Anti-Olympic activists are “terrorists” of “limited intellect”
BC Liberal MLA Harry Bloy thinks anti-Olympic protesters are terrorists:
For this group to take away so much from the Games, to have an opinion not shared by many where they have to gather from across Canada to try and disrupt these Games, to stop a young child or young adult with disabilities from carrying the flame—something he had been looking at doing for months since he was chosen, and he couldn’t carry it in his hometown—I think is disgusting and shameful.
They do not understand, these terrorists, the potential goodwill and economic benefits that come from these Games, because they have a limited intellect and do not understand how the world truly operates.
So if the protesters manage to successfully disrupt the Games, does that mean the terrorists win?
Evidently some poor kid’s desire to be exploited by the Olympic machine is more important to Harry Bloy than police harassment of our most vulnerable neighbors; the failure of politicians to live up to their promises to address Vancouver’s housing and homelessness crisis; flagrant violations of fundamental rights; the creation of a $900 million security apparatus that seems to spend most of its time intimidating critics of the Games and their friends; the prospect of massive public debt and the diversion of desperately needed funding from other areas to cover the $6 billion cost of the Olympics; the horrendous effects the Games have had on other host cities; and all the other issues that are motivating anti-Olympic activism in BC. Indeed, according to Harry Bloy, only someone with a “limited intellect” would be more concerned about these issues than about an absurd and pointless spectacle dedicated to elite athletics, nationalism, and corporate sponsorship. Personally, I think the protesters “understand how the world truly operates” far better than Harry Bloy.
It’s not that I expect anything better from politicians, least of all a BC Liberal. I just don’t like it when my friends are insulted by idiots.
Comments
hmmm…using the words terrorist and stupid to attack people with different values seems to be a popular thing to do this week: http://wiki.code4lib.org/index.php/SirsiDynix:_Integrated_Library_System_Platforms_on_Open_Source
i realize the situation and stakes are completely different, but it’s interesting to see the same fear-mongering and disrespectful words used.
I think in both cases, it’s a sign of (a) intellectual laziness and (b) arguing from a weak position where you lack better (i.e., good) arguments.
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