From: cbbrowne@csi.uottawa.ca (Christopher Browne)
Subject: Re: Olympic Musing
Organization: Dept. of Computer Science, University of Ottawa
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 01:00:06 GMT

In article <Bs2M4J.9I6@ireq.hydro.qc.ca> beaurega@ireq.hydro.qc.ca (Denis Beauregard) writes:
>In article <1992Jul27.154040.11394@spxtech.qc.ca> steven@spxtech.qc.ca (Steven C. Potter) writes:
>>From article <Bs217F.6Fy@ireq.hydro.qc.ca>, by beaurega@ireq.hydro.qc.ca
>> Denis Beauregard protests:-
>>
>>> As for Olympic spirit, I am very disappointed to see (again, sigh)
>>> the federal government using the event to promote politics.\
>>> The advertisement is showing all those Olympic athletes and says
>>> how great Canada is.  This is crap and abusing the olympic spirit.
>>> Without Canada, Quebec athletes would say they are representing
>>> Quebec, that's all.  Olympic spirit is supposedly related to the
>>> athlete and the individual (or participating team), not to countries
>>> or political bodies.
>>>
>>
>>  Quebec isn't a country.
>Out of subject here.

But it is relevant, since you brought up Quebec nationalism.  Athletes
come from many COUNTRIES around the world.  There are no "provincial"
teams there.

There's only two options, for the "Canadian" team, both of which are
unacceptable to SOMEBODY:

(1) Send all of the athletes together in one bunch, known as the
"Canadian" team.

This is, of course, objectionable to the Quebecois nationalists.
It is also the only option that is open, since Quebec is not a
country.

(2) Send in two teams; a "CSQ" team, and a "Quebec" team.  

There would be conflicts as to who is on which team (Quebec would
probably want all of the francophones to compete on the Quebec team,
and some of the athletes might think differently, or disapprove of
politicizing it in this way...).

Plus, we would be airing our "dirty laundry" in front of the whole
world (that is, the fact that there is NOT Canadian unity), and the
IOC would not be happy about us sending in TWO teams for ONE country.

>>
>>  Athletes from Quebec, Ontario, B.C., etcetera are all representing
>>  Canada.
>>
>>  For my part, I wish them the best of luck and hope they are all proud
>>  to represent Canada - whatever province they come from.
>>
>>  You are seing things through smoked glasses again, Denis.
>>
>The point here is that the Federal government is constantly trying to
>use _propaganda_ in favor of Canada.  This is politics and there is
>no relation with the Olympic spirit.  What point, main of my posting,
>you just forget.

What does "Olympic spirit" have to do with the Olympic games?  :-)
With all of the money involved, and all of the politicization of the
Games, the Olympics aren't much OTHER than propaganda.

During the Cold War, the USA and the USSR sought to show that each was
superior by trying by almost any means possible to win the most
medals.

The problems with steroids are one of the strongest evidences that
there is very little "Olympic spirit" left.

And if "Olympic spirit," and good sportsmanship were all that was
important, nobody would have CARED about whether South Africa had
apartheid policies WITH RESPECT TO THE GAMES.  The South African
athletes wouldn't have been turned away, so long as they competed in a
sportsman-like way.

I'm surprised that you'd be shocked that the Canadian government used
the games for "propaganda" purposes.  They're only doing something
that every other nation on earch has been doing for 30 years already.
-- 
Christopher Browne
cbbrowne@csi.uottawa.ca
University of Ottawa
Master of System Science Program
Newsgroups: can.politics