Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Resistance Casts Pall over 2010 Olympic Festivities

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Monday, February 15, 2010

Resistance Casts Pall over 2010 Olympic Festivities

from IPS news service. I think that the Games should be about a celebration of athletic excellence by bringing together the world's best athletes. To some extent it is. But this celebration, IMO, is often contaminated by nationalism that is manipulated by a mostly globalized capitalist class that exploits patriotism to accumulate even more wealth. While the wealthier celebrants play and the athletes perform and the contractors and corporations count their money, many people are suffering even more due to the economic collapse.

A recent tally by the Vancouver Sun estimated that at least eight billion dollars will be spent on the Games, and there are an estimated 15,000 homeless people in British Columbia. According to a report released by University of British Columbia researchers last December, the number of homeless in Vancouver more than doubled in the years leading up to the Games.

Accordingly, the slogan "homes not games," was found on many placards, and was a popular chant both before and during the march.