In 142 days, the Olympic games will open in Beijing. I love the Olympic games. I’m a sucker for pageantry, people way-better at stuff than I am, and doves. Can’t get enough. I tear-up at the national anthem. I love the montages of athletes, talented beyond all imagination, overcome injury, familial crises, disease, and heart-ache just to have this one shot to shine before all the world. The idea that for a moment we can lay down our differences and co-mingle and snack at each other’s table is naïve, yes, but for a few days, it actually seems tangible. It actually seems real.
So, yeah, that’s 142 days away.
Unless you happen to be Chinese or Tibetan.
According to the Christian Science Monitor today, 3/18, "Foreign journalists have been banned from traveling to Tibet and prevented by the police from reporting on protests by Tibetans in other Chinese provinces. Domestic newspapers, TV programs, and Internet sites have carried only articles produced by the official Xinhua news agency. News reports on international TV networks such as CNN and the BBC have been blacked out by censors." - Way to go, host country! How do you say "Kumbayah" in Chinese? Kim Jong Il is super-turned on right now.
Obviously the Chinese government was and probably still is hoping that these games would be their coming out party. The Global Debutante Ball where it’ll glow virginally in it’s white dress and gloves, corsage applied by the most eligible country (I would say the U.S. but let’s face it, the dollar can’t buy shit let alone a carnation set-off by baby’s breath). The two will twirl in the spotlight. Smile for the pictures. And we’ll believe no one is being beaten-down in the back-room and shot at the front door. - Tienanmen Square? Oh it has an Armani Exchange AND a Versace Outlet! We now call it "Tienanmen Commons".
This isn’t 1932 and it isn’t Berlin, but the disillusionment seems the same. It’s all propaganda. It’s all show-and-tell. Seventy-six-years-ago we didn’t have the world press we have now. We didn’t have the eyes and the ears. The Chinese government is trying to lock the uglies and the unclean in the attic, hoping you don’t hear them.
The sad truth is we’ll hear the pounding and the pleading, but we probably won’t pause. We like our toys cheap, our cargo-pants even cheaper. We need new markets because, well, after some time, even rape loses its high. Eventually they just cease praying for you to stop and switch to hoping you’ll be quick. They’ve got shit to do.
I don’t think there will be a Jesse Owens f-you here. One man stood-up to evil once in these games. He did it by winning with class and talent on the home-field of the bigoted and ruthless. - I just don’t think we can do it this time though, kids. I don’t think America, 300million strong, can harness our collective strength and power and say, "No. No you don’t get to play with the words ’peace’ and ’unity’ by being host. You don’t get to march out the pandas and fireworks to distract us with ohhs-and-ahhs from the cries and the screams. No. You don’t get to fuck us this time.".
Tyrants and despots reign. And we get to be preoccupied by gas prices and a war that, five-years in, has only made oil companies richer, our international standing weaker, and death even more commonplace. Like I said, after a while, we all just roll-over and give it up. ’Cause we got other shit to do.
Maybe they are the smart ones. We do seem to be doing what they want after-all. Oh well, Kim can’t really be that lonely any more. That’s a good thing, right?
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