Smug international Olympians are lecturing American citizens
If there’s one thing Americans despise, it’s outsiders telling us how to run our country.
Since 1776, the United States has been a nation of fierce independence, which has led to unprecedented success and prosperity from what was once a band of ragtag colonialists.
Though many things have changed through the centuries, that streak of rebellious independence still runs strong in much of the populace.
So when European Olympic athletes lecture America on the evils of President Donald Trump and firearms, they certainly aren’t going to be changing any voters’ minds. Unsurprisingly, that has happened frequently in recent days.
Ironically, it is athletes and coaches in the biathlon, the only competition in which guns are shot at the Winter Olympics, who have been among the most vocal.
Wolfgang Pichler, a German coach who has trained multiple top athletes, reacted to news of Wednesday’s shooting at a Florida high school by attacking Donald Trump.
“If you have this crazy president like you have, Trump, then you will change nothing,” he told USA Today.
As if mass shootings never happened until Trump took office barely a year ago.
Tiril Eckhoff, the bronze medalist from Norway, followed suit, saying, “I don’t think Trump would like me now,” before launching into a rant on why Americans shouldn’t be allowed to buy guns.
“In Norway, it’s really strict to buy weapons. I think that’s the main thing in America. Everyone can buy a gun, and that’s totally wrong, I think,” she said.
“The world is not safer with guns. It’s maybe weird when I say it because I do sports with gun. But I think when you don’t have good training like you have in military or like you do in our sport … when people think you can do like in ‘Call of Duty,’ when mentally not-healthy people can go out and buy a gun, it’s not good for the planet, or the U.S.,” Eckhoff said.
Lisa Vittozzi of Italy also offered some enlightened commentary.
“It’s very dangerous in U.S. and not in Italy,” she said. “If I was in America, I would not feel safe, I think.”
Hopefully these European athletes and coaches aren’t holding their breath until their opinions persuade Americans to stop supporting Trump or the Second Amendment, because they’ll be waiting a very long time.
The next time an extremist refugee kills dozens of people with a truck in a European city, stop and see how many American athletes are lecturing our friends across the pond.
I think you already know the answer.
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