Well stated. At least half the people would freak if their bread-and-circus routine was taken from them, whether they even participate in it or not. Especially if the resources were redirected to help people. I'll be watching basketball but only because that's currently a copium of mine to numb out from dealing with the myriad of crises engulfing our world.
One other thing to mention - the mistreatment of the vulnerable. For instance, homeless people being ushered out of city centres during the Olympics, as they are considered to be “bad optics”.
Yep, that pretty much sums up why I never cared for the Olympics. I made a point of not watching back when China got to host, and honestly I haven't watched them ever since.
Thanks for pointing out what I was thinking but too lazy and unmotivated to write. What I hate the most is the way here in the Netherlands they feed you the fucking Olympics down your throat, whether you like it or not, because there's tons of advertising on tv about them, and in the news, everywhere! It's extremely obnoxious.
Well said. However, although rampant capitalism is thriving on tax-payers money that should be spent on real needs of the society, it should be noted that all autocratic governments, regardless of their economic systems, have always been fond of the Games, lavishly spending on it and using it for propaganda purposes. It is true for the Third Reich as well as Soviet Union.
It's also interesting how the Olympics hijacks culture - I'm not sure how many people know that the Olympic torch relay was a publicity stunt invented by the Nazis and has nothing to do with Greek history. Great article, thanks!
There are so many areas where our culture is the exact opposite of what anything resembling a healthy, "woke" perspective would have. For example, exalting the rich instead of publicly shaming them to hell for greedily hoarding and using more resources than they could ever reasonably need. What's up with that? Bring out the pitchforks already.
“Collapse as opportunity” seems to be the obligatory “Keep Hope Alive” bullshit hopium line here at Substack data center, and on the gasbag soapbox circuit in general.
No, collapse is not fun ‘n games. It is the artificial as real, and the rule of death and destruction. It is inescapable, and to pretend otherwise is nonsense.
The Olympics are completely dominated by PEDs mainlined in private by supervised wealth-enabled gladiators, but expecting a peoples’ revolution (Caitlin Johnstone, Chris Hedges, Naomi Klein) to magically emerge to redeem the Olympics, and the social world we inherit, is just child’s play.
Once the global recession hits, the games as we know them will fade away. Will they come back afterwards? Probably but not in quite the spectacle we see now. I doubt China, Russia and the other BRICS bloc nations will throw out any large sums of money for spectacles like these. Since they will be the leaders of the new multipolar hegemony after the recovery, any world games will likely be a lot more low key.
Well stated. At least half the people would freak if their bread-and-circus routine was taken from them, whether they even participate in it or not. Especially if the resources were redirected to help people. I'll be watching basketball but only because that's currently a copium of mine to numb out from dealing with the myriad of crises engulfing our world.
One other thing to mention - the mistreatment of the vulnerable. For instance, homeless people being ushered out of city centres during the Olympics, as they are considered to be “bad optics”.
Yep, that pretty much sums up why I never cared for the Olympics. I made a point of not watching back when China got to host, and honestly I haven't watched them ever since.
Thanks for pointing out what I was thinking but too lazy and unmotivated to write. What I hate the most is the way here in the Netherlands they feed you the fucking Olympics down your throat, whether you like it or not, because there's tons of advertising on tv about them, and in the news, everywhere! It's extremely obnoxious.
Well said. However, although rampant capitalism is thriving on tax-payers money that should be spent on real needs of the society, it should be noted that all autocratic governments, regardless of their economic systems, have always been fond of the Games, lavishly spending on it and using it for propaganda purposes. It is true for the Third Reich as well as Soviet Union.
I have never watched them (age 68) so no different this year
I couldn't care less 🥱
It's also interesting how the Olympics hijacks culture - I'm not sure how many people know that the Olympic torch relay was a publicity stunt invented by the Nazis and has nothing to do with Greek history. Great article, thanks!
You have exactly stated why I do not watch the Olympics.
Please bring back your youtube videos! :(
Sorry mate, they were just too much work. Don't have the time unfortunately, gotta survive :(
I totally understand! What I meant was simply the ones you'd already made. I'd love to share them with people, but I can't find them. I'm not the only one lamenting their absence: https://www.reddit.com/r/CollapseSupport/comments/1d3kz9f/what_happened_to_youtuber_beneath_the_pavement/
DCI and BOA are the Marching Industries Hunger Games and Indiana is the Capitol.
https://substack.com/home/post/p-140422936
There are so many areas where our culture is the exact opposite of what anything resembling a healthy, "woke" perspective would have. For example, exalting the rich instead of publicly shaming them to hell for greedily hoarding and using more resources than they could ever reasonably need. What's up with that? Bring out the pitchforks already.
“Collapse as opportunity” seems to be the obligatory “Keep Hope Alive” bullshit hopium line here at Substack data center, and on the gasbag soapbox circuit in general.
No, collapse is not fun ‘n games. It is the artificial as real, and the rule of death and destruction. It is inescapable, and to pretend otherwise is nonsense.
The Olympics are completely dominated by PEDs mainlined in private by supervised wealth-enabled gladiators, but expecting a peoples’ revolution (Caitlin Johnstone, Chris Hedges, Naomi Klein) to magically emerge to redeem the Olympics, and the social world we inherit, is just child’s play.
Once the global recession hits, the games as we know them will fade away. Will they come back afterwards? Probably but not in quite the spectacle we see now. I doubt China, Russia and the other BRICS bloc nations will throw out any large sums of money for spectacles like these. Since they will be the leaders of the new multipolar hegemony after the recovery, any world games will likely be a lot more low key.