Shit Swim

I’ve tried to like the Olympics. I don’t.

I’ve tried to watch some of it.

The athletes are superhuman heroes, this I get. This I appreciate and marvel at the ability of these folks. Truly.

I’ve tried to understand why we do it still. Why the Olympics? Are we really interested in amateur sport, clean sport? Or are we interested in making a few stars that will sell us shoes when the games are done?

Uncharacteristically (these days) cynical of me.

Gentrification. Greed. Corruption.

I don’t have a groundbreaking argument against the Olympics, and I’m not saying anything others haven’t said. I have always been open-minded toward them. This year is different, I guess.

Today, I read about the triathlon being delayed due to the water conditions on the Seine River. Reports that the water quality fell well below the approved standards meant the men’s race was pushed until the quality improved.

You know who’s not taking those shit swims in the Seine River? The billionaires and oligarchs poised to profit tens of billions of dollars from sponsorships, ad sales, construction, and other ventures at the heart of the Olympic games.

The Olympics are a massive business.

They operate in Switzerland without transparency and accountability.

Athlete exploitation. Political interference. Doping.

The 2022 Olympics were in Beijing, for fuck sake. The world turned a blind eye to China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the country during the games and pretended China wasn’t a problem that needed solving.

Maybe I’m just “old” now, and maybe my inner curmudgeonly, miserable old man is gaining too much power in my life. Still, I don’t know how we stand by these games when they happen while the backdrop of war, human suffering, starvation, and the very real threat of climate change plays loudly in the background.

Increasingly, when the Olympics are on, the bluster behind the opening ceremonies, the stories behind (a few of) the athletes, and the geographical backdrop and the wonder it brings are meant to direct our attention away from real life for a few weeks.

That’s fine.

Society is fed pablum every day.

Reality TV.

Trump.

Tik Tok.

We as a society unplugged our brains a long, long time ago.

Watching the games and recognizing the bluster feels like walking into your parents' house during a screaming match (this happened to everyone, right?), and when you ask if everything is alright, they say, “Of course, everything is fine, don’t worry.

I guess I’m done being fooled.

Bluster be damned. They could hang Celine Dion from a Cirque Du Soleil crane, set the Eiffel Tower on fire while dancing Russian bears played Erik Satie on electric xylophones, and have LeBron James do his best Hulk Hogan impressions waving a 75-foot US flag, and I’d still remember that the world is on fire, wars are raging, and the basics of life are increasingly slipping out of reach for hardworking people.

Maybe I’m wrong, maybe I’m right. The shit swim got me twisted.

The journey continues.