All protest is about anger – someone said that in a documentary I watched recently. The rage you feel when you see something you know is wrong moves you to act against it. Admirable. Especially in the sea of apathy and numb complaisance that seems to be the hallmark of modern life. As you know, the 2010 Winter Olympics are fast approaching in Vancouver, and ever since they were announced, they’ve been a source of great anger for anti-poverty groups in the Lower Mainland.

The facts are undeniable:

Homelessness in Vancouver has doubled since we won the bid in 2003, at the same time that Vancouver introduced new by-laws making it illegal to ask for money or sleep outdoors – thereby making the very existence of homelessness illegal. Far from being green or sustainable, the race to erect new Olympic venues has been the cause of a great deal of ecological damage. However, it is this one glaring fact that truly angers Olympic protesters – 6 billion dollars have been spent bringing the Olympics to Vancouver, where poverty and homelessness are a real and deathly problem.
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I can’t bring myself to sing the national anthem in public. On the rare occasion (probably the last time I was at a hockey game) where I am required to stand as it plays, I fight the following battle within myself: Sing; No. You’re supposed to; I don’t want to. You’re standing anyway, sing; No, I’ll feel stupid. Isn’t that sad? I’m too cool to sing the Canadian national anthem in a roomful of other Canadians; I haven’t opened my mouth and joined in since elementary school, when it didn’t faze me at all and I belted it out every morning. And I’m not alone – look around your local sporting event – most people are like me, standing silently, waiting for it to be over, or at the very most, mumbling the words quietly under their breath. To be fair, there will always be one or two shameless diehards, bellowing along energetically, bless their hearts.
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