The Two Sides Of The Games

The Vancouver Olympics can be both a celebration and an opportunity to protest.

I confess that I have never been a big booster of the 2010 Olympics.

I’ve always thought that the money we’ve spent and continue to spend on inviting the world to the Lower Mainland for two weeks could have been better invested in more worthy causes – supportive housing for the mentally ill and addicted, the creation of a more progressive system of taxation, improvements in the quality of public education and health care, and more accessible and environmentally friendly public transit.

One thing the Olympics does offer is an opportunity for Canadians to show the world that we value free speech and dissent. Many of the countries participating in the Games demonstrate very little tolerance for any kind of public protest – and even in beautiful British Columbia there is certainly plenty to be concerned about, as the shopping list above suggests.

There is, on the other hand, a good deal of fairly simplistic rhetoric in the attacks on the Games, asking for a unity of “native warriors,” “anti-capitalists,” “queer activists,” and “environmentalists.” The Olympics are said to be simply a “Coca Cola corporate spectacle”; a “street march to clog the arteries of capitalism” is to be held next week. Such talk prompts an unsettling question – are those who protest engaging in a constructive struggle for social change, or, take your pick, simply blowing off steam, engaging in their own personal forms of therapy, or just mad as hell and not going to take it anymore?

It’s not that the causes espoused are unimportant – progressive taxation, gay rights, and environmental protection are all pressing concerns. But is the Olympics the appropriate venue for consideration of such themes? And, in fairness, as much as there is something of a corporate character to the Olympics, there is no denying that it is also a celebration of athletic excellence, effort, and dedication – and that’s not something that I have any interest in protesting. In fact, athletic achievement seems worthy of celebration, and I would go further. It’s actually exciting and a collectively rousing spectacle, in much the same way that a political speech can be, albeit in quite a different time and place.

The Olympics are here now, and I am very hopeful that protests will be constructive, thoughtful, and engaging, even if much of the current rhetoric of opposition is weighed down by tired and simplistic slogans. Additionally, I hope that both the protesters and police win public support for their handling of issues, and that we in the Lower Mainland are able to look back at this extravaganza, if not with pride and pleasure, at least with a sense that we did not do anything that was too horribly embarrassing.