2010 Games and its Protesters

[mapleleaf4ever]

Originally Posted by ebbomega

Just bitter cuz their hockey team sucks.

lol naw, i know the guy. he's a Jays fan. just a stereotypical 416'er.

still, i was kind of irked with that comment.

[NinjaBoy]

Originally Posted by ebbomega

Have your fun with the Olympics by all means, but don't go around saying the protesters shouldn't be protesting, because they have every a) reason and b) right to.

Did I say they shouldn't be protesting? My point is mainly that they are the worst, most useless protesters I've ever seen.

The point of a protest is to not only express outrage over an issue, but to try and sway people to your cause with a clear message. All they've seemed to try and do is piss off the general public without any clear goals. This seems to be the style of protest people go with these days...

They can protest all they want. Go for it. Because quite frankly they haven't gotten much attention in the media.

[fritz]

dont judge the merit of an argument by its protestors

[mojo]

Originally Posted by NinjaBoy

They can protest all they want. Go for it. Because quite frankly they haven't gotten much attention in the media.

ya and that is because of their method, not the vested interests of media ownership

[stephen_c]

10 more days... "Do You Believe"

[ebbomega]

Originally Posted by NinjaBoy

Did I say they shouldn't be protesting? My point is mainly that they are the worst, most useless protesters I've ever seen.

Obviously haven't been to any 4/20 protests lately, have you?

[ebbomega]

Originally Posted by stephen_c

10 more days... "Do You Believe"

I want Donald Sutherland to be my grandpa.

[Revolver]

nice written blog.

The only thing I dispise more then lefty-stoner-pinko-hackysackplayingbum squeegee-kid-hippie protesters are the olympics.

Vancouver's Olympics are heading for disaster | Douglas Haddow | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

[decypher]

+1, Another great Guardian article

[mojo]

The Tyee ? Who Are the 2010 Protesters?

Another interesting read.

[rawb]

Originally Posted by decypher

+1, Another great Guardian article

you have to be joking

"Vancouver is gripped by dread."
(wat)

"Vancouver and British Columbian governments have hinted at what's to come by cancelling 2400 surgeries, laying off 233 government employees, 800 teachers and recommending the closure of 14 schools."
(as if the olympics is the sole reason for these, and not such vancouver facts like decreased school enrollment or the economy currently. the teacher layoffs are most likely an idle threat to get a funding increase.)

"With a police officer on every corner and military helicopters buzzing overhead, Vancouver looks more like post-war Berlin than an Olympic wonderland."
(you cant be serious)

"Whole sections of the city are off-limits, scores of roads have been shut down, small businesses have been told to close shop and citizens have been instructed to either leave the city or stay indoors to make way for the projected influx of 300,000 visitors."
(not the least bit sensationalist)




while i welcome the economic analysis of the Olympics this article is still 50% horseshit.

[rawb]

i think anyone that wants to protest should. if you sit down, look at the problem in front of you, and see protest as the most effective and viable solution to that problem you owe it to yourself to pick up a sign and raise your voice.

that being said, i think the act of protesting the olympics by disrupting events and ceremonies has the reverse effect of what is wanted in many cases. i don't expect many people to have thought that through though, as Vancouver has a culture of protest as a social activity rather than a political one.

[Revolver]

Originally Posted by rawb

you have to be joking

"Vancouver is gripped by dread."
(wat)

"Vancouver and British Columbian governments have hinted at what's to come by cancelling 2400 surgeries, laying off 233 government employees, 800 teachers and recommending the closure of 14 schools."
(as if the olympics is the sole reason for these, and not such vancouver facts like decreased school enrollment or the economy currently. the teacher layoffs are most likely an idle threat to get a funding increase.)

"With a police officer on every corner and military helicopters buzzing overhead, Vancouver looks more like post-war Berlin than an Olympic wonderland."
(you cant be serious)

"Whole sections of the city are off-limits, scores of roads have been shut down, small businesses have been told to close shop and citizens have been instructed to either leave the city or stay indoors to make way for the projected influx of 300,000 visitors."
(not the least bit sensationalist)




while i welcome the economic analysis of the Olympics this article is still 50% horseshit.

that article was pictured and cited 3 times tonight on the ctv news at 6 broadcast.

[kir mokum]

Originally Posted by rawb

i think anyone that wants to protest should. if you sit down, look at the problem in front of you, and see protest as the most effective and viable solution to that problem you owe it to yourself to pick up a sign and raise your voice.

that being said, i think the act of protesting the olympics by disrupting events and ceremonies has the reverse effect of what is wanted in many cases. i don't expect many people to have thought that through though, as Vancouver has a culture of protest as a social activity rather than a political one.

rawb... i totally agree with you. i'm glad that people are at least doing something but i do think that being a dissident comes with a responsibility that most ignore: to be articulate and persuasive. you can catch a lot of people with an emotional appeal (which is the usual fair) but the only way you're going to attain and maintain legitimacy is to have a well thought out and articulate voice. one might totally disagree with noam chompsky but you'd be fux0red in a debate with him (of course he might win by making you fall asleep).

[ebbomega]

Originally Posted by Revolver

that article was pictured and cited 3 times tonight on the ctv news at 6 broadcast.

Media buys into media sensationalist bullshit. Film at 11.

(Seriously, Juan, I'd expect you to know better than to buy into the media machine)

Here's a quote from another forum from a source I trust a lot more than the Guardian.

"What a horrible piece of unbalanced horse shit.

There are many, many things wrong with these Games, and this article glosses right over most of them in favour of a bunch of exaggerated half-truths.

Librarians force-feeding McDonalds to helpless school children? Oh noes! That's so outrageous it MUST be true!

Feh. /me hates it when people get pissed off about the wrong things."

[decypher]

Gimme a break, Maybe I should have explained further. I never said the article/blog was fair and balanced and that I took his sensationalism as the gospel. In my opinion an attempt at objective journalism is in itself a bunch of horseshit and non-existent. Obviously things are blown out in the article but there are some underlying truths there and I enjoyed the style. There may not be helicopters hovering 24/7 but there are 4-7 cops on all main street corners coming in and out of the city.

For the whole librarian thing that was due to an internal memo telling Librarians to honor Olympic brands over other brands. Sure the article overreacts with the force feeding but that's because it's the style of the article. It does feel like the Olympics are being crammed down our throats. Either way I reserve my judgment for when there is a better analysis after the games, and I don't agree with getting in people's faces and ruining their time.

Again I never said it was a fair article he just uses those rhetorical devices to draw a picture for his UK audience and I enjoyed it. It's interesting to get a look at how people in other countries are viewing the situation here. I never said "+1 fair, balanced and neutral writing style." But fair enough for calling me on it.

[Silverwinged]

i return simply to say:
i am 100% against everything the olympics has brought to vancouver.
but, hey. i'm paying for them so i might as well enjoy the party because it's bringin on one hell of an economic hang over!

ps: too bad about those 800 teachers that are going to lose their jobs, eh?

[stephen_c]

come on y'all,
have u noticed all the cars with Canadian flags?
even if u disagree with the games,
at least show some national pride.

[fritz]

yeah guys, show some pride of ownership.

[kir mokum]

Originally Posted by stephen_c

come on y'all,
have u noticed all the cars with Canadian flags?
even if u disagree with the games,
at least show some national pride.[/sarcasm]

fixed.