What’s The Real Deal?
The Vancouver Teacher’s Association are considering a request to allow the Teaching 2010 Resistance to hold a workshop to educate teachers about the evils of our upcoming Olympic Games. The Olympic Resistance Network has distributed posters for the event wihich depicts a cartoon child dumping an Olympic mascot into a trash can with security cameras and razor wire in the background. The poster states “This is an open invitation for teaching professionals to review our critically-minded Olympics workshop, to collaborate in adapting materials for elementary students, and to learn about eh existing and growing teaching resources currently being developed.” In other words this group wants their chance to teach elementary kids to hate the Olympics as much as they do.
For those that have read my past rants on the upcoming Winter Olympic Games, I’m not a big fan of the event. In my view the Olympics consume resources better spent on education, health and homelessness rather than lining the pockets of an elite group of businesses and politicians. But that’s just my point of view and everyone is entitled to one, right? I support the concept of the Olympic Games and the spirit of competition and sportsmanship but without the massive financial obligation to the taxpayers that may not even have a chance to attend any of the events.
The problem is finding the real truth in all of this. How much is this really costing the taxpayers of this province? Who’s really making the money? Who’s really losing money? We’re all stuck in the middle between VANOC and groups such as The Olympic Resistance Network that supply us with biased facts and points to win us over. We’ll probably never really know who made all the money and who got screwed after this thing is over but we will be paying for this for many, many years to come. After those responsible have retired, died or gone insane, the truth will slowly boil to the surface and our children’s children may get something close to the truth.
Meanwhile we’ll continue to receive ‘facts’ and ‘information’ from both sides before, during and after the games. We’ll read and hear about the positives and negatives, the profits and costs and all the other event flotsam that will appear over the next few years. Meanwhile I continue to dread the Winter Games impact on my life. But I don’t feel the need to tell schoolchildren about it.
