Tuesday, May 6, 2014

The Awfulness of the Olympics

Corrupt scam run for years by a fascist. Rampant bribery and insider dealing. Cynical multibillion dollar business that exploits naïve young athletes who are “paid” in “glory” and “dreams.”

Citizens forced to involuntarily subsidize the cynical, manipulative spectacle to the tune of billions of dollars for the benefit of the Olympics business and politicians who get to preen on “the world stage” for a few days.

Ever since Hitler used them for political propaganda, politicians everywhere, from heads of state down to mayors vying to be “host” cities, have seen the Olympics as a chance to polish their own images. Politicians leech billions from their subjects for the politicians' vanity projects, “hosting” the Olympics. (The politicians and media propagandists prefer the word “prestige” to vanity.) “Hosting” means bribing the Olympics' poohbahs individually, and politicians spending billions on stadia and gussying up their towns, to provide venues for this business that provides entertainment for two weeks or so once every two years.

An event that is explicitly nationalistic, promotes nationalism and competition between nations. The spectators' role is to cheer for “their” nation's athletes, not for athletes per se, athleticism, or individual sports.

In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, thousands of poor people are being forced from their homes and permanently relocated miles away, far from their former jobs and transportation, to make way for the Olympics. Ripped from their communities, they are more human tumbling tumbleweeds blown hither and yon by an inhuman power system.


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