The Other Press will be

: lakine two week break
from publication.

Our next issue will come

out March 2.

Enjoy your break and see

you in March!

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Let the Games be gone

      

Liam Britten
editor in chief
he 2010 Olympic Games in

Vancouver could qualify as one
of the biggest wastes of taxpayer

money in this province’s history. $2.5
billion will be spent on a two week-long
party that will see our downtown turned
into a veritable police state, where the
homeless are herded off like cattle to
be hidden away from visitors’ eyes and
public expression of disapproval for the
Games is unconstitutionally forbidden.
These games are supposed to represent
the best of our country and show the
world how great a city Vancouver is,
but all they will see is a locked-down,
advertising-rich mockery of Canada’s
most vibrant and unique city. When you
weigh all these factors objectively, it’s a
farce to have the Games at all.

So, why am I so damn excited to be
here for them?

My enthusiasm for the Games is
really a contradiction of everything
I believe in (except for my belief in
cheering for Canada—the Games do
cater to that belief of mine); I’ma
hardcore leftist who has wanted to see
affordable housing get my tax dollars, not
a spectacle for the international bourgeois
to attend for a few weeks. If there were
any other circumstances that would cause
Vancouver to turn into a living billboard
with Stormtrooper-esque police forces
on patrol and a congestion problem that
would make Singapore look like Agassiz,
I’d be marching in the streets. But since
there’s good hockey on TV, I guess I can
let it slide.

I know a lot of people have a
problem with the games, and like I’ve
said, any person looking at the situation
objectively should have a problem with it.
But as of right now, it’s too damn late to
complain about the money spent, because
they’re coming, like it or not. Besides,
we'll have plenty of time to bitch about
the price tag while we’re paying it off for
the next 10 years.

Let’s look at this situation by taking
the example of my favourite hobby:
drinking. If I’m at a pub looking to
have an awesome time, I’m not averse
to spending too much money on liquor.

I know it’s a bad idea and there’s no
sensible reason to do it, but once I’m one
or two or eight shooters in, it would be a
waste of booze to just drink and get upset
about my tab at the same time. There’s

a time and place for everything, and
worrying about money spent on drinking
is best done while hung over from said
drinking.

Despite all the problems the Games
have brought, this is still a once-in-a-
lifetime opportunity for our city. Never
again will we have this amount of
attention lavished upon us and never
again will we be such a destination, so we
might as well make the most of it.

Your friend in high fidelity,
Liam Britten

Editor in chief

The Other Press

P.S. And if you can’t stop worrying about
the Olympics because of my irresponsible
logic, at least enjoy your time off from
class.

 

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