In a little over a week the Winter Olympics are going to kick off in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Depending on your political persuasion, your social activist penchant or your desire to watch curling on television this event is either a source of excitement or rage. Rage? Really the Olympics conjuring rage in everyday average folks? Yup – if you talk to certain members of the population the mere thought of the Olympics is enough to throw them into a expletive doused tirade that would make a sailor blush.
So what’s the fuss all about?
Nothing in life is straightforward – least of all an event as large as the Winter Olympics. Vancouver, the Provence of British Columbia and the government of Canada (by this I of course mean tax-payers) have all opened their wallets to the tune of billions (yes the b words) to finance the cost of the games. The argument is that this money could be better spent on social programs and that staging an event such as this is at it’s best vanity and at worst a colossal waste of cash.
So what’s the fuss all about?
Nothing in life is straightforward – least of all an event as large as the Winter Olympics. Vancouver, the Provence of British Columbia and the government of Canada (by this I of course mean tax-payers) have all opened their wallets to the tune of billions (yes the b words) to finance the cost of the games. The argument is that this money could be better spent on social programs and that staging an event such as this is at it’s best vanity and at worst a colossal waste of cash.
On the east side of Vancouver sits a neighbourhood called East Hastings. Hastings is one of the worst neighbourhoods in North America. By worst I’m referring to the fact that it has the highest AIDS rate per capita then anywhere on the continent, the crime-rate is the highest of any place in Canada, the average income is the lowest in Canada and the list of other social problems and economic disparity is as long as your arm. The argument is that the money spent on the games could have been better spent on cleaning up this area of town.
Two years ago during the Beijing Olympics, all of the ‘undesirable’ folks (the drug addicts, the beggars, the homeless and so on) were rounded up and shipped out of town to whitewash the problems from the attention of the world. In Vancouver, there isn’t a plan to ship anybody out of town, but there most certainly is a plan to shield the public from seeing the not-so-nice side of the city. When Olympic officials came to Van to give the city the final once-over they were consistently routed around the troubled areas and it was kept most definitely on the down-low.
You can see the arguments that perhaps the dollars spent on luge tracks and giant torches could have been better spent on these people who really do need a hand. I agree – ending poverty, building habitable housing for the unfortunate and providing adequate healthcare for the masses is a cause that goes beyond nobility. But here is the real question – the tough one.
What makes you think that if the Olympics weren’t being held in Vancouver that the government would be doing anything about these problems? The issues in East Hastings have been around for at least 20 years and nothing has been done about it. Status-quo is a hard thing to fight – no matter how apt, noble or universal the desire for change.
There are always better things to spend money on. I make my living writing about travel, adventure and art – these are all things that are surplus to need in almost every way. From a pragmatic point of view the world would be a better place if we spent our surplus funds on charity. But that’s not the reality. I can’t very well condemn the Olympics and then remind people to buy a copy of the travel guide to Hawaii that I wrote. So what do I think is the right thing to do?
In many way’s I’m an idealist – I see the Olympic spirit as one of the last bastions of peace through sport and play. If we remove the Olympics what do we have left? Let the Olympics come to Vancouver BUT don’t let the Olympics blot out the problems that the city has (and so many other cities around the world). The media of the world is there – point them in the direction of what they should see. When else will the eyes of the world be so solely focussed on Vancouver for such an extended period of time? If there were no Olympics nothing would have changed for the underprivileged and there would be zero media coverage of any of these issues.
In judo they talk about using the energy of your opponent and re-directing it back against them. For those that don’t see the same opportunity here, you’ve lost sight of the opportunity of a lifetime.
Two years ago during the Beijing Olympics, all of the ‘undesirable’ folks (the drug addicts, the beggars, the homeless and so on) were rounded up and shipped out of town to whitewash the problems from the attention of the world. In Vancouver, there isn’t a plan to ship anybody out of town, but there most certainly is a plan to shield the public from seeing the not-so-nice side of the city. When Olympic officials came to Van to give the city the final once-over they were consistently routed around the troubled areas and it was kept most definitely on the down-low.
You can see the arguments that perhaps the dollars spent on luge tracks and giant torches could have been better spent on these people who really do need a hand. I agree – ending poverty, building habitable housing for the unfortunate and providing adequate healthcare for the masses is a cause that goes beyond nobility. But here is the real question – the tough one.
What makes you think that if the Olympics weren’t being held in Vancouver that the government would be doing anything about these problems? The issues in East Hastings have been around for at least 20 years and nothing has been done about it. Status-quo is a hard thing to fight – no matter how apt, noble or universal the desire for change.
There are always better things to spend money on. I make my living writing about travel, adventure and art – these are all things that are surplus to need in almost every way. From a pragmatic point of view the world would be a better place if we spent our surplus funds on charity. But that’s not the reality. I can’t very well condemn the Olympics and then remind people to buy a copy of the travel guide to Hawaii that I wrote. So what do I think is the right thing to do?
In many way’s I’m an idealist – I see the Olympic spirit as one of the last bastions of peace through sport and play. If we remove the Olympics what do we have left? Let the Olympics come to Vancouver BUT don’t let the Olympics blot out the problems that the city has (and so many other cities around the world). The media of the world is there – point them in the direction of what they should see. When else will the eyes of the world be so solely focussed on Vancouver for such an extended period of time? If there were no Olympics nothing would have changed for the underprivileged and there would be zero media coverage of any of these issues.
In judo they talk about using the energy of your opponent and re-directing it back against them. For those that don’t see the same opportunity here, you’ve lost sight of the opportunity of a lifetime.
1 comment:
DUDE,
As much as I freakin' LOVE the Winter Olympics, I gotta agree that VANOC has done very little to make me feel good about any of this.
The dismantling of the mental health care system in BC has a lot to do with the problems on East Hastings, which is appalling to see first hand.
Also appalling is the billions in cost overruns in the midst of already difficult times. I mean, Intrawest (owners of Whistler/Blackcomb) are teetering on the verge of bankruptcy/creditor protection.
What's even more ridiculous is that pointing such things out brands you a terrorist in the eyes of VANOC security.
I hate to say it, but I just wish it were somewhere else.
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