Ooooook! Olympics!
First. Thoughts and prayers...
Now on to blogging!
Hmm... what to say? I'm kinda at a weird middle ground that - to be honest - I didn't think I'd find myself at. Let me preface this by saying that I didn't (and still dont) believe that Vancouver had the right to host the Olympics. Most cities that get it don't. I mean let's be realistic. BC has the lowest minimum wage in Canada. Most expensive healthcare. and home to the country's poorest postal code. We've got serious issues to fix and undermining the social infrastructutre for a 2 week gorge isn't gonna help things.
Now the flip side... It's here. it's paid for. it's a reality. Fighting it NOW.... is ridiculous. Like it or not folks, capitlism is the way the world Economy is structured. (Albeit I see that changing in our lifetime) The 2010 Winter Olympics is an international Commitment. We are relied upon by the international community to live up to that commitment. And that's a fact! A hypothetical plug pulling on the Olympics now, would cause worldwide outrage and a complete seperation from the International Community. And in a world who's economy is just barely hanging on... that would be a very bad thing. Yes the Olympics have taken money that could otherwise be used towards affordable housing on the Downtown East Side or reform BC's ridiculous healthcare system... But it didn't. And quite honestly, wouldn't if we were hosting the Olympics or not. We are in a society and an economic system that glorifies the rich. The divide between the lower and upper classes is growing at an alarming rate and there seems to be no way to bridge that gap. If we didn't have these games... the money would have been moved elsewhere. And I guarantee you it would not have changed the status of East Hastigns.
Fact is... the games have forced the hand of BC's gvnmt and put in place more infrastructure... In 86, we got a landmark building which is now the Telus World of Science. That rakes in a HUGE amount of Vancouver's tourism. This year? No new buildings... no, but a lightrail transit system that gets you all the way out to Richmond, which was beforehand (seemingly) impossible to travel. The Canada line is HUGE for the overall structure and development of Vancouver, and it wouldn't have gotten off the ground without the games.
Again... I'm not saying that Vancouver deserved these Olympics... it didn't. But if they gave the Olympic games to a city that deserved it, who would you give it to? Everyone has got their blemishes. you don't wanna give the games to vancouver because of poverty? fine... Enter Adolf Hitler... His National Socialist German Workers' Party basically whiped out poverty in Berlin in the wake of the 1929 Market crash. And in 1936, Germany was an economic powerhouse... So they got the games! I don't need to tell you WHY it's wrong that Germany got the games...
The point is, you're not gonna find a perfect city, and the Olympics has to happen somewhere. And it's here. And by months' end, it will be gone. Worried about the provincial debt? Don't be... the system is (unfortunately) centered around debt. We're too far gone to make a change without causing a complete collapse. The world economy is a house of cards... and the table it's built on has one leg shorter than the others...
I don't really know what i was getting at in this post... I'm pretty much in the middle. I'm not anti-Olympics or pro-Olympics. I'm here! And I like sports! And I think this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Do i think the money could've been spent better? Of course. But I've had issues with government budgets long before the Olympics came... this isn't a NEW phenomenon... but people seem to be treating it as such!
I really don't know what i'm getting at. Anyone know what I'm tryign to say? Cuz I don't. I guess.. I was all for being Anti-Olympics and trying to change it when it MATTERED, But at this point, it doesn't... And Stephen Harper is making us look foolish enough on the international scene. I don't think he needs our help by disrupting an international commitment. but I don't know very much!
Now for your enjoyment... TOY STORY 3!!!!
Who Is Ready For More AJ Renton?
7 years ago
you are a smart man mister.
ReplyDeletedon't forget expo 86 also brought the Expo line, and that paved the way for the Millenium line...both which are KEY in Vancouver transit.
Sometimes I wish I could say what I want to say like you do....cause I try to say the same things....only i'm super blunt about it.
I agree for the most part, but think some of the arguments about stopping protesting simply because it's now in Vancouver, and that the money has been spent are a little off the mark. Which, and I'm definetly not speaking for all protesters here, but just my feelings and understanding. Which is that the point of protesting is that so many people don't seem to be aware of the disastrous effect that Olympic spending is having on those below the poverty line. So protesting is a means of spreading knowledge (and let's face it, the protestors now are getting more attention than if they protested at another time, simply because now everybody's eyes are turned towards Vancouver). So continuing to protest now, in some ways (I'm really not for disrupting the torch ceremony). But even if we ignore the spending problems and budget cuts, I think its important to protest the things that are happening RIGHT NOW and not just money that was spent. I'm talking about questionable policies towards the homeless and poorer residents (because they are unsightly or whatever) and the displacement of thousands of people. So to say that protesting now doesn't really matter doesn't seem quite...right to me somehow. Not to mention the fact that as far as I'm concerned, democracy is the place for the most opposing viewpoints to be heard in a legitimate way. So voices either pro- anti- or in between for the Olympics should all be heard!
ReplyDeleteI do actually enjoy the Olympics and think it's great that we finally get to see some woman's hockey for a change (;)).
Disrupting the torch was ridonculous... creates a demon out of your cause. Just a bad thing, classless...
ReplyDeleteMy point wasn't so much against protesting now, as it was towards sabotage. (i.e. torch disruption, bomb scares, etc...) So in that sense. YES I AGREE! Show your dissent. Because these decisions have had an effect on the lower classes! But the upsides are there too... I was going for the ying-yang effect. With the ups, come the downs... The poor city is bad for the Olympics, so you go to the fascist dicatorship where the poor have been given homes...
As for women's hockey... meh! It's a totally different game, that i don't particularly enjoy. Not a sexist thing... but it is a compeltely different sport with women, and I just don't feel it! ;-)
But Women's Curling a BILLLLLLION times better than men's curling...
Interesting how sex changes that. But that's another story altogether isn't it?
Further proof that I need to edit - some of that was really garbled. Sigh, it's been a hard week.
ReplyDeleteConsider yourself Judged!
ReplyDelete