Orcas.

by fiona

2010-02-12 17:16:41 PDT

7 billion dollars in Olympics costs so far. Seriously, how are people in BC on board with this nonsense? The media coverage makes me froth at the mouth-- no journalistic interrogation of this corrupt cronying garbage at all, just nauseating re-runs of asshats proposing to their girlfriends at the torch ceremonies to get on TV. Um okay congrats narcissists, but...what happened to the original budget? That I still voted "NO" on, as a Vancouver resident at the time? Because it was too fucking much money back then?

And man: I love hockey, okay? I love Team Canada hockey in particular. I love great sports, and athletic competition, and all that. I bawled like a fool for both the men's and women's winning hockey teams in 2002. Who doesn't love guts and will and heart? That's what I was blubbering for. I don't hate the athletes, I don't hate the notion. But hosting the Olympics isn't really about any of that: it's about manipulating people into forking our money over to politicians and corporations to play with. It's a burden so huge and so damaging that I just can't believe we've not only assumed it, but are paying The Bay to advertise it on our bodies. (And those mascots are absurd and infantile. Do we not live in the province of fuckin' badass orcas and grizzlies and Haida art? Could none of that hugeass, bloated budget have gone to a graphic designer who was not a 16-year-old female anime fan?)

...because, do the people out cheering know that we're paying for this? That's what I don't get. This isn't some big party that our politician parents are throwing for us, act as they will as though this is positive, and community-building, and some kind of privilege we should be grateful for. The tab is ours, and we'll be paying it off for YEEEARS, dude. And since it's my money too, I'd rather have efficient health care and not see a bunch of elementary schools closed down, and, you know, possibly some help and accomodation for all those homeless and mentally ill drug addicts and sex workers in Vancouver. Maybe a higher-education tuition reduction, if we're throwing billions of dollars around. Oh, oh!-- and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and a pony.

I feel like I'm in a zombie movie.

---