What harm would it do to join the party? I could wear my BELIEVE hat and scarf, wave my red mittens, and cheer on our Canadian athletes in the Olympics. All the fun seems to be on the inside, so do I want to be a sour grouch on the margins, throwing stones? I commented earlier on the CTV BELIEVE campaign, and must now face the question: am I doing any harm by accepting the jumble of factual assertions, values, predictions, and soaring emotion?
Anti-Olympic protestors say yes. They take the perspective that the Games are pernicious — that they are deflecting money and attention from social issues such as homelessness and resolution of native land claims and that they are damaging the environment. (Environmentalist David Suzuki gives the Olympics a bronze medal.) The protestors’ serious points, though, get lost in the media coverage. After all, in part it’s the media that are throwing the party. The mural of unhappy faces gets taken down as “graffiti” as the city washes its face in preparation for international visitors. Like so much other protest, this one also implodes as everybody’s cause tags along to create a very defused negative and, predictably, as a violent minority shows up to give the mainstream cameras what they want. Huge peaceful public protest gathers in Vancouver as the Games open but the Olympic excitement sweeps on by. Time enough afterward to count the costs and give attention to the serious issues (if at all).
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