The Nerve

Thirteen-year-old “surfer Bethany Hamilton returned to competition Saturday, just 10 weeks after losing her left arm in a shark attack.” She “placed fifth in her age group in the Open Women Division of a National Scholastic Surfing Association meet at Banyans.”

But she “rejected any special treatment, said Bobbi Lee, NSSA Hawaii Conference director.”

“I offered to give her more time (between heats) or put her in a more favorable heat,” Lee said. “She refused. She said she wanted to be treated like anybody else.”

The nerve! How DARE she not take advantage of the therapeutic state’s munificent gifts like the Americans with Disabilities Act? She sounds like a pesky individualist, merit-oriented, achiever type. She probably bought herself a Homeland Security Department file with that brazen stunt.

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1:02 pm on January 11, 2004