the Special Olympics.
However Downs Syndrome is often mistaken for Cerebral Palsy which is included in the Para-Olympics. Cerebral Palsy affects the way the brain communicates with the body. It in no way affects a person's intelligence. Sufferers can be just as stupid or just as intelligent as anybody else.
People mistaking Cerebral Palsy for Downs Syndrome and treating sufferers as if they're mentally retarded is obviously extremely frustrating for people with Cerebral Palsy.
As assuming anyone in a wheelchair is mentally retarded is also extremely frustrating for wheelchair uses. People like perhaps Stephen Hawking.
Oaths:
It is protocol that each ceremony includes a sequence in which the Para-Olympic oath is taken by representives of the competitors and the judges.
The names of the three inviduals taking the oaths of this occassion were not provided. I find that a little frustating because this is their moments of fame. It only seems right they are given due credit. Even in an onscreen caption.
Commercial Break:
Another commercial break from UK broadcaster Channel 4.
17:55 on 14/3/18 (UK date).
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