Should we disband the Olympics?

[MichaelJ 0]

With the recent corruption emerging that the IOC organisers made a secret deal that they will accept Chinese censorship over the Olympics, in effect, giving the Olympics to yet another dictatorship(1936, 1940, or 1980), and sanctioning it. Has this tarnished the good name of the Olympics to simply be the latest properganda platform for dictaterships to announce themselves?

Because they are not likely to cancel it after the broken public assurances about China, and it emerging that the IOC planned this all along, should it end in disgrace with these Chinese Olympics?

I am starting to think so, and I think it should be replaced with a new games, that only the free nations of the world can enter or host it as part of its fundamental charter, to stop what is meant to be a celebration of Mankinds sporting achievements from being used as yet more properganda by nations that seek to destroy each humans ability to achieve.

[piz 0]

I used to be a huge fan of the Olympics, but the last Olympic Games I even paid any attention to were in 1996. As you say, it's a matter of sanction; like the UN, the Olympics grants moral equivalence to free and slave states.

Frankly, I don't care if there is never another Olympiad. I wouldn't mind the alternate "free countries" games you propose. I'm reminded of a line from Chariots of Fire, where, on the boat from England to France, the head of the British Olympic Committee, Lord Birkenhead, tells the athletes that they are "to face the world's best: brown and yellow, white and black, young and hardened as yourselves, fleet of foot and strong of limb, from every civilized nation on the face of the earth." [emphasis in original] What a terrible disservice is done to that ideal by the present-day Olympics!

[Free Capitalist 0]

Definitely Replace it with another freedom games. It's absolutely preposterous that we have this 'cosmopolitan' mindset nowadays, in the UN, in the Olympics, that we, all of us humanity, are 'in it together', and so let's just join in and sing kum-ba-ya even though back home some live free and others will get tortured shortly after their return. The Olympics in the first place was instituted by free Greek cities, to distinguish the Greeks from the barbarians. And it was brought back in the Victorian Era to revive ideals such as this one. I'm sure that the founders, and the revivers, would be pretty shocked that the Olympics has turned into a muscled Chinese athlete running with utmost strain on the cover of top US magazines, a slave tool of his own country but proud to serve his masters.

It'd be a bit like some Persian king sending a bunch of burly men to compete in the athletics -- it doesn't matter if they were physically adequate, mentally they were not, and would be laughed out.

[KPO'M 0]

With the recent corruption emerging that the IOC organisers made a secret deal that they will accept Chinese censorship over the Olympics, in effect, giving the Olympics to yet another dictatorship(1936, 1940, or 1980), and sanctioning it. Has this tarnished the good name of the Olympics to simply be the latest properganda platform for dictaterships to announce themselves?

Cancel it after Chicago hosts it in 2016. On second thought, if we get the Olympics, it will probably be through corruption, and Cook County is a mini dictatorship that will spend our money like there's no tomorrow if we get the games, so go ahead and cancel them now.

[Joss Delage 0]

As far as I know, this is a private organization. I really don't see what disbanding would look like.

(I'm all for supporting an alternative game org, but I don't see one rivaling the Olympics any time soon.)

[Stussy88 0]

With the recent corruption emerging that the IOC organisers made a secret deal that they will accept Chinese censorship over the Olympics, in effect, giving the Olympics to yet another dictatorship(1936, 1940, or 1980), and sanctioning it. Has this tarnished the good name of the Olympics to simply be the latest properganda platform for dictaterships to announce themselves?

Because they are not likely to cancel it after the broken public assurances about China, and it emerging that the IOC planned this all along, should it end in disgrace with these Chinese Olympics?

I am starting to think so, and I think it should be replaced with a new games, that only the free nations of the world can enter or host it as part of its fundamental charter, to stop what is meant to be a celebration of Mankinds sporting achievements from being used as yet more properganda by nations that seek to destroy each humans ability to achieve.

Setting aside the corruption for the moment, the modern state seems unable to control the spend. When London won the next games (i.e. 2012) we were told the cost would be £2.3B. Universal rejoicing followed outside of the Stussy88 household anyway, and I recall being treated as something of an idiot whn I suggested costs would far outrun this figure. Projections are now at around £9B with no real clue of the final figure. Astonishingly, no-one has been fired as the minister responsible explained that the sums were "really rather complex" as if this somehow justified the lies/incompetence.

Given the brand value of the Olympics (to some anyway) they will remain, but as you say, they are forever tainted and certainly should go.

The ancient Romans used to keep the populace docile and under control with "bread and circuses" Isn't this just the modern day equivalent? I won't watch. Any by the way, does anyone get the opening and closing ceremonies of these things?

[KPO'M 0]

Setting aside the corruption for the moment, the modern state seems unable to control the spend. When London won the next games (i.e. 2012) we were told the cost would be £2.3B. Universal rejoicing followed outside of the Stussy88 household anyway, and I recall being treated as something of an idiot whn I suggested costs would far outrun this figure. Projections are now at around £9B with no real clue of the final figure. Astonishingly, no-one has been fired as the minister responsible explained that the sums were "really rather complex" as if this somehow justified the lies/incompetence.

If I recall correctly, the rationalization was that it would cost the average Londoner "no more than the cost of a candy bar" a week. The Chicago 2016 planning committee has similarly rosy scenarios, though most of us know with experience that generally if you multiply a government estimate by 3 you'll come fairly close (the $450 million Millennium Park [$300 million direct public funds] was quoted at $150 million and "no public funds").

True, the Olympic Committee is "private" and based in Lausanne, Switzerland. That said, its ability to get governments to bend over backwards to commit billions of dollars to a sporting event every 2 years (counting the Winter and Summer games) makes it a quasi-governmental organization.

[Free Capitalist 0]

To avoid starting a new thread, I thought I'd put this here; and it's quite appropriate for this anyway:

Ode to the Olympics

A large painting depicting the Olympics, in China:

"Confucius, Laozi, Quyuan and Socrates are featured watching the Olympics. "

Hillarity, or tragedy, I don't know.

PS. Note, it's not even,

"Confucius, Pythagoras, Aristotle, and Socrates watching the Olympics"

but,

"Confucius, Laozi, Quyuan, and Socrates watching the Olympics"

Like I said, it's either hilarious or very tragic.

[ruveyn ben yosef 0]

Who is We? Not the government. The Olympics is a private voluntary undertaking which uses the hospitality of various governments and NGOs. The only thing that can be done is for athletes to boycott the Olympics. If enough do that, the Olympics will cease.

ruveyn

[Vespasiano 0]

As far as I know, this is a private organization. I really don't see what disbanding would look like.

(I'm all for supporting an alternative game org, but I don't see one rivaling the Olympics any time soon.)

I admit that I have little to no interest in the Summer Olympics generally and consequently haven't really been paying attention to much of the Beijing Brouhaha. That being said, however, I'm with you on this one, Joss. My first reaction upon seeing the title for this thread was: "We, who?".