tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161222802145767547.post6895316004990013245..comments2024-03-06T18:11:06.898+00:00Comments on This is not for Charity: Lance Armstrong againjulianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349576617608045922noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161222802145767547.post-66357286156865052252013-02-09T12:59:13.944+00:002013-02-09T12:59:13.944+00:00Glad you liked it Sam,
Totally understand the bit...Glad you liked it Sam,<br /><br />Totally understand the bit of vitriol from Kimmage/Walsh, and I don't think either of them - Walsh in particular - have been at all sanctimonious. I don't know if you're a Twitter follower (or user!) but Kimmage is not always so gracious in "victory" (if that's the right term for anybody in this horrible story). I don't hold that against him at all, and admire his journalistic work, but it isn't very edifying.<br /><br />Part of the ill-feeling against Armstrong now is a result of the messianic status society afforded him. As much as he revelled in it, I don't think he can be blamed for people choosing to idolise him, and I don't think it's humane of people to desire a comeuppance as complete as the worship he was once afforded. Both seem to me the ridiculous product of a celebrity culture that demeans us all.julianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06349576617608045922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3161222802145767547.post-61657937121659864942013-02-08T16:52:24.050+00:002013-02-08T16:52:24.050+00:00Great piece Jules, I've been meaning to read i...Great piece Jules, I've been meaning to read it for a while. I had wondered what your thoughts were on him.<br /><br />It's never edifying to say 'I told you so', but I have to say Walsh and Kimmage - as the two main journalists who fought the Armstrong myth - have not been overly sanctimonious in 'twisting the knife'. Armstrong successfully sued the Sunday Times for defamation resulting from a Walsh article, you can understand if there is a certain amount of vitriol behind the headlines. <br /><br />I've enjoyed reading Walsh's tale behind his pursuit of Armstrong and, from what I have read and heard from him, I don't think Walsh is taking any pleasure from his demise. <br /><br />Armstrong showed himself to be disgustingly human in the Oprah interview - the faux tears, the insincerity, the mechanical responses. His comments since then ('What I did was nothing worse than jumping on a train') merely serve to perpetuate his evil and mendacious being. <br /><br />I've just about become sick of hearing about him and his exploits. I hope he gets prosecuted in a court of law and has to return every penny he dishonestly earned. Most of all I hope his name will be forgotten and the annals of cycling will wipe his name from its pages. But, as you allude to, the story will rumble on because the extent of corruption in the UCI has not yet been revealed. And while it remains buried, this feeling of gross injustice that we all feel will linger on. <br />Sam Smithhttp://socsmith.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com