Comments on: Hey, it’s okay to be grumpy about the Olympics

By: michael geller

michael geller — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 03:03:44 +0000

Well, this thread may be dead, but I spent today wandering around the downtown, and the city looked so spectacular, I just had to write it here for posterity! I was VERY PROUD of Vancouver, my city, and while I still get upset at the thought of just how much money has been spent, I think the place was wonderful….and maybe, just maybe….there will be dividends for all that VANOC and the city administration have accomplished over the past few years.

It was great, and I urge everyone, even the grumpy ones, to take a look at our city through ‘new eyes’.

By: Chris Keam

Chris Keam — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 03:33:24 +0000

Landlord:
cogent [ˈkəʊdʒənt]
adj
compelling belief or assent; forcefully convincing

cocktail party
noun
people gathering and drinking various alcoholic beverages, sometimes discussing topics relevant to their interests.

Any other ??s?

cheers,
CK

By: landlord

landlord — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 02:12:37 +0000

@Chris : “cogent”? “cocktail parties”?? It’s amusing to see a blogger complain about the drawbacks of instant gratification.

By: AJ

AJ — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:30:07 +0000

I am grumpy but trying to see the positive side. There is that “palpable sense of excitement.” I’ll be downtown for the opening ceremonies tonight. Wilco is playing tomorrow night – an outdoor venue with an international audience.

That said, if the labour pool is roughly 2.5 million in BC and the “just-Olympics” portion of the bill works out to $2 billion or so, that leaves $800/worker. I was away at school, unable to vote on the plebiscite. The rest of BC will see little return on their “investment.”

It’s all just a massive misallocation of resources.

And Boomers will never see the brunt so long as they maintain a majority.

Healthcare funding increased 70% since 2001.
(http://tinyurl.com/yay4zg7)
Taxes were cut during Boomer’s peak earning years.
(http://tinyurl.com/y9sv4zu)

My tuition more than doubled.

By: MB

MB — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:39:46 +0000

@ Chris Keam, I’d say it’s also akin to putting the gun to our (i.e. The Boomer’s) own heads.

Surely the Olymics debt will be paid down in part with future cutbacks to healthcare … just when Boomers will need the system en masse.

Yet I suffer a little from doublethink on this one too. While I agreed with the slogan ‘Healthcare Before Olympics’ issued by the early protestors (in 2003 I was putting my mother into a care facility after a 4-month stint in hospital), I kinda get off on plunging into the crowd of 250,000 visitors who profess mostly glowing reports of Vancouver.

By: Jackie

Jackie — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:51:09 +0000

Great post, Frances. I’ve been thinking about these issues a lot lately, and you hit the nail on the head. Thanks!

By: Chris Keam

Chris Keam — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:57:33 +0000

“It’s as if I were questioning his entire worldview. ”

Questioning the phenomena of the mass spectator event is doing exactly that. Nobody wants to face up to the fact that our culture, with its preoccupation with immediate gratification w/out a full accounting of the costs involved is akin to putting a gun to our grandchildrens’ head and pulling the trigger until it just makes a clicking noise and brains and bone are spread everywhere. That kind of cogent comment doesn’t get you invited to cocktail parties.

By: IanS

IanS — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:55:19 +0000

I agree completely with this: “It’s mindless to think the Games are all good or all bad. They’re complex events and we’re right to enjoy what’s enjoyable and be critical of what’s been badly done.”

I was kind of skeptical and “grumpy”, for lack of a better word, but stopping in at the David Lam Park “Live City” event for the torch last night went some way to converting me to a more positive attitude. There was a real sense of excitement and enjoyment in the air, which I haven’t experienced in Vancouver since.. I don’t know when.

Yes, there’s lots to dislike or question about the olympics, but equally, there’s lots to enjoy and, as you say, its kind of a mindless approach to take the event as all good or all bad.

By: Peter

Peter — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:46:11 +0000

Couldn’t say it better myself! I’ve compiled a list of news articles, which I give to people when they ask me why I dislike the VANOC debacle.

http://peterkieser.com/vancouver-2010/

By: grounded

grounded — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:32:21 +0000

Agreed. The Olympics make people very sensitive. A long-time acquaintance and very big hockey fan revealed a paranoid side this week, blurting out online that “all Olympic haters should just shut up”. I tried to explain why people have some legitimate beefs about the Olympics in our fair city but he wouldn’t have any of it. I also tried to explain the importance of dissent and debate in a democracy but he didn’t want a rational discussion of costs and benefits. He just saw it as an affront to his precious sporting extravaganza and all other consequences be damned. It’s as if I were questioning his entire worldview. Very strange.