Just say no to the Big O!

By: Cathleen Schandelmeier

Posted: 4/28/09

As a writer, the things I know about the Olympics are relatively simple: buff bods, sports, wholesomeness and gorgeous figure skating. The only person I know personally who ever had anything to do with the Olympics is my friend, the great Poet Laureate of Ohio, Lonna Kingsbury. She was given the honor of carrying the Olympic torch one year.

Simple. That is, until my teenage son turned up an Expendable Youth song entitled "2016" and said, "Hey Mom! Listen to this!" Then he handed me the following lyrics (reprinted courtesy of Louis Gonzales and Shaman Records www.myspace.com/shamanrecords):

"During the FTAA meetings in Miami and the Olympics in Atlanta

From the college kids, tourists, and the Olympics in Chicago

You'll see the laws strengthen for the homeless on the streets

From the no panhandling laws to the dumpsters filled with bleach

Your life is their disgrace

For the city's profit they hide your face

Obstructing living situation

Urban renewal or gentrification?

Who suffers, who gains, and at what cost?"

This was a perspective on the Olympics I'd never considered. Then I read about Montreal, of how the city was over a billion dollars in debt after the Olympics were held there in 1976. Their debt was finally paid off for the "Big O" (Olympic stadium) in 2006. It made me wonder; is it fiscally responsible for our city to be strutting our stuff in favor of the Olympics when schools have leaky roofs and 1,600 city workers are facing layoffs?

On Friday, April 3rd, my son and his fiancé participated in a bike ride to protest against the Olympics coming to Chicago. I was dismayed when they told me how their First Amendment rights to peaceably assemble were violated by the mayor, who apparently ordered the police to deny protestors access to the area surrounding the hotel where the International Olympic Committee was staying.

Nawal El Moutawakel, chair of the International Olympic Committee's evaluation team, told reporters: "We felt that the whole community was behind the bid," she said, adding, "From the moment we went through all the boulevards in this vibrant city, we felt there was a very strong backing of this bid." It is possible that he had that perspective because the protesters were deliberately prevented from showing their opposition.

It was mentioned in the Chicago Sun-Times that several members of Olympic opposition groups met with the IOC evaluation team, and that city officials will continue meeting with them about concerns. Mayor Daley stated that no residents would be displaced by venues. The mayor's "double-speak" is plain to see when you take into consideration that protestors were denied their First Amendment rights to peaceably assemble, and their chance to give the IOC a look at the true face of the community who opposes the Olympics.