Greetings. As my first entry on Daily Kos, I thought I'd start with the following article, which I wrote on my website a couple days ago.
I think this will prove be a bit different from what we usually see here, but I hope it will be of no less interest and benefit to you.
When one thinks of the Olympics, we conjure up images of honour, integrity, and fair play.
It’s a time when athletes from around the world gather to challenge themselves, to try and set new world records, and to even ‘bring home the gold!’
As citizens, we’re led to believe it’s a privilege to play host for the games. We’re endlessly encouraged to attend and share in this new-found Olympic pride; and as tourists we’re even given the chance to take some of it back home with us—in the form of t-shirts, key chains, and gastroenteritis.
From beginning to end we’re led to believe it’s a celebration; a time of tradition, a time we get to feel safe and be full of pride and excitement.
Such feeling is rare these days, isn’t it?
Having never attended an Olympic game myself, I can't imagine putting a price on something as special and even sacred as this. But even so, I would like to try...
2 million. According to a recent report (pdf) by The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), in the last 20 years alone over 2 million people have been displaced by the Olympic games.
2010: Let the Games Begin
According to the profile on Vancouver from the above-mentioned website, Vancouver has pledged itself to be the first socially sustainable Olympic games.
All sorts of promises and assurances have been made so far---and yet for some strange reason over 700 units of low-income housing have been lost since the city was chosen to host the games. On top of that, several single residency hotels, inhabited primarily by people with low or no income, have been destroyed and converted to accommodate the pending onslaught of tourists.
The fact sheet also mentions how some of Vancouver's promises are on the way out the window, along with the cribs and kitchen sinks, via proposals to cut funding for affordable housing programs.
What in the world is 'socially sustainable' about this?
Nothing, obviously. That is unless we acknowledge the needs of privilege and the interests of those who have it; In which case 'cutting out the loose ends' is not only socially sustainable, but it's the perfect solution...
Think about it... they’re fulfilling the silent expectation to achieve an absolute state of moral, social, end economic bliss; they’re setting themselves up for years to come too, while helping to make the city nice and pretty, which is of course the ultimate tell-tale sign of a Just and Strong Nation.
Cleanliness is next to godliness right? They just have to make sure everything's cleaned 'just right.'
To continue reading, please visit the original page