International Sports Day. Part 2.

The efforts and achievements of the athletes were indeed inspiring and taken in isolation they were enjoyable and at times quite moving. However there were aspects that were very distasteful. I have already written about the corporate fascism involved along with the anti business practices of the multi nationals involved. So I will put that to one side. There have been other aspects that have been very uncomfortable to witness.

• The jingoism of the presenters and commentators( TV and particularly radio) and their desperate attempts to associate themselves  with the athletes as they wrapped themselves in the flag was at times sickening. By the end of the two weeks the presenters seemed little more than Olympic groupies who sneeringly dismissed anybody who should dared to have the temerity to criticise anything involved with the Olympics.
• Continually referring to the athletes as heroes. They may be inspirational. They might be quite brave. They are not heroic. A hero is somebody who carries out an act because they consider it to be their duty and they have nothing to gain. Heroism is an unselfish act that benefits others. An athletes existence is a very selfish one dimensional existence. All the athletes are motivated by their own success. They do not run, jump and throw for others. They do it for themselves.
• Politicians and celebrities desperate efforts to associate themselves with successful athletes. Boris Johnson and some Tory ministers have been particularly active. They need to be reminded of some unpalatable facts. It was the Labour government that decided to bid and eventually won the Olympics. It was the Labour government that planned, organised and built all the infrastructure and put in place all contingency plans. The Tory's were just fortunate to be in office at the time of the Olympics so they could bask in the reflected glory of the previous governments hard work. However, The Tory's were responsible for two areas. They were responsible for putting the security in place as well as the ticket sales. That went well then.
• The athletes were given a very positive press and some events were glossed over or ignored. An example being the GB cyclist who, because he got a poor start, fell of his bike to get a restart. If we rightly criticise footballers for feigning fouls and falling over we cannot then ignore an athlete trying to gain an advantage in a similar way just because it happens to be a medal winning cyclist. It's hypocrisy.
• The governments almost daily pronouncements about sport in schools when three weeks ago they couldn't give a stuff about sport in state schools. Bandwagon and jumping  comes to mind.
• The right wingers suddenly being very keen on multi culturism when the two stars of the Olympics are a mixed race heptathlon athlete and a gold medal winning Somali immigrant.
• The propaganda currently being put out by Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt that the Olympics increased business in the area. It is a disgusting lie. 70% of business in the Stratford area of London when asked said that business had dropped dramatically during the Olympics. And when these business tried to advertise their business with flyers and posters they were ripped down by Locog.

As I have already said the achievements of the athletes have been immense but do not let misguided patriotism and nationalism cloud our judgement. And beware of the bandwagon jumping mendacious politicians.


Sports Funding.

I agree with athletes being funded via the taxpayer. Nearly all the GB medal winners would not have achieved their success without the benefit of tax payers funding. I do think, however, that funding should be treated in the same way as tuition fees. Some athletes such as Jessica Ennis,Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton and Mo Farah will receive lucrative endorsements over the next few months. They will become very wealthy. Surely it is not to much to ask that they pay back some of  the funding they received in the same way we now expect university students to pay back their loans when they achieve a certain level of income. It would also be nice if some of the athletes that have received benefits in the form of sports funding perhaps spoke up in defence of less fortunate people such as the disabled who are victims of this governments war on the poor and vulnerable. Particularly as the Para Olympics are about to begin.

Suicide

Suicide figures have increased dramatically since the current government came to power. Some people have suggested that the victims are selfish for taking their own lives. It is wrong to accuse a person of being selfish if they believe they are living a pointless life with no hope. They have the right of self determination. It is the accusers who are being selfish. There attitude is that they expect someone to carry on living a daily life of desolation, pain, isolation, hopelessness and futility because if they choose to end it then the accuser will be effected negatively. It is the accuser who is selfish not the person considering taking their own life.