Why I’m not in the mood for the Olympic hurrah
Aug 5, 2024
The latest Essential poll published in Tuesday’s online Guardian revealed that a whopping third of those polled would, if given the chance, vote for the Mango Mussolini (the Donald). This is concerning. But it’s worse than first appears. Along with the dispiriting response to the Voice – based largely on conspiracy theories, lies and dog-whistling racism – and the fact that disillusionment with the political class and democratic institutions is sky high, our nation seems to be at an inflection point.
The emergence of the Trumpish Dutton (now on a three-day excursion to bolster Israel), and his pugilistic and divisive approach to public affairs (once telling Annabelle Crabb that he entered politics “to tackle and not pass”) suggests that Australia may not, in some ways, be all that different to the US.
The inward-lookingness of much of our politics and culture feeds into a range of toxic nationalistic sentiments that views Australia as the supposedly ‘best country in the world’ and superior in so many other ways, too. This nationalistic impulse is on full view in the coverage of the Paris Olympics. I for one can’t stand to watch the near hysterical coverage that accompanies each Australian performance. Every evening as Palestinians are being killed by a murderous regime claiming the right of ‘self-defence’, prime-time news breathlessly celebrates the latest Aussie triumph.
Everything else is put on hold. There’s barely a mention of the fact that the streets of Paris have been socially cleansed of those pesty homeless people and assorted itinerants. Sent to other French cities to avoid the realities of a society that has lurched to the political right, the games offer a reprieve from this unwanted vista of social misery. Instead, images of happy people and clean, tree-lined streets are proudly beaned around the world.
So let the games begin! And they have, with considerable fanfare, tempered somewhat in Australia’s case by disappointing news of the Matilda’s loss to Germany, 3-0. But that’s sports for you.
Amid all the contrived hysteria, no-one dares mix politics with sport. It’s a no-go area, avoided at all costs in the carefully crafted choreography that is the Olympics. You’re not likely to hear of the fact that Germany, who beat our Aussie heroes, is the second biggest (silver medal) arms supplier to the murderous state of Israel. No mention either that the US has the gold medal. You simply can’t say such things, it’s distasteful and insulting. What a country does in the political realm should not spill over into sport. That’s as clear in 2024 as it was in Berlin, 1936!
The important thing is to indulge a fortnight of high excitement, national pride and adulation. It’s the spirit of the Olympics that counts: the performances, the heroic efforts, the triumphs. Why sully all this by dragging up the uglier sides of life?
But then again, hosting the games costs billions, with funds diverted from essential social projects. But that’s OK, the economy gets a huge boost and everyone is having fun. Only the most petulant and miserable person, like yours truly, would object to such a spectacle.
In any case, don’t we need some relief from all that unpleasant stuff like war and genocide – at least for a while? Out of sight, out of mind. We were getting a bit tired of all that death and destruction coverage, were we not? So why not go the whole hog and shove Gaza and the West Bank right down the ratings scales?
You’d never know that I’m a sports lover. But I am. Soccer. NRL. Tennis. All that, and more. Of course I see the distraction in all this, and the obscenities of corporate greed etc. And yes, I do suspend judgment over the Wimbledon fortnight, which makes me something of a hypocrite, I’ll admit. On the other hand, I can see the beauty and wonder of sport, and the joy and pleasure it brings. At this point however, when I see decent, human rights loving, democratic nations – leading participants in the games – effectively supporting the open slaughter of innocents in Gaza I just can’t bring myself to indulge in a manufactured hurrah. Is it just me, or do you feel the same?
Ps. By the way, if politics and sports don’t mix, why the IOC’s stance on Russia and Belarus? So why let Israel compete? Just asking.
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Dr Richard Hil is Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Human Services and Social Work at Griffith University, Gold Coast, and Honorary Associate at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney. Richard’s more recent books include Whackademia: An Insider’s Account of the Troubled University, published in 2013 by New South, and Selling Students Short; Why you won’t get the university education you deserve, published by Allen and Unwin in 2015.
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