Arnold Schwarzenegger confronted a commenter on his Facebook page after sharing a video he took with the medalists at the 2017 Special Olympics. The commenter responded to Schwarzenegger’s video by writing that the “Special Olympics make no sense,” that the games exist to “determine who is the best,” and then ended the comment with an unfortunate use of the r-word.
Arnold Schwarzenegger gave a powerful response to a comment that trivialized the Special Olympics
The whole comment is awful, so much so that Arnold gave it a razor-sharp response:
Arnold: “As stupid and evil as this comment is, I’m not going to delete it or ban you (yet) because it’s a teachable moment. You have two possible paths ahead. Right now, I guarantee you that these athletes have more courage, compassion, brains, skill — actually more of every positive human quality than you. So take their path -- you could learn from them, and try to challenge yourself, to give back, to add something from the world. Or you can stay on your path, and keep being a sad, pitiful, jealous internet troll who adds nothing to the world but mocks anyone who does out of small-minded jealousy. I know what you really want is attention, so let me be clear: if you choose to keep going this way, no one will ever remember you.”
Since then, the comment’s been deleted — likely by the person who wrote it — but plenty of people took a screenshot of it before it disappeared. If you need a reminder of why the Special Olympics are important, watch Jamaal Charles’ speech from 2015:
I was afraid. I was lost. When I was a boy, I had trouble reading. I found out I had a learning disability. People made fun of me. They said I would never go anywhere. But I learned I can fly.
When I was 10 years old, I had a chance to compete in the Special Olympics. That’s right, the Special Olympics gave me my first chance to discover the talent I did not know that I had.
Or read this story from ESPN’s Melissa Issacson, who showcases the fact that the games not only lift these participants up through sports but also gives them the opportunity to make new friends.
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