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Our individual rights trumped by Olympics

If you're not outraged, as the old bumper sticker says, you're not paying attention.
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If you're not outraged, as the old bumper sticker says, you're not paying attention. More to the point, if you're not outraged, what the hell is wrong with you? No, seriously, You!

If this nonsense doesn't outrage your very sense of Canadian-ness, what will? If the wholesale attack on your basic, Charter of Rights and Freedoms being perpetrated by the provincial government, at the behest of the IOC and their puppet mouthpiece VANOC, doesn't chill you to your soul and simultaneously make your blood boil, then shame on you; you've learned absolutely nothing from history and will probably fight your way to the front of the line when they tell you to board the boxcars for a trip to the nice, hot showers. Wake up, suckas.

I've tried to be good. Tried to, well, if not become an Olympic supporter - about as likely as warmly embracing China's human rights policies - at least swallow the bile climbing my throat and put on a happy face for the sake of the ongoing success of my tourist-dependent happy mountain home. But this has gone too far, become a classic example of giving the thugs an inch (2.54cm) and watching them take a mile (1.61km). There comes a point where even the sheep get tired of being shorn and no vision of peaceful coexistence is worth swallowing the indignities and infringements on things people before me thought were precious enough to fight and die for.

Memo to Olympics: F#*k You!

I grinned sardonically and shook my head when you started talking about "safe assembly areas" where protesters would be "allowed" to hold peaceful protests against the Olympics. I assumed these would be barricaded sites so far away from media, pedestrian traffic and, naturally, official venues that protesters might as well be on the frickin' moon. After all, Vancouver, willingly strong-armed by the Feds, pulled the same shenanigans when APEC protesters wanted to display their displeasure at the Canadian government toadying up to tinpot dictators. Cue the Sgt. Pepper soundtrack.

After all, bogus arguments could be made that letting people openly protest just anywhere might threaten public security. Gotta keep the sheep safe from the wolves, ya know. But developments have moved to the point where it won't surprise me at all when Gordo has one of his ministers announce - or simply abdicate the unveiling to the Integrated Security Unit mouthpiece - protesters will require permits to use even the free-speech zones. After all, they seem to be borrowing more than just a few pages from China's playbook. Apply for a permit, get your sorry butt tossed in jail while the jackboots probe your background, your friends, employers and anyone else who might shed some light on what a threat you are and then either deny the permit or grant it... weeks after the Games are over.

In case you've been asleep since 1982, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms - Pierre Trudeau's last and best gift to Canadians - describes certain "fundamental freedoms" enjoyed by all Canadians. Among them are: (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression , including freedom of the press and other media of communication; (c) freedom of peaceful assembly ; and (d) freedom of association .

I know, it's been a long time since many of us have been in school and, let's be honest, English is a tricky language. So just to brush up, Fundamental: fun·da·men·tal n. "Something that is an essential or necessary part of a system or object." A fundamental freedom is not something granted by and at the whim of a sovereign. It is intrinsic to the very nature of this country and is to be enjoyed by every citizen, infringed by no authority. These rights and freedoms are who we are and what we stand for. More so than property, more so than commercial interests and way more so than convenience, they are the foundation of what we mean when we talk about being Canadian.

So far, the IOC has managed to convince our government to abridge our freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. Wow, nice hat trick, guys. Didn't even have to point a gun, pull a taser or mutter a threat. All they had to do was wave dollar signs under the slathering snouts of our elected officials and the spineless swine rolled over like puppies wanting their tummies rubbed.

Bill 13, soon to become law, will allow municipal employees in Whistler, Vancouver and Richmond to come onto your private property and remove any offensive signs. Presumably they could also rip the "Drink Pepsi" T-shirt off your back as well. Bye-bye freedom of expression.

Supporters, including elected officials, claim the measure is more about curbing ambush marketing - promotion of other than "official" Olympic sponsors - than chilling generic protests against the Games. The short answer to that rationalization is, so what?

In support of a restrictive measures bylaw passed by Vancouver last July - part of which limits signs in Olympic areas to celebratory or wayfinding signs - and challenged earlier this month in court by UBC prof, Dr. Chris Shaw, VANOC is reported to have said, "Sponsors pay a lot of money to promote their companies through the Games, and their rights need to be protected." In other words, as far as VANOC, and by extension, the IOC, Vancouver, the province (and Whistler?), is concerned, commercial "rights" trump fundamental individual rights guaranteed by The Charter.

Think about that a moment. Do you believe protecting Coke's and Bell's advertising rights is more important to the continued façade of free and open democracy we supposedly enjoy than protecting your own fundamental freedoms? This is an outrage.

While we know the police - ISU or otherwise, it doesn't really matter when we're spending a billion bucks on security - are contacting, tailing, most likely phonetapping people who have expressed an interest in protesting the Olympics, they're also contacting friends and acquaintances of those people to find out what they know about them. Bye-bye freedom of association.

Whistler is now seriously considering a TCUP application to house 1,600 security forces in a residential neighbourhood-to-be, Rainbow. I don't know what, if anything, they decided Tuesday evening, having just returned from a brief holiday. But so far, the silence from Muni hall is deafening.

Note: Kenny, it's time to take a stand. Can you really hold your tongue on this and not consign yourself to your own private hell?

November 4 th marks the 100-day countdown to the Games. There will be cake. How very Marie Antoinette. I'll be there, not for the cake but to display my utter disdain. I tried to buy in, tried to find an accommodation. But this is too much.