Yesterday’s light-hearted look at what was happening to the Olympic Flame was of course very serious in its attempt to pour scorn on the whole notion of the Olympics as a movement that promotes peace, brotherhood, friendship and unity throughout the world.
Ever since I was young it’s seemed obvious to me that whilst competitive sport in general can create opportunities for competitors and fans alike to travel and to develop a feeling of fellowship with people throughout the world, the actual 4-yearly binge known as the Olympics achieves precisely the opposite outcomes.
Obscene amounts of money that could be put to much better use are spent on preparing and over-preparing elite athletes and competitors to do battle on behalf of the international ‘prestige’ of their respective countries. I wonder how many lives could be saved or improved by the investment needed to reduce a runner’s time by less than one second?
Even more obscene amounts of money are spent on the facilities that will for the most part be unloved and unused when the Games are over. Huge profits are made from these construction projects, most of which we can be sure finds its way into the pockets and bank accounts of relatively small numbers of already-rich individuals and corporate shareholders.
The State (ie the people) pays out massive amounts of money to meet the demands of the Olympic ‘movement’ for suitable facilities - money that would be much better invested on behalf of the people in decent housing, hospitals, primary health care and education.
Worst of all, in my view, the whole idea of medals tables and countries competing against one another sustains the idea of superiority and inferiority between peoples, countries and cultures. What we get are lots of flag-waving, jingoism and nationalism, when what’s really happening is that individual runners, swimmers, throwers, etc are having a good time testing themselves against one another.
And all of this is crammed into a congested fortnight where different sports are competing with one another for attention, whereas there would be real benefit in spreading out such competitions throughout the year, with competitors using the available accommodation and to an extent the same facilities - the existing national facilities - serially rather simultaneously, especially when ridiculously expensive new facilities are crammed are on to a single site which is often inaccessible to the majority of a country’s population.
I hate all the medals ceremonies, the anthem-playing, the flag raising and the whole notion that some countries are better than others. Clearly the quality of life, the quality of education on offer, etc, in some countries is better than others. Winning medals is a substitute and not even a sensible proxy for that reality.
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Yesterday’s events in Paris may even have outdone London in ludicrousness, farce and brutality. The sight of the rollerblading and cycling police escort of the Flame was even more hilarious and more cringe-worthy than anticipated. The fact that the Flame had to be taken on board a bus (as in London) several times to protect it from some very determined demonstrators spoke volumes in itself - how ridiculous it was that the crowds who’d turned out to see the flame being carried aloft by an athlete actually managed to see only a bus driving slowly by.
Ah yes, you may say, but these things are not the fault of the Olympic movement itself - this whole flame relay thing is just something used and abused by the current host country in recent years to market the games and promote itself to a global audience. True enough, but the fact remains that the Olympic spirit itself is decidedly not one in line with the rhetoric of peace and international understanding and respect.
The fact remains that the USA is considered to be the greatest country on earth because, for all the reasons we don’t need to mention, it always tops the medals tables, whilst smaller countries are regarded as a joke when they fail to win more than a token bronze, if anything at all. Even if a country wins 7 or 8 golds this is considered pathetic, when measured against the vast hauls of the larger nations.
No - the Olympics is a self-sustaining industry, a global brand, and really nothing more. The fat cats who run it and their hangers-on like Lord Coe do it for their own enrichment and self-interest. There’s nothing wrong with non-nationalistic, friendly competition between individuals, competition that can happen anywhere in any given year without spending billions, but everything wrong with what currently passes for a test of sporting excellence.
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What happened in London on Sunday is even more troubling when you look in detail at what went on.
The Guardian reported on its front page,
“Before the torch arrived police circulated among Tibetan demonstrators ordering them to remove T-shirts and confiscating Tibetan flags in an apparent breach of a promise from Met [police] commanders that police would not intervene to prevent embarrassment to Beijing.
Yonten Ngama, a Tibetan who has been resident in the UK for four years, was ordered to remove a T-shirt scrawled with three slogans, 'China Stop the Killing', 'No Torch in Tibet' and 'Talk to the Dalai Lama'. "They didn't tell me why, they just said I couldn't wear it," he said. Police on the ground declined to comment on the reasons for confiscating the T-shirt.”
To me this is truly appalling. “Prevent embarrassment to Beijing”? What the hell’s going on in what must look like a police state to the rest of the world? Freedom of speech? Freedom to wear T-shirts and wave flags? Only the State entitled to decide who’s allowed to go about in public spaces and what they’re allowed to wear or carry? Does this sound like China, or a supposedly free and democratic country? There’s more:
“Police arrested at least eight demonstrators for public order offences, though several claimed they had simply chanted slogans. This pattern was repeated throughout the day as the huge crowds that turned out for the 2004 Athens torch relay stayed away, leaving the streets to Chinese nationals, the regime's detractors, battle buses hired by the sponsors and the massive police presence.” A presence that apparently cost £1million to arrange.
“On a difficult day for Britain's own Olympic aspirations, [Tessa] Jowell [MP and Minister responsible for Britain’s 2012 Olympics] conceded that the torch had brought an atmosphere of "threat and menace" rather than joy”
“In 2012 London is considering its own torch relay, promising a journey of "hope and reconciliation". After yesterday, those plans are under review.”
Elsewhere in the Guardian there’s another article:
“Campaigners complained of heavy-handed police tactics during the Olympic torch relay yesterday as officers were seen pulling down Tibetan flags, barging bystanders away from the route, threatening arrest under anti-terrorist legislation and telling protesters to remove "Free Tibet" T-shirts.”
“From the outset the flame was flanked by a mobile protective "ring" of specialist Metropolitan police officers and a dozen Chinese security officials. They were trailed by a team of police cyclists who occasionally used their bicycles to fend off protesters, and a convoy of security, sports stars and VIPs.”
“Demonstrators said the heavy-handed tactics violated their right to protest. "They said I was not allowed to wear my T-shirt," said Yonten Ngama, at Wembley Stadium. "It says 'No torch in Tibet, China Stop the Killing and Talk to the Dalai Lama', but they said I had to take it off."”
“Metropolitan Police Commander Jo Kaye denied that excessive force had been used. "The Met has clearly stated in the build-up to this event that we will facilitate lawful protest, however we will not tolerate continued attempts to breach the safety, security and safe passage of the torch and its bearers," he said.”
“He added: "Our job was to make sure the torchbearers got through safely, and they did."”
“Around 2,000 Metropolitan police, including airborne, mounted and river units, were mobilised at an estimated cost of about £1m, but at points along the route they seemed overstretched.”
Plainly this is all lunacy. “Threatening arrest under anti-terrorist legislation”?! In other words, under anti-protest legislation, as these laws are now seen by at least some of the police force in this country. Just as civil liberties organisations predicted they would.
Let’s hope there are more progressive and libertarian elements within politics, the law and the police who are taking note and aiming to address these abuses.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/07/olympicgames2008.china3
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/07/olympicgames2008.china2
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