Beijing masquerade

Leave it to the cyclists to stir things up in Beijing, just days before the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics. The cause of the brouhaha? Four US cyclists had the temerity to deplane in Beijing's shiny new Norman Foster designed Terminal 3 wearing face masks designed to protect their lungs from the city's notoriously noxious air. According to the New York Times, the masks had been issued to the cyclists, and 200 other US athletes, by the United States Olympic Committee. In fact, it was a U.S.O.C. exercise physiologist who suggested that the athletes wear the masks as soon as they landed. Once it became clear that the images of athletes arriving in Beijing looking as if they were scared to breath the air would be bad PR, the four issued a quick apology to soothe the delicate sensibilities of their hyper-sensitive hosts.

I gotta say: I'm not exactly looking forward to these upcoming games. They have all the hallmarks of a sham. The notion that sports are sports and politics are politics, and never the twain shall meet, is ludicrous. These games are a propaganda tool for China. When the games were awarded to Beijing, the International Olympic Committee assured skeptics that a Beijing-hosted Olympics would bring China more fully into the community of nations. It was thought that hosting an Olympics would prompt China to maybe adjust the way it behaved to its own people (repression is the norm). Instead, the games themselves have been the excuse for further crackdowns. It was thought that hosting an Olympics would make the Chinese consider more carefully who it got into bed with around the world (its support of the Sudanese government has been one of many impediments to resolving the humanitarian crisis in Darfur). Instead, this week it revoked the visa of gold-medal winner Joey Cheek, who was to have attended the games in support of Team Darfur.

The games are also a propaganda tool for companies that want to sell you lots of stuff (Coca-Cola, McDonald's, GE, et al), as well as politicians who just want to sell you themselves (John McCain is expected to outspend Barak Obama on campaign ads during the Olympics by a million bucks). For the multinational advertisers, the Olympics are an elaborate and expensive schmoozefest to help them stay in China's good graces. At least they stand to see some payoff: I can't imagine anyone seeing a political ad between pommel-horse routines and being swayed to vote one way or the other.

“They have pollution in Los Angeles," said Mike Friedman, one of the masked cyclists, "and if the Olympics were in Los Angeles, we would probably wear these masks, too.” Fair enough, but call me when someone invents a mask to filter out duplicity and lies.

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Amount of carbon dioxide not produced since July 10, 2008 thanks to commuting by bicycle: 123.8 pounds

Topics: cycling , olympics , pollution , masks