It might have been common practice, but everyone denied it, including Arnold repeatedly. It was and is considered “cheating”, so the claim that it was normal should be asterisked. It is “normal” the way affairs in marriage are.
And his recollection of his usage seems suspect. Both his dbol and test are seriously on the low side. I hugely doubt he is being forthcoming.
To be clear I am a big fan of his and think the use of steroids is a personal choice, weighed against risks. It’s just that the post-facto fictions presented are seldom honest.
He talks pretty openly about using steroids in "Pumping Iron" which came out in 1977. He was very candid about it, probably because you would have to be a moron to look at professional body builders and think they were natural.
> It might have been common practice, but everyone denied it, including Arnold repeatedly. It was and is considered “cheating”, so the claim that it was normal should be asterisked. It is “normal” the way affairs in marriage are.
Maybe I am naive, but having an affair isn't a prerequisite for marriage. Whereas everyone in bodybuilding is on steroids, it's a prerequisite for the sport. It was back then and it still is now.
Are you professing that we should pass on everone that doesn't have a perfect record?
I mean, is there someone with a perfect record?
I think you learn and grow to be good, to take care of others, and this process goes with mistakes that impact yourself and others... You cannot expect someone to be always 100% perfect all the time.
As for myself, I did tons of shit that I am not proud of, so you should pass on this comment as well...
>Are you professing that we should pass on everyone that doesn't have a perfect record?
This is the entire focus of western American Christianity. The pervasiveness of this is built into our culture, and as a result the world culture (because we exported this insanity)
So what you get is a worldwide society of people who will use any human failing of a leader as proof of why all of what they did is wrong.
Pillaging Christians starting with the Inquisition created a perfect reference person for which everyone should be compared to which makes everyone not good enough ever. Only through the weekly blessing that you have to attend and confess to can you be temporarily saved from certain forever death
It's just so embedded into western culture that the source is not even recognized as the source.
> Pillaging Christians starting with the Inquisition
Not sure what that's supposed to mean. Strange spell-check error?
I'm not a Christian, but I think that Protestant purity culture is a likelier culprit than Catholicism. Claims of moral pollution and calls for banning don't come from the pulpit, but from an "enlightened" public that can "think for itself."
I am not excusing him groping people. But I see someone coming to terms and acknowledging the mistakes and harm he did.
Sharing his experience and talking about the mistakes he made and how bad it was is just a net positive for all - I mean he is still a role model and can influence young people - so I see no value in cancelling him. I would agree with you if he was still groping or promoting such behaviour, which doesn't seem to be the case.
I know all this doesn’t fix anything for the victims, and it is terrible for them.
What’s wrong with using steroids? If it’s your own body you should be able to use them. I won’t, but I don’t put a lot of things in my body that others do.
In personal use it's fine, when competing it raises the bar to you needing to use steroids to compete. Anyone not comfortable with messing with their hormones and dealing with the effects will never keep up
This is why (according to lots of videos I've seen on youtube) there are two "tracks" for body-building competitions. One "track" has rules that prohibit steroid use, and do regular testing to enforce the rules. The other track has no rules prohibiting steroid use. They're not required, naturally, but it's basically understood that if you want to use them it's fine... which means you'd have to be a freak of nature to compete effectively on that track without taking them.
Might be interesting to see what it would look like to have two tracks for other sports as well.
Every bodybuilder in any competition that isn't labeled as a natural competition uses them. That's just how bodybuilding turned out. Sure, you could debate on if that is good, but then don't argue about the athletes using them, but the orgs allowing it.
