Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Avenging Angels in Skimpy Bikinis

Who, after seeing the harrowing news reports and photos out of Georgia, wouldn't take glee in kicking a little sand in the face of that international "bully of the beach," Russia? We all would, if we could, wouldn't we?

It's gratifying, then, to see that the Russkies got a comeuppance, of sorts, on the beach volleyball court in Beijing, when team Georgia did a smack down on team Russia. Better still, from this blogger's perspective, was the fact that the avenging angels wore skimpy bikinis. But while psychologically gratifying (and visually stimulating), the victory comes with an asterisk attached, as The Washington Post undiplomatically points out.

It seems that the team "representing" Georgia is made up of players from Brazil, who didn't make the cut in their native country but "recently obtained Georgian citizenship so they could compete in the Olympics." (I thought it was a little odd that the "Georgians" were rather swarthy lasses named Cristine Santanna and Andrezza Martins.) But who's quibbling. We live in a global village, right, where ethnicity and nationality have become outmoded and artificial constructs, meant to sow divisions and stir-up counterproductive animosities? If the Georgians need a few nationalized Brazilians to kick butt on the beach volleyball court, bully for them. We are the world. It's a small world after all. Think globally, act locally. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

I just hope the girls have a dacha on the Black Sea to return to, after the dust settles.

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