The Rio Olympics are full of black girl magic. But that’s always an opportunity to hate. On Tuesday, as Gabby Douglas and Team USA stood on the podium to accept their gold medals, social media erupted because Douglas did not place her hand on her heart during the singing of the National Anthem. The uproar was so bad that Gabby felt the need to apologize.
But even if she did mean disrespect, that’s her right. People choose which traditions to honor at their discretion. And while Gabby was not trying to be political (as the awestruck look in her eyes attests), some would argue that much like when Tommie Smith and John Carlos threw up the black power salute at the 1968 Olympics, if you’ve earned the gold, you’ve earned the right to seize the global stage.
But not everyone was mad at Gab. The Arthur meme resurfaced to hold her down:
Yup, learned this in elementary school:
Makes sense to us:
Even Black Panther is disappointed in your fake-deep outrage:
Double standards, much?:
A picture’s worth 1,000 words:
These words of “you go, girl” wisdom:
And then there’s this bloop: