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Docility of the masses re. Olympics

I was never keen on and couldn't work up much interest in the Olympics, but I find it difficult to understand what Teuchter would want or expect from the "masses" instead of "docility". Protests against athletics? A boycott of the Games? An anti-Olympian uprising perhaps?
 
JHE said:
I was never keen on and couldn't work up much interest in the Olympics, but I find it difficult to understand what Teuchter would want or expect from the "masses" instead of docility. Protests against athletics? A boycott of the Games? An anti-Olympian uprising perhaps?
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He didn't even get his docility.
 
You can still enjoy the atmosphere of the Olympics, watching the best athletes in the world and all that jazz but still be against the way it was organised, policed, blah blah.

It's a bit like saying you don't like a book because of its cover. Shit analogy ahoy!


I forgot the phrase Ironside used, cheesy but sort of apt.
 
I liked the Olympics because, in amongst all the shit stuff in life that makes me really angry, there was something going on which made me feel nice.

And I was somebody who was quite down about it all beforehand - with the missiles, and the transport and the terrorists and the corporations and whatever else.. but most of that didn't end up mattering. It was great to see people who were genuinely happy, who had worked hard and got their rewards. I loved seeing Mo Farah win those races, I loved seeing Usain Bolt entertaining the crowd, I loved the 2 women sprinting to the finish in the triathlon, the rowers collapsing in their boats at the finish, that London had managed not to fuck it up, Rudisha absolutely destroying the 800m, Wiggins winning the time trial and riding off into the crowd to find his family... it was lovely.

There's enough shit in the world to worry about without ignoring something that is quite wonderful to focus on the bad bits.

9 arrests over the entire fortnight? I think that says a lot.
 
JHE said:
I was never keen on and couldn't work up much interest in the Olympics, but I find it difficult to understand what Teuchter would want or expect from the "masses" instead of "docility". Protests against athletics? A boycott of the Games? An anti-Olympian uprising perhaps?
Click to expand...
The crowd was anything but "docile" too.

Many athletes have commented that it was the nosiest, loudest, most enthusiastic crowd that they had ever performed in front of. Curse all those people daring to enjoy themselves and get involved with the occasion!
 
I was against hosting the Olympics on cost grounds and was part of the initial public consultation in whether we should bid. Then in the run up I felt even more pessimistic about it, due to the branding, missiles. etc.

But once it started I loved it. Not because I'm a sheep, or because I changed my opinion on whether we should be hosting it. And I still don't like the missiles.

But I've paid for this. I'm not going to stop it happening. So I might as well enjoy it. That's all there was to it.
 
The idea that people can't be critical and also enjoy the events is ridiculous.

Even in the media there's been quite a lot of criticism of ticket allocation, empty seats, funding, the closing ceremony etc.

I usually have nothing to do with sport at all, and I've hated the way the olympics has been organised.

I've still enjoyed it though, because I'm not some kind of absolutist monk.
 
editor said:
The crowd was anything but "docile" too.

Many athletes have commented that it was the nosiest, loudest, most enthusiastic crowd that they had ever performed in front of. Curse all those people daring to enjoy themselves and get involved with the occasion!
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I take it that by docility, Teuchter means a failure to oppose and I suppose he would see the enthusiasts as having been duped by the pro-Olympic media.
 
JHE said:
I take it that by docility, Teuchter means a failure to oppose and I suppose he would see the enthusiasts as having been duped by the pro-Olympic media.
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Well this is the thing - to make that argument you have to assume that the masses only act as they do because they're docile. Everything they do - no matter what - is a result of their inherent docility. It's crude question begging rubbish.
 
Fez909 said:
I was against hosting the Olympics on cost grounds and was part of the initial public consultation in whether we should bid. Then in the run up I felt even more pessimistic about it, due to the branding, missiles. etc.

But once it started I loved it. Not because I'm a sheep, or because I changed my opinion on whether we should be hosting it. And I still don't like the missiles.

But I've paid for this. I'm not going to stop it happening. So I might as well enjoy it. That's all there was to it.
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Exactly my position too (including the missiles bit)
 
mr steev said:
Er, Over 100 arrests over the fortnight!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/aug/05/police-100-arrests-london-2012-venues

Not including the mass arrest of 182 cyclists during the opening ceremony
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Eh? They said 9 on the news last night! :confused:

Stats eh?!

Ah....

But there have been only six arrests inside the venues themselves, a very small number considering hundreds of thousands of people have been to see events over the last fortnight, and how much British spectators have had to celebrate since the Games began.
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Er, Over 100 arrests over the fortnight!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/aug/05/police-100-arrests-london-2012-venues

Not including the mass arrest of 182 cyclists during the opening ceremony
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58 (the majority) were for ticket touting and that was only a crime in respect of the Olympics (and, the police say, a lot of those were ordinary people who had tickets in the hopes of their team progressing and then decided to sell them when their team/individidual crashed out).
 
editor said:
The crowd was anything but "docile" too.

Many athletes have commented that it was the nosiest, loudest, most enthusiastic crowd that they had ever performed in front of. Curse all those people daring to enjoy themselves and get involved with the occasion!
Click to expand...
We are receiving reports that the crowds organised spontaneous demonstrations in favour of the Games.
 
Sirena said:
58 (the majority) were for ticket touting and that was only a crime in respect of the Olympics
Click to expand...


Well, it's fraud isn't it? If it wasn't an offence then they wouldn't have been arrested.

According to this, there were more than 100 arrests
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-19233944
Almost 250 in total, 139 arrests for ticket touting and the rest for a total of 29 different alleged offences ranging from assault, robbery and a bomb hoax to swimming in the Thames. PLUS 182 cyclists.
 
I'd like to congratulate everyone on their assumptions about what I think when I haven't even stated what I think. This, of course, comes as no surprise to me.

I'd like to hear more about this "co-operative participation". What is it that we are all united in - watching the TV, or is it that we are suddenly proud of "Britain" because it has won some medals? What's appeared that wasn't present pre-olympics?
 
teuchter said:
I'd like to congratulate everyone on their assumptions about what I think when I haven't even stated what I think. This, of course, comes as no surprise to me.

I'd like to hear more about this "co-operative participation". What is it that we are all united in - watching the TV, or is it that we are suddenly proud of "Britain" because it has won some medals? What's appeared that wasn't present pre-olympics?
Also, what's it about the paralympics that means the
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The ugly face of military fascism.
 
teuchter said:
I'd like to congratulate everyone on their assumptions about what I think when I haven't even stated what I think. This, of course, comes as no surprise to me.

I'd like to hear more about this "co-operative participation". What is it that we are all united in - watching the TV, or is it that we are suddenly proud of "Britain" because it has won some medals? What's appeared that wasn't present pre-olympics?
Click to expand...

The use of the phrase, "Docility of the masses" tells us something of what you think.
 
There's a fuckload of squaddies that have been based in a disused shopping mall just up the road from me, which is certainly something that wasn't here before the games. They've been doing the rounds making friends with the locals though, which has been quite good and extra custom in the local shops. Not that bothered, really.
 
Remember that thread Nietzsche started entitled Why i am so Wise which he followed up with Why I Am So Clever and Why I Write Such Good Books
 
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