Did anyone go to this? I heard about it on Redeye (I've been listening to lots of podcasts lately) but I didn't see anything about it on babble.
According to one of the organizers, it was pretty great - they had events like "skating around poverty" and some kind of wrestling event (I forget the name of it).
Anyhow, if you're interested in hearing about it:
http://rabble.ca/podcasts/shows/redeye/2009-poverty-olympics [1]
I'd be interested in hearing from people who were there! It's such a great idea.
What I really liked is that they're going to make this an annual event - and in 2010, if the BC government doesn't start coughing up money for housing, they're going to hold it during the 2010 Winter Olympics in order to try to get international coverage!
Links:
[1] http://rabble.ca/podcasts/shows/redeye/2009-poverty-olympics
[2] http://rabble.ca/print/babble/western-provinces/2009-poverty-olympics-vancouver#comment-990186
[3] http://rabble.ca/print/babble/western-provinces/2009-poverty-olympics-vancouver#comment-990187
[4] http://rabble.ca/print/babble/western-provinces/2009-poverty-olympics-vancouver#comment-996171
[5] http://rabble.ca/print/babble/western-provinces/2009-poverty-olympics-vancouver#comment-996181
[6] http://rabble.ca/user
[7] http://rabble.ca/user/register
It is funny you should mention it Michelle: I ran into one of the organizers in Vancouver on the week-end, Jean Swanson. She said more than 500 people participated, showed me some photos.
They have a fantastic website: http://povertyolympics.ca/
Hmm, maybe rabble's Olympics blog, "Word of the Rings" will discuss it.
Right on as they go hand in hand no doubt or empty handed for a better way of saying it. I don't understand this whole Olympic Spirit and its hard to maintain when you see so much hardship because of it. However it looks like the poor are not the only ones under going hardship as the rich find themselves in the poor house. And what has always amazed me about the Olymics is its about mere games and who wins or loses, and its about real people's lifes with blood pouring through their veins and who wins or loses as the young and old alike find themselves on the cold hard streets as the Olympics takes hold of their city and they find themselves disposable as many left to die on the streets from stress and illness. Something to celebrate and spend billions on, apparently so in BC at least where every penny even that which would have helped kids get treatment or help from their sexual abusers or find suitable homes but Government is so committed to the Olympics that it has decided these children's well being needs to be scraficed along with the disabled and the low income for the Glory of the Games.
I came across a meditation piece from 1997 whose title is Do You Believe with three rings exactly like the Olympic Symbol minus the two of course and apparently its a small world after all as I engage in my daily meditation. Is the Olympics Grand or Evil well lets see its Grand to see people have such sport but its sheer Evil when so many are scraficed because of the sport? And is the sport really not the killing off of the poor as the sick are left to die on Vancouver's steets while the city celebrates the games and their deaths as they go hand in hand? Oh yes I forgot British Columbians liked the Olympics because it made their real estate values go up. Hows that working for them? See there is Divine Justice.
And you don't have to wait for the Olympics for International coverage you can do it right now. As you can cover so much ground or better yet cities around the world with relative ease. I know as was talking on a forum in Holland to only find the information passed on to the Olympic forum from a party I had spoke with. Amazing how that works as be creative and of course it helps when you love to chat with people and share and care.