Now, folks. This morning there WAS definitely a protest in the downtown core that turned ugly. I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't the last time it will happen, either. A lot of anger has been building for a long time. Thank fuck I decided to pass on this one.

I am not proud of those in the activist community who were involved for this, but I'm not surprised. This is, to me at least, a case of understanding the crime even though I definitely do not condone it.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/...otest.html


For the benefit of the Queen of TalkDownery land, JustErin, civilian reports have this CBC report as pretty well accurate. Last night's, however, was not.

JustErin said:

To my knowledge, there were at least three last night downtown at varying times. Those "clash" photos appear to be at night. It was just twilight when our crowd dispersed.

Besides, you want to tell me in a crowd with large numbers of elderly and very young children, including babies, people were agitating? A protest that was remarkably well organized to the point of including designated legal observers, and more-or-less given the official go ahead by City Hall, no less? How often did you say you attended protests, again?
[Edited 2/13/10 16:24pm]

I find the protest updates interesting ... thank you for continuing to update us

Mach said:

Your welcome.

meow85 said:

That's a little dismissive of supporters in the stands/on the side lines. They can and do spur athlete/s to victory.

JustErin said:

People had many, many reasons to protest at the Beijing games, and a great desire to do so, but really very little happened in the end. Security quashed it. There will always be a few incidents but ultimately it seems they rarely affect the games much at all.

Fauxie said:

The point isn't to disrupt the Games, though I'm sure many people involved would not-so-secretly be stoked if that happened.

It's too late to prevent any of this from happening. People have been trying for 7 years to call for accountability and honesty on the part of officials, to put a curtail on excessive spending, to at least keep practices ethical.

The point is to make it clear that not all of the citizenry are cheerleaders, and why. Maybe it won't affect anything, you're right. But at least it will be known that not everyone is in love with the notion of exploitation, corporate monopolies, and out of control spending. Protesters are taxpayers too -taxpayers who are pissed off that their money is paying for snow to be flown in and police surveillance and stupid red mittens instead of, oh, I don't know, cancer treatments and other such frivolities.

One of the weirder criticisms I've been hearing a lot of being bandied around at protesters is that we're all homeless, jobless welfare bums with drug habits. This actually comes up several times a day. WTF?

Can anyone shed some light on this? Somewhere, somehow have certain people gotten the idea that only crack addicts and street hookers are opposed to the Olympics, or is this just straw man name calling?

mcmeekle said:

It seems to me some yahoo standing on the side screaming "GO CANADA!" would be more of a distraction than anything else.

meow85 said:

Are most protests taking place during general business hours (e.g. M-F 9a-5p)? If so, then one might wonder why protestors aren't at work? Of course, this assumption is lame, as one could ask the same of all the spectators. So either everyone is using vacation/sick days or everyone is jobless.

When Vancouver won the bid for the Olympics in 2003, I was mildly excited but wanted to see how everything would turn out. When the cost of things were hidden from tax payers was hidden, and when the cost of hosting the games went up and up and up, I was pissed. I'm not happy with the cuts to programs either.

But... I've always thought that the games would be here no matter what. now that the money's spent, I feel like it's just time for me to just enjoy the once in a lifetime party. Free concerts every night all over the lower mainland by some big artists, is really pretty cool. So too is seeing some cheerful national pride. Nothing over the top, just more flags and maple leafs, and more interest in what our athletes can do.

I've watched the Olympics before and am constantly amazed by what athletes can do with their bodies. They're truly inspiring. I pay very little attention to sponsors though. I laugh at the McDonald's commercials, cause we all know that McDonald's is step one to a perfectly sculpted athletic physique.

I do wish our smaller local businesses could be promoted more through the games. That would really make a difference to the host city. Sadly that's not where the money is, and if sponsors didn't provide any money then that would be more out of our pockets and bigger cuts. The games cost a lot of money so there's little way to pay for them without the involvement of big corporations.

As far as the games taking place on stolen Native land -- sadly everything here takes place on stolen Native land. The current situation is the result of years of government neglect and sweeping aside of the Native land question and I'd like to see our government work on resolving the issue. Focusing attention on this issue may be helpful, but with all the different things being protested this issue may be drowned out.

The fact that there hasnt been much effort to find a resolution isn't stopping me from enjoying the games though... Im not sure how effective mentioning that the games are taking place on stolen native land really is, because it's true that almost all day to day activity in BC takes place on stolen land. Shining the spotlight on this issue may help push the government in the right direction, but i think a lot of people just get confused by what the Olympics has to do with any of it.

jone70 said:

Not at all. Most protests occur in the evening hours or on the weekend. Regardless though, it should be noted that many people who do have jobs don't work so-called regular 9-5 shifts, so the time of day a protest is held isn't of much relevence.

Purpleone4Eva said:

What do the Olympics have to do with it? Much of the taxpayer money being used to fund this event came from funds diverted away from health care, education, and social services. Programs that were or should have been in place to ease some of the conditions of the DTES and aid its residents, many of whom are aboriginal, (not to mention the problems faced by the Native population in the rest of the province) had their funding slashed so that there was conveniently available funds for Games promotions.

Many people feel the money and energy being pored into this "once in a lifetime event" could and should be better served directed at the citizens of this province, particularly those in the lower classes who are most in need.

A third of the children in this province, many of them Native or Metis, live in below poverty conditions. Why is it that we can afford to pay for beer tents and tour guides, but that feeding these children is beyond our ability to pay?
[Edited 2/15/10 20:35pm]

Today on the DTES, on Hastings St, there has been on an empty lot constructed a protest tent city. It was organized largely by the DTES Women's Center, and has the stated support of a variety of religious and community groups and small businesses. It is strictly a peaceful endeavour, with a zero tolerance approach to violence or vandalism.

The primary aim of the occupation is to call attention to homelessness and poverty in this neighbourhood, though there is a strong anti-Olympics sentiment. The property itself had at one time been promised as the construction site for low-income housing, but official city support has disappeared and so has the funding -many suspect, as has happened so often the past few years, so that something Games-related could be paid for.

I was there for a few hours early this afternoon. Many of those participating plan to stay with their tents and sleeping bags over night, and I wish them luck.

This afternoon I volunteered as a guide through the DTES and interviewee for several hours for Kelly Hayes, a reporter and editor of www.castanet.net, an online news media source from the Okanagan Valley in BC's interior. He had come to the Hastings tent city in an attempt to interview people there for a piece he is preparing about the impact and perception of the Olympics on homelessness in Vancouver's DTES.

When the article appears, I will provide a link for you guys.

meow85 said:

Thanx

This appears to be the article that formed out of Kelly Hayes tour through the DTES on the 15th:


Vancouver's Eastside Olympics
by Kelly Hayes - Story: 52752
Feb 16, 2010 / 6:00 am

The B.C. government promised that the homeless would not be overlooked during the Olympic games.

So as a reminder, a group of homeless have set up an Olympic tent city in the Heart of Vancouver's downtown Eastside.

Spokesperson, Elaine Desrocher of Power to Women, says the government has forced the homeless to re-locate.

"For instance, homeless people used to sleep at bus stops. They've removed all the benches and they've closed some of the stops."

Jane has been on Vancouver's streets for 10 years. She says the authorities have turned up the heat because of the Olympics.

"I just got out of jail for stealing chocolate bars. They usually just give you a written warning not to return to the store for something like that."

Jane says she's seeing the growth as a result of the Olympics, but questions the motive.

"I've seen a lot of new places go up but it's densification.(sic: gentrification was the word this woman, Jane, used) They're trying to hide the people that are poor. They're trying to hide the problem with high rises."

There are also allegations that police are ticketing the homeless for jaywalking as a form of harassment to keep them off the streets.

However, there are some of the homeless that see good in the Olympics.

"I would like to see good things come out of the Olympics because sports kept me off drugs and alcohol," says Alvin Clayton -- homeless for three years.

He's hoping that when the athletes leave the Olympic village, some of the homeless will have a home.
Watch the Video Castanet's Kelly Hayes reports from Vancouver's downtown eastside.

http://www.castanet.net/n...e-Olympics

meow85 said:

Uhmm...why would it be a GOOD thing to allow homeless people to sleep in BUS STOPS....in the middle of WINTER??? Are homeless people in Vancouver as relutant to use homeless shelters as they are in NYC?

PurpleJedi said:

To begin with, shelter services in Vancouver are grossly inadequate in terms of available space, staffing, and accessibility, and many people who are homeless flat out refuse to make use of the service for fear of theft, assault, or rape.

Second, I don't know what kind of coverage the weather conditions here during the Games have been getting, but it should be known that this warmth and lack of snow is completely normal.* Sure, it's a bit chilly here during the winter months, but it's rarely cold enough to pose a problem to those who sleep outside.




*All other issues aside, you've got to wonder what they were thinking assigning the Winter Olympics to a city that regularly sees flowers blooming and birds building nests in January.

^ Today I am wearing capris and a tube top and I am completely comfortable. In February. In Canada. How? This is Vancouver. I wore a winter jacket for only one week this season.

No one here even owns snow boots, and things like scarves and gloves are worn for fashion.

Palm trees and bamboo, though obviously not indigenous, flourish here. The neighbours across the street have what I suspect is a potted banana plant on their front porch.

My point, The Great White North isn't all as icey as popular image would have you believe.

From Sociological Images:

http://contexts.org/socim...-olympics/

The 2010 Olympics logo is an altered version of traditional Arctic Inuit sculptures. This quasi-indigenous logo has been displayed in a barrage of Olympics branding. You can see two examples of this marketing in photos — from the summer of 2009 – shown below.

With this Olympics logo, and other Olympics promotional messages, marketers have been portraying the 2010 Games as ‘indigenous’ Olympics. Indigenous references are foregrounded in mass produced Olympics marketing. The online Olympics store even sells “Authentic Aboriginal Products” (such as t-shirts and silk ties).

Some people who encounter this Olympics branding are bound to come away with the impression that natives (that is, individuals with a significant enough amount of native ancestry or culture) are respected, empowered, and well-integrated here in Canada. In other words, some viewers will view this marketing as a sign of harmonious bonds between natives and mainstream Canadian society.

Chief Stewart Phillip, the president of Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, conveyed a much different view of Olympics marketing when he asserted that,

We’re deeply concerned about the concerted and aggressive marketing campaign advanced by Vanoc [the 2010 Olympics organization committee] which suggests the indigenous people of [British Columbia] and Canada enjoy a very comfortable and high standard of living. The Disneyesque promotional materials suggests a cosy relationship between aboriginal people of the province with all levels of government and it completely ignores the horrific levels of poverty our people endure on a daily basis.

Arctic indigenous branding on a McDonald’s cup in a
Wal-Mart store, in a city in Ontario, Canada

In British Columbia, and elsewhere in present-day Canada, natives have communicated conflicting views about how the 2010 Olympics relate to their lives, lands, and traditions. Indigenous Environmental Network campaigners have been among the more vocal critics who have opposed the 2010 Games.

Some have found the cartoonish Olympic marketing imagery to be a mockery of native traditions. For example, critics have argued that the 2010 Olympics committee has edited and re-packaged native culture — which also has been ripped out of its traditional contexts. The Committee is highlighting Arctic indigenous imagery — yet Vancouver, the centre of the Games, is a temperate city. Arctic indigenous peoples did not live there — or on the nearby Whistler and Cypress mountains, where some Olympic events will be held. Other indigenous populations who did live in that area of British Columbia also are not represented in the marketing iconography.

The Olympics branding denies noteworthy differences among native groups spread across these areas. Passing theatrical gestures to native peoples during the open ceremonies could be considered to be more respectful, but Olympics marketers otherwise have been mixing up North American native traditions into a soup-like caricature. Natives have been consistently oppressed, but the various peoples who are considered to be native (in some way, or to some degree) certainly are not ‘all the same.’ Tacking Arctic imagery on to Vancouver-area Games implies that there is only one native essence (in North America, if not beyond this continent).

What else is going on here? What does this superficially ‘indigenous’ rhetoric and imagery have to do with the rest of the 2010 Olympics? In other words, are indigenous populations benefiting from the 2010 Olympics in a way that might explain or justify the appropriation of Arctic imagery?

I pose these questions:

- What proportion of the profits from Olympics sales and tourism will natives groups receive?

- To what extent have native groups actively participated in Olympics organizing?

- How many of the athletes representing Canada at the Games have strong ties to native traditions and ancestors?

- Aside from the branding rhetoric and imagery discussed here, how much indigenous culture will be included in Olympic sports events and Olympics broadcasting?

- And how should we interpret the use of traditional imagery for product marketing purposes? What is the relationship between native peoples and chewing gum wrappers, sugary soda pop drink bottles, and other products which display Olympics brand logos? Are indigenous peoples profitting from these product sales? Are natives involved in the boardrooms of the corporations behind these sales? And are there any other noteworthy connections between these products and any natives in present-day Canada?

Answers to those preceding questions are tied to the conditions that native peoples live under in present-day Canada. As I will explain, there are deep problems with the ‘indigenous’ Olympics rhetoric and imagery, which is very much at odds with Canadian realities.

Arctic advertising
‘Indigenous’ marketing in a major commercial square in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Native issues can be complex — and yet brutally straightforward, at the same time. Here are some figures that convey the highly disproportionate impoverishment, vulnerabilities, marginalization, and disempowerment of natives in present-day Canada. (Here are additional child poverty statistics.) The worst racism in Canada is reserved for indigenous peoples who are trapped between assimilation and ghettoization. Native groups ultimately are disappearing — in a nation that was established on native lands.

No marketing imagery ever could erase these ongoing legacies of a history of colonial genocide in Canada (and elsewhere).

Frankly, the ‘indigenous’ Olympics rhetoric and imagery strikes me as yet another form of liberal tokenism, given how fundamental problems are glossed over with paltry gestures (rather than a more radical redistribution of resources — or other constructive societal change).

In fact, while the Olympics imagery implies some sort of harmony between natives and non-natives in Canada, there actually are various ongoing native land claim conflicts in this country. In Ontario, indigenous activists helped to wage a defensive campaign which was a relatively high-profile land claim conflict here in Ontario, during the summer of 2009.

Native land claims are at the forefront of the issues raised by anti-Olympic protestors in Canada (who occasionally have supported tactics that I do not agree with). The phrase “No Olympics on Stolen Land” has been a common protest slogan, and indigenous imagery has been foregrounded in messages from no2010 campaigners, and other anti-Olympic activists. Although these opponents of the Olympics have not carefully distinguished between imagery from different indigenous cultures, their campaign messages surely could not be considered a tokenist form of whitewashing or conservatism — since these anti-Olympic activists have been siding with native land claims.

Protesters also have been raising concerns about how the Olympics are tied to indigenous land conflicts around the tar sands in Alberta. A recent day of action call-out from the Indigenous Environmental Network is the best example of connections drawn between the tar sands and the 2010 Games. As in some other activist campaign messages, this day of action announcement highlights financial and energy-system ties between the Olympics and tar sands pollution in Alberta — beside native lands. These tar sands operations also are the world’s worst climate threat; and the Arctic indigenous peoples alluded to in Olympics marketing actually are on the front lines of global warming impacts, which are aggravated by Olympic environmental devastation (including deforestation, which releases carbon into the world-wide atmosphere). As in other areas of the world, the most disempowered and resource-poor Canadians tend to be much more vulnerable to climate impacts.

Given all of the aforementioned gaps between pro-indigenous rhetoric and actual indigenous realities, why have so many people tolerated the native branding around the 2010 Games? After all, the Olympic brand logo was selected in 2005, and the Olympics marketing blitz was well-underway by the summer of 2009, in Canada.

Aside from the sheer monetary force behind the Olympics, there also are important cultural factors at work here. The harmonious vision conveyed through ‘indigenous’ packaging around the Olympics is an extension of mainstream Canadian visions of an outright “multicultural” “mosaic” in this country — where some claim that there is a complete lack of systemic racism, as well as equally proportioned room for all ethnic groups. In spite of arguments and evidence from critics (including scholars who are affiliated with John Porter’s The Vertical Mosaic), rhetoric about ethnic equality in Canada persists in marketing, in policy documents, and in other mainstream rhetoric. ‘Native’ Olympics marketing celebrates the Canadian status quo, in the same way.

At the same time, the ‘indigenous’ Olympics imagery provides some ethnic spice to the 2010 Games — as well as associated merchandising, and mass media spectacle. In Canada, remnants of native cultures likewise are re-packaged as decorations and tourist industry products. In much the same way, Olympics marketers have sought to increase profits with shreds of de-contextualized indigenous culture which they have appropriated.

But how are indigenous traditions linked to capitalist consumption, mass advertising, mainstream media systems, or tourism? These systems are entrenched on former native lands, but are there any other noteworthy connections between native traditions and such mainstream systems?

(I don’t mean to imply that people with native ancestors will be or should be forever trapped in a receding past. Vibrant, living traditions are flexible. Yet, I do not see how native heritage could be considered to be largely optional in any conception of indigenous-ness.)

Outside of Canada, it probably is not so apparent that the disputes over the Olympics have been national-scale tensions. Anti-Olympic protests (hyper-marginalized though they may be) actually have been organized in various other areas of Canada — well beyond British Columbia. (Here is one example of anti-Olympic campaigning in a city in Ontario.) I also find it telling that, in the face of an anti-Olympic protest in the city that I live in here in southern Ontario, some people conveyed their support for the Olympics by chanting “Canada… Canada… Canada.”

In sum, mainstream Canada claims and re-packages imagery from natives to sell a vision of a present-day Canada that is a tolerant country, with a rich and interesting history; such visions have been produced for the 2010 Games – as well as other tourism and merchandising, and wider nationalism. Then, ironically, when pro-indigenous groups challenge the use of this appropriated iconography to represent ‘Canada,’ majority groups dismiss their protests by claiming a more authentic Canadian-ness. Of course, the refusal to take indigenous protests seriously is just another manifestation of disinterest in the welfare of living indigenous peoples. Even as gestures are made toward native culture, actual natives generally are ignored.