By Sara Ward
Copy Editor
Britain holds annual bonfire celebrations and fireworks displays across Britain on Nov. 5 to mark a failed attempt by Guy Fawkes and others to blow up the houses of parliament and kill King James I in 1605.
So it makes perfect sense that one town in Britain decided to burn an effigy of Lance Armstrong in honor of this national event, right?
The Edenbridge Bonfire Society, in Edenbridge, England, erected a nine-meter high structure of Armstrong for its annual Bonfire Night commemorating Guy Fawkes’ foiled plot, according to a Nov. 2 CNN article.
While the Edenbridge Bonfire Society may have just been doing it for fun and celebration, no one deserves to have a model of his or herself burned. Some may argue that Armstrong is just another troubled celebrity, but that doesn’t give some town in England the right to defame him in this way like they have to prime minister Tony Blair and deceased Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in the past.
Armstrong’s doping scandal resulted in him being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and made to pay back millions of dollars in prize money and sponsorships, according to the same article.
Granted, I don’t agree with how Armstrong conducted himself in his bike races, but I still believe that no one should have to be humiliated in this manner for mistakes he or she has made in his or her life.
Not only did this society from England decide to make a statue of Armstrong to burn, but they also adorned his effigy with a medal around its neck, which references to Jimmy Savile, a UK TV presenter who died a year ago and is at the center of an investigation into hundreds of allegations of child sex abuse in England, according to the same article. The medal reads “Jim Fixed It For Me,” a reference to one of the television shows formerly hosted by Savile, even though Armstrong seems to have no connection to the TV presenter.
I realize using steroids in order to win bike races isn’t something to be proud of, but associating Armstrong’s character with an alleged pedophile seems a little farfetched. While Armstrong has done some wrong things in his life, he shouldn’t be put on the same level as a child abuser.
Armstrong founded the Livestrong charity in 1997 after his own successful treatment for testicular cancer that had spread to his brain and lungs, according to an Oct. 22 CNN article. His success inspired cancer patients worldwide, and he has helped raise nearly $500 million, including $6.5 million of his own, for cancer research.
While his doping scheme during past bike races tarnished his reputation, there’s no denying that Armstrong was able to do some good in the realm of cancer research. He went through the struggles of cancer himself, and he decided he would try to do whatever he could to make a difference for others who have cancer.
Although Armstrong has faults, he has done some good for our world. Armstrong’s effigy should have never been burned on Bonfire Night in Edenbridge, even if it was for some jesting fun on Guy Fawkes Day.
Everyone deserves to be respected, even if they have made some dire mistakes in life. People shouldn’t have to deal with representations of themselves being burned just for fun, not even a shamed former bike racing champion like Lance Armstrong.
