As an active breaker with over a decade and a half of experience within the US scene, it has been absolutely disgusting to watch internet bullying snowball into a baseless smear campaign against an innocent woman from a smaller breaking scene, who did nothing other than fairly earn the chance to represent her country and did it with pride. Plenty of Olympic athletes from plenty of countries do not excel at their sports on the world stage – but that’s never been a reason to assassinate their characters
I knew that the world may react negatively to the unorthodox creativity and originality that we often see and celebrate in the actual breaking community – but I was deeply saddened to see what became of the memes and jokes.
Millions of people who did not even realize breaking was a thing until last weekend have now become prosecutors and conspiracy theorists – for no real reason other than to crucify a stranger in a dance they have no real context about.
The damage to Rachael, her husband, and her family has already been done – but I hope this makes the end of it, and that the world moves forward in a wiser and more compassionate way – rather than continuing to be informed and radicalized by TikTok ‘journalism’.
TLDR; Rachael is innocent and celebrated by the breaking community. There is never a need to attack others for creative expression or athletic performance that you were not impressed by.
Posted by Commercial_Koala2774
16 comments
Well put.
I think part of the criticism and focus on Rachael is that she comes from a first world country that does well in the Olympics. She isn’t like the marathon runner from Bhutan, Lhamo, who finished last (though still with a respectable/average time in general, just not Olympic level). Bhutan has no medals, zero ever. Or Moussambani from the 2000 Olympics who swam alone in his heat and was very slow, who had trained in the wrong sized pool because that was the best his country could do for him. Equatorial Guinea also has no medals.
Both of those athletes have received a lot of praise, for obvious reasons. It is inspiring to see people from less privileged countries with fewer resources compete and give it their all. Inspiring and also a bit sad because if they had access to better resources they may be able to be more competitive. So they are pretty highly respected for doing their best under their specific circumstances and still showing up and trying.
Raygun otoh, while she doesn’t deserve the level of hate she’s received, people have absolutely been cruel, I think she arguably does deserve some criticism or at least discussion, as does Team Australia for even sending her to the games, and/or whatever other group qualified her. Surely Australia has better breakdancers? Who can actually get points? If she qualified and truly was among the best then what went wrong here? Is there really not much of a pool of dancers at all so their best isn’t really among THE best and she fell flat with actual competition? Or is she truly good but decided to do a more fun unique routine to be entertaining? What is it exactly?
It’s just weird for a country of its caliber. She was not competitive at all. 17 women, a small number made it, and she gets 0 points. The only one to get none. How IS that?? If her performance was enough for all these memes and jokes (and 0 points) it must have been pretty bad compared to the others, and that isn’t always the case for all lesser performing athletes in the games.
Is it really bullying? She genuinely seems to not care at all and gave another dance at the closing ceremony.
BREAKING: people are scumbags. I still don’t understand the hate she got. She performed and lost. She gave an interpretation that the judges didn’t like. Who cares after that. She’s still an Olympian, which is something probably every single fuck that keeps talking shit to her will never do
She didn’t win fairly. Look at the finals of the Oceanic 23: she’s CLEARLY dominated by her opponent
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I think it’s really fucked up that people are making a mockery of her. It’s not like she won a metal. The Olympic Games did what they were supposed to do, award the best athletes.
Okay I tho n this has gone a little far, do I think her dance was very funny and definitely the worst one there, yes, do I think she deserves to be in the Olympics for breakdancing, noo, but like she lost the first round and it’s not like she got the gold. Like my only issue is not with her but with people for thinking women’s breaking is worse than the men’s by comparing her to someone like Wizkid which isn’t a fair comparison. But it’s not her fault. I thought is was a fun harmless meme but people are taking it way too far by insinuating she is like a genuine villain.
she should apologize to the other competitors who bothered to not treat it like an utter joke honestly
They might as well pee into a tornado.. it’s like King Canute commanding the tides to go back at this point.
The irony of everyone saying that her level of ability wasn’t in keeping with the Olympics is that THEY are clearly the ones who don’t get the true spirit of the Olympics.
Lol because you claim to be from the community. One single post on your profile, one comment but you decide to come here and proclaim to the heavens she’s being unfairly treated?
This is suspicious
Time to attack the breaking community if they think her performance was worth celebrating.
I prefer to think they are all better than that though and are as embarrassed for her as the rest of us.
God this is all such terrible PR moves. If they want it to go away then stop talking about it. Raygun initially leaned into the wierdness, posting clips of her moves before closing ceremonies – a time in which it was already viral. Then for everyone to cry about how the Internet is mean, please. Meme templates are what they are. If you’re offended or being harassed on your socials, report it and/or put the Internet down for a while.
Oh well if they said it. The one organisation that would want this to go away. That’s the end of that then😂
She needs to just ignore and turn off her comments on all her social medias and take a break from social media like that one gymnast gal. Once something becomes a meme, it takes a minute for it to become yesterdays news but it does eventually get treated like everybody forgot about it over time and people move on to the next viral thing.
I don’t know the truth of her breakdancing history or what is truth but she has to just move on from it and be proud that she got to compete for her country and that breakdancing isn’t coming back to the Olympics anytime soon. lol