An example for me - the story of Luz Long and Jesse Owens’ friendship forged during the 1936 Berlin Games attended by Hitler.

Jesse Owens did not fit the Nazi ideology of the superiority of the Aryan “master race” because of his color. Hitler refused to personally congratulate Jesse after his wins, and neither did US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Jesse had fouled twice while attempting to qualify for the long jump event. He had only one attempt left. Luz shared a technique with Jesse that helped him to qualify on his last jump. In the finals of the long jump competition Jesse jumped 8.06 meters to win; Luz finished second with a jump of 7.87 meters. Luz was the first to congratulate him. After the award ceremony (see photo at the top of this story), Jesse and Luz walked arm in arm through the Berlin Olympic Stadium.

Jesse and Luz became friends at the Olympics and corresponded for years after that. Jesse would say of his Olympic friendship with Luz, “It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler… You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn’t be a plating for the twenty-four karat friendship that I felt for Luz Long at that moment.”

Here’s a link if you’re interested.

Care to share your own?

  • 97xBamEnglish
    12•1 day ago

    You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn’t be a plating for the twenty-four karat friendship that I felt for Luz Long at that moment.

    What a bad ass

  • SnausagesinaBlanket
    21•2 days ago

    I am single but I love to grow a garden. I put most of it out for free. IDC if you are rich or poor, you can try my tomatoes, cukes, etc for nothing. Just don’t take the whole basket.

  • @JoeKrogan
    17•2 days ago

    A friend recently started a group for feeding the homeless in our city. When we can, my wife and I buy some food and water and spend an afternoon handing it out. It isnt much and our taxes should be going to help these unfortunate folks but it helps and shows them there is still some humanity out there. It is a reminder to be thankful.

  • Call me Lenny/LeniMEnglish
    6•1 day ago

    There’s an example that occurred in reverse but is recent enough to be relevant. I have a friend (the same friend who a little bit ago a lot of people here scolded me for something I said to him two years ago) who had a birthday at the time (this was a year ago), and he mentioned how stressful birthdays were for him and that his family (who he stayed with due to his diagnosis) was abusive and never typically got him anything. I had no technological way to send anything, so I braved sending him fifty dollars (or was it a hundred) and sending it to him across the continent where he was. Eight days later, he opened it and said it was the best gift anyone ever gave him. I didn’t brag about it at the time like I might sometimes for things (not that I consider someone doing that a bad thing), but I felt like I had made someone’s world.

    Meanwhile, his BF saw this. He has (or had) a BF who would often trying to change him to fit his (the BF’s) image, such as invalidating his DID and transgender identity (which everyone assumes is why he is interested in him), and the BF had a kind of reputation for not being a team player in any sense of the word. But he saw what I did and saw it as a challenge to his productivity. It wasn’t a week later when I was told he was pumping my friend hundreds of dollars to “top” me. I stood there silently as a bunch of money came pouring in for my friend, who was probably elated to have so much money now. He (the BF) probably thought these actions were overshadowing me, but all I could do is sit there and watch it all and, in Steve Urkel’s voice, think “did I do that”. If my friends are happy, that’s 99.9% of my work done.

  • @SGGeorwell
    6•2 days ago

    I hate to break it to you, but that story is actually false. There’s a podcast about it by Malcolm Gladwell.