All Things Considered

Enthusiasm For Winter Games Falling In Vancouver

By Martin Kaste

Published February 8, 2010 1:50 PM

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In British Columbia, eager crowds have turned out to watch the Olympic torch make its way to Vancouver for the opening ceremony on Friday. Canadians can't turn on the TV without seeing commercials telling them how excited the country is getting. But while fans and athletes are enthusiastic, the overall mood in the host city is a little more ambivalent.

Mark Cooper is one of the critics. He sits outside a Vancouver Starbucks, nursing a coffee and yelling his unsolicited opinion at anyone wearing an official Olympic jacket.

"Veto the Olympics!" Cooper cries. "Burn Olympics! Trash the Olympics!"

He says he thinks the Olympics are a waste of taxpayer money. Cooper's crankiness is extreme, but what's remarkable is how little back-talk he gets.

In fact, recent polling shows enthusiasm is declining: Only about 50 percent of British Columbians now see the games as positive for the province. Margot Young, a University of British Columbia law professor and longtime Olympic critic, says spiraling costs are partly to blame, but it isn't just the money that's souring the public mood.

Young says the "corporate rollout" of the Olympics is also to blame. Vancouver is Canada's San Francisco, and the city's liberal tendencies have run headlong into the Olympic organizers' increasing control over daily life.

"They want everybody to be smiling hosts, and you know, gladly not drive their cars for two weeks and put up with their business suffering for those two weeks, all for the greater good, which is the Olympics," Young says. "And for many people, the greater good isn't good enough."

Residents Complain About Increased Security

And then there's all the security. Nearly a thousand new surveillance cameras have been installed, and thousands of extra law enforcement officers have been shipped in from around the province. Many are staying on a cruise ship docked in the city's harbor.

On Vancouver's seedy east side, many locals welcome the extra cops. But others say the security is turning into harassment.

Harsha Walia is with an activist organization called the Olympic Resistance Network, which has been trying to disrupt the Olympic torch relay. She says she has had visits from plainclothes police who have tried to push their way into her house.

"They've been to my house three times," Walia says. "And each time it's early in the morning, before I go to work. They say they want to talk, you say you don't, you shut the door, they try to force their way in."

The head of security for the Olympics, Bud Mercer, confirms he has teams gathering information on certain people, but he rejects the claims of harassment.

"I think there are people who like to hear themselves speak, and they're using the media for that," Mercer says. "But anybody we speak to, there's a reason for it. It's not harassment. If they don't want to answer us, that's their choice, and we move on."

Mercer says anti-Olympics protests will be tolerated outside the venues. But if things get raucous, Mercer may find it hard to do his job without offending Vancouverites' traditional tolerance of dissent.

'We're Not Going To Let It Spoil Our Fun'

And that tolerance is remarkable. You see it even in the most die-hard fans of the Olympics, of which there are plenty.

People such as the Olympics volunteers who have been waiting for hours in a line that wraps around the block. They're waiting to collect a free Olympics ticket — their reward for their volunteer work. The ticket is just for a rehearsal of the opening ceremony. Nonetheless, Ursula Fischer is thrilled to get it.

"I love the Olympics," Fischer says. "It's once in a lifetime. Why not enjoy it?"

And yet, for all her enthusiasm, Fischer says she doesn't mind the anti-Olympics protesters. It's a sentiment that's echoed farther down the line, by Diane Fox and Lynn Williams.

"We're not going to let it spoil our fun," Fox says. "And they have a right."

View Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, host:

In Canada, enthusiastic crowds have turned out to watch the Olympic torch on its cross-country journey. Its final destination: the opening ceremony of the winter Olympics this Friday. The crowds are a little less enthusiastic in the host city of Vancouver.

As NPR's Martin Kaste reports, they're downright ambivalent.

MARTIN KASTE: You can't turn on the TV in Canada these days without being told how excited Canadians are getting. Just ask native son Donald Sutherland.

(Soundbite of TV commercial)

Mr. DONALD SUTHERLAND (Actor): From the smallest hamlets to the biggest towns, Canadians everywhere are starting to believe.

KASTE: Well, not all Canadians.

Mr. MARK COOPER: Veto the Olympics. Burn the Olympics. Trash the Olympics.

KASTE: Mark Cooper sits outside a Vancouver Starbucks nursing a coffee and yelling his unsolicited opinion at anyone he sees wearing an official Olympic jacket.

Mr. COOPER: It's a total waste of our money, taxpayers' money.

KASTE: Cooper's crankiness is extreme, but what's remarkable is how little backtalk he gets. The fact is recent polling shows enthusiasm is declining. Only about 50 percent of British Columbians now see the games as positive. Margot Young, a University of BC law professor and longtime Olympic critic, says spiraling costs are partly to blame, but she says it's not just the money that's souring the public mood.

Professor MARGOT YOUNG (University of British Columbia): It's just this sort of corporate rollout of this particular mind-numbing Olympic mentality.

KASTE: Vancouver is Canada's San Francisco. And the city's liberal tendencies have been running headlong into the Olympic organizers' increasing control over daily life.

Prof. YOUNG: They want everybody to be smiling hosts and, you know, gladly not drive their cars for two weeks and put up with their business suffering for those two weeks all for the greater good, which is the Olympics. And I guess for many people the greater good isn't good enough.

KASTE: And then there's all the security. Nearly 1,000 new surveillance cameras and thousands of extra law enforcement officers from around the province - many of them staying on cruise ships docked in the harbor.

(Soundbite of harbor)

KASTE: Here on Vancouver's seedy east side, many locals welcome the extra cops. But others say the security is turning into harassment. Harsha Walia is with an activist organization called the Olympic Resistance Network, which has been trying to disrupt the Olympic torch relay. She says she's had visits from plainclothes police.

Ms. HARSHA WALIA (Activist, Olympic Resistance Network): They say they want to talk. You tell them that you don't, you shut the door. They try to force their way in and...

KASTE: They tried to push their way in?

Ms. WALIA: Twice they did. Twice as I was shutting the door, they tried to open up the door.

KASTE: The head of security for the Olympics, Bud Mercer, confirms that he has teams gathering information on certain people, but he rejects the claims of harassment.

Mr. BUD MERCER (Head of Security, Olympics): I think there are some individuals that like to hear themselves speak, and they're using the media for that. But anybody we speak to, there's a reason for it. It's not harassment. If they don't want to answer us, that's their choice and we move on.

KASTE: Mercer says anti-Olympics protests will be tolerated outside the venues. But if things get raucous, Mercer may find it hard to do his job without offending Vancouverites' traditional tolerance of dissent.

(Soundbite of crowd)

KASTE: And that tolerance is remarkable. You see it even in the most die-hard Olympic fans and there are plenty of them here.

Unidentified Woman: Really good mood.

KASTE: People like these Olympic volunteers who have been waiting for hours in a line that wraps around the block just for a chance at a free ticket. All it gets them is a look at a rehearsal of the opening ceremony. But Ursula Fischer and her friends are still thrilled.

Ms. URSULA FISCHER: I love the Olympics. It's once in a lifetime, why not enjoy it?

KASTE: And yet for all her enthusiasm, Fischer says she doesn't mind the anti-Olympics protesters. It's a sentiment that's echoed farther down the line by Diane Fox and Lynn Williams.

Ms. DIANE FOX: We're not going to let it spoil our fun.

Ms. LYNN WILLIAMS: No.

Ms. FOX: So, and they have a right.

Ms. WILLIAMS: We're very mellow about those kinds of things.

KASTE: And that's Canada, even when people disagree, somehow they manage to keep things mellow.

Martin Kaste, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

Source: NPR

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