Olympic glory?

[robingoh]

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/sports/article2592984.ece

Am I the only one who finds these stories and others like them highly disturbing?

Comments

[sacred_faith]

before i comment - what exactly do you find disturbing ?

[roidsrage]

not being fed well, not being paid?

or that countries sacrifice their people for the sake of the country?

[sacred_faith]

Wasn't sure mah - i thought he was saying that he is disturbed about them complaining when they should be sacrificing all for their country

[roidsrage]

they should be all buried under the great wall

[docras]

not being humane and sensitive to the participants' needs. did you read 50 to a room with most toilets not able to use? having the same food fed for a year. put yourself in their shoes and think and maybe you will feel what they feel

[scorpiojerm]

funny .... as i was watching snippets of the opening ... i was wondering wat lengths the chinese govt went to pull it off and how the people wud have suffered for the sake of a good show and their country

i'm not at all surprised and disgusted

the chinese govt will be the chinese govt ... all that matters is face and how they appear to the rest of the world ... human rights and any semblance of dignity to their own people be damned

[e_rambler]

You know what people say - in a big country, lives are cheap. Sad to see all these "scandals" mar what was a brilliant opening ceremony... Although I also feel that the western press are a bit overenthusiastic when covering these stories, and I also wonder if there's any embellishment...

[robingoh]

When I posted the question, it was meant to be rhetorical. Of course I didn't expect to be the only one to find the story disturbing, or at least I hoped I wasn't. I think your quotation marks are misplaced. Instead of "scandals", shouldn't they be framing "overenthusiastic"? Or even "western"? Note that the story comes not from BBC or CNN but from Norway, hardly a bastion of western chauvinism. God knows the Singapore press, or any of the Asian newspapers are not going to pick something like this up. What about the petitioners who've been driven out of their homes because they happen to live near where the Games are held? What about the Tibetan protesters who've been promised an arena to hold demonstrations, only to be driven away or arrested anyway? What about the poor dancer who is now paralysed after an accident during a rehearsal for the "brilliant" opening ceremony? What about the little girl who was told that she's not cute enough to be seen singing the song at the same ceremony? Why shouldn't these stories be coming out? Why

[e_rambler]

I am not saying that the people shouldn't get to know about these stories that occurred behind the opening ceremony, but coming from a country like China I am hardly surprised that it has treated its people like trash. It's not right, of course, but you must admit that the western press have been reporting these incidents with more fervour than usual. And although some of the news have been scandalous, I don't think that the little girl incident, for example, warranted that much international scrutiny especially from countries who are guilty of perpetuating the same "crime" on different levels, hence my quotation marks around "scandal".

[robingoh]

I disagree that the little girl incident didn't warrant international scrutiny. I'll bet the little girl feels differently, no matter what she says about it being an honour just to be the voice. The dancer said pretty much the same thing, and that sentiment is pretty much echoed down the alleyways of Beijing, that whatever sacrifice made is worth it, but it doesn't change the fact that lives have been changed, and probably damaged. And for what? A spectacle disguising the capitalist ambitions of a communist country. Laughable. And sad.

[urbank1d]

I think Beijing was setting itself up from the get-go. Regardless the kind of outcome they produce, whether they administrate the games with excellence or turn in leaking roofs at the stadium, they were going to be chided for whatever they didn't do correctly. The world has mixed opinions on Beijing and China, politically and socially and no matter what they do, it was probably easier and more convenient for most to criticize than say something nice.