Paul Oberjuerge: Another Fan
I'm tellin' ya, if you see a Michelle Kwan fan coming, take off in the other direction.
Another love note, just in time for Valentine's Day, from a Kwaniac ... though he/she denies it.
As we all know, "admitting" is the first step to recovery ...
Mr. Oberjuerge
I have read your article titled "Kwan's Best Move: Giving up her Spot to Emily Hughes". I wish to express my extreme disgust with what you wrote. My objections are from a purely philosophical view. I am not an avid Michelle Kwan fan. However, what you wrote was morally reprehensible. The idea of anyone just giving up on the very thing that they love doing is repugnant. If people just gave up on anything they do the moment that things start to get hard, then we would have no triumph over adversity.
You mention in your article that "We don't want to remember her shuffling into history, before a global audience, her body having betrayed her at an event she probably shouldn't have been allowed to attend." However, look now at your alternative. Do we want to remember her for giving up on skating, the one thing that she has dedicated her life to, just because her body is not what it once was? What kind of message are you trying to send? You are advocating defeatism. You are telling people that they should quit the thing that they have the most passion for because it looks like they can't beat the competition.
True, she might not have won the gold medal at the Olympics this year. But image what she stands for. She will not give up, she will not give in. She will continue to do what she loves doing, for no other reason than because she loves it. She needs no other reason. And if the other younger skaters wish to have a shot, then they will have to earn it. Why should you and everyone else fear Michelle Kwan so much and advocate her retirement so vehemently? It is because you fear the principle that she lives by: to do what you love, and never stop. To continue to strive for the greatest heights possible with never an ounce of fear for how far you can fall. You advocate mediocrity, Michelle advocates excellence. You advocate defeatism, Michelle advocates passion. And in the end, who will be remembered, you or Michelle Kwan, the greatest figure skater the world has ever seen?
MAPapero3
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