the other side
As per a few previous posts, Vancouver is a great place to live. In preparing to leave, I can't help but take stock of all I will miss. Stanley Park. English Bay. Cheap sushi. Waffles. Japadog. Walking just about everywhere. "Socialism".
But, there are some things that I won't miss. Ridiculous housing prices. Rain. The Olympics. The discourse associate with the Downtown Eastside.
I dislike what the Downtown Eastside represents: Failure. Not the failure of individuals - most of the people who reside in the alleys and parks and "hotels" in the neighborhood are victims of the the failure of society. Failure to address the bigger issues. Homelessness and drug abuse are not the problems - they are symptoms. Matt Good said it well in an interview earlier this week on Q:
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As stated, the Olympics add insult to injury. Whenever the suggestion is made that more funds and resources be dedicated to replace Band-Aid solutions with more effective (and costly) programs that would better address the ills that result in the symptoms displayed daily in the Downtown Eastside, the response is that it can't be done. We don't have the funds. The resources don't exist. But when it is suggested that taxpayer money fund a massive sporting event, the barriers miraculously drop. For example, public funds are helping to cover the costs of the Olympic village, which includes units that are breaking the bank despite being classified as affordable, while thousands live on the streets because we can't afford to provide adequate and appropriate social programs.
The rhetoric has been repeated time and again. The rhetoric is rooted in legacy. By hosting the Games, short-term costs and inconveniences will result in long term gains. Better public transit (e.g., SkyTrain to YVR), new sports facilities (e.g., the Richmond Olympic Oval), memories (e.g., volunteering at a venue or dancing in the Opening Ceremony). And on and on.
I've lived in a city that has hosted the Olympics. The rosy legacy seems to fade quickly and, in some cases, very suddenly (not unlike chucks of concrete falling from above). Debt was ultimately the legacy of the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. I'll be surprised if debt isn't the predominant legacy of the 2010 Games too. Rhetoric versus reality.
And the debt incurred to host the Games will be yet another reason why we can't afford to provide the necessary services and programs to address the systemic issues in the Downtown Eastside and, as a result, must continue to rely on Band-Aids instead, like cops acting as front-line mental health workers.
I won't miss waking up at 2am to the screams of a schizophrenic man being shoved into a paddy wagon because he was disturbing the peace.
