T
homas Bach, head of that self-entitled bunch of elitists who operate the International Olympics Committee (IOC), said competitors will not be gagged at the upcoming Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.
I hope he’s right but, having lived through the tragedy that was the 1972 Munich Olympics — and knowing that when a bully mouths off that he’s gonna whup you, he pretty much has to or lose face — Bach’s use of the word gagged conjures up too many pictures.
Not one of them is good.
Now, to be fair, Bach was talking about his belief not one athlete will be stopped from making political points during any press conference they may hold.
But, they can’t use the podium for the same purpose.
Apparently, that edict is sufficient to make it clear to the rest of us that the Olympics is all about the athlete and the sport, not politics.
Any event that requires what has been estimated as 27 security personnel for each athlete in attendance in a reaction to terrorist threats has let politics trump athleticism.
When families of athletes are afraid to go to the Russian city because they, too, fear the Black Widows will succeed in blowing things up, it’s about politics.
Bach, perhaps schooled in the art of speaking nonsense by his predecessor, Jacques Rogge, has also said that, once the Games begin, it will be only about sport.
“Therefore, I am really confident that we will have, in this respect, a very good atmosphere,” he said.
It’s an armed camp that has been created in a country where there were three deadly bombings at the end of 2013. The best estimate is there will be 100,000 security personnel in Sochi, not to mention all the surveillance that has also been put into place.
To put that into some context, U.S. Department of Defence statistics shows America sent 60,000 soldiers into Afghanistan.
Sochi has a population of 343,000.
I know I’m in the minority — even in my own house.
When I raised the issue at dinnertime, one son told me he loves to watch the Olympics because he enjoys watching all the athletes. He labelled me a negative person if I don’t support the Games.
(That’s OK in our house. Our discussions at home with any of the five kids have always been frank and accepting of other opinions. Hence having a couple of kids who support political parties I could never vote for, for example).
My hubby, having listened to the discussion and aware I was contemplating a column, decided to weigh in.
He, too, is a supporter of the Olympics, but has a much more jaded viewpoint than our eternally optimistic youngest son.
Simply put, he said if we want to live in a democracy and not a totalitarian security state, we need to accept the fact some of our citizens will be blown up by terrorists.
Either that or we surrender all our freedoms in the name of security.
I countered there has to be a better system the IOC can put their minds to that would not make it such an enticing target for threats and violence.
Of course, that belief needs to take into account that, in some countries, people riding a subway or working in an office building are enough of a target when the bad guys want to make a point.
The boss weighed in as well when I told him this week’s column topic.
He leaned back in his chair and asked me what I would say to Kamloops athletes Elli Terwiel and Jessica Hewitt, who are heading to Sochi, or Diane Barker, who is also heading from the Tournament Capital to the Russian city to officiate in curling.
Good question.
I guess the answer would be that I wish them well, I hope they win and, if they don’t, I hope they still have a great time — and I hope they come back home safe and happy.
Dale Bass is a reporter with Kamloops This Week. Her email address is here. Her blog can be found here. She is on Twitter here.
