Boston’s Olympic aspirations don’t jive with state’s real needsDate: 1/15/2015 I would like to have a sunnier outlook on the following subject. I would like to write that even though I’m not a sports fan I recognize how hosting an Olympics in Massachusetts would be a great thing, elevating our state onto the world stage, pumping millions of tourism dollars into our Commonwealth. I would like to think that any infrastructure improvements would have a permanent and positive impact on the population of the state.
I really would like to believe that, but I don’t. I just can’t see Boston being the site for a summer Olympics on 2024.
Now I know this attitude will not win me many friends. I have been roundly criticized over the years by a number of people who have not understood why I don’t share their “Olympic fever.” I’m sure this announcement about an initial victory has made their day.
Of course it’s not a done deal as yet. I can’t help but wonder what level of cronyism would take place if Boston gets the nod and what, if any, impact would trickle to Western Massachusetts.
Yes, I’m not looking at the big picture. I’m a partisan. What are the Olympics going to do for this area? I’m looking at a state having money problems at the present time. I’m looking at a state where infrastructure needs are urgent. I’m looking at a state where recovery from the 2008 recession has not been equal. I’m looking at a state wishing to continue to grow jobs and rebuild a middle class.
Let’s be real for moment. This is Massachusetts. I love living here, but let’s say we have an interesting way of getting things done.
How would a Boston-based Olympics assist in finding solutions for any of those issues? Well you grey-bearded idiot, some of my Facebook friends would say, those problems are immediate and the Olympics are a decade away.
If approved, the planning for the Boston Olympics would be far more eminent and would be far sexier to elected officials and others than fixing a bridge or extending commuter rail, unless of course it ties into the infrastructure for the Olympics. So where would that leave Western Massachusetts?
People thought it was right to conduct a binding statewide referendum on the legitimacy of the casino legislation after cities such as Springfield had already approved deal with developers. Why not have a referendum on the Olympics? How much is it going to cost the state? What would have to be done in the next decade to prepare us for the event? What projects and initiatives will be sidelined?
I can’t imagine, but we deserve a lot of answers if this moves forward.
Check out what Assistant Managing Editor Chris Maza has to say about it.
The Killing Joke
Debbie Gardner interviewed the great comedian and writer Lewis Black for PRIME this week and I asked her that if she had the time and opportunity to ask Black what his reactions were to the mass murders at the Paris-based satirical publication by Islamist extremists.
Black, who is known for speaking his own mind, answered the question if the attacks should put a limit on political commentary and satire. He said, “No. Because when someone kills someone over freedom of speech, the person who did the killing – that person is insane.”
He continued, “It’s a joke. It’s gone. Jokes are more ephemeral than life itself. Unless it’s a really, really spectacular joke.”
The tragedy – which was condemned by many Muslims around the world – brings about the question: what cannot be the subject of a joke?
Yes, the material published by Charlie Hebdo was about as far as one could push the satire envelope. In a free society, though, that is allowed.
What are the truly sacred topics? Murder? Domestic violence? Pedophilia? Crippling illnesses? Cancer? Religious leaders? There have been jokes about all of these subjects.
Comics today are frequently criticized for a joke that has gone too far. For example, in 2013, Joan Rivers was lambasted in the press for a Holocaust reference she made. Gilbert Gottfried lost his job as the voice for the Aflac duck in television commercials over jokes he tweeted about the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Humor, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Humor is all about context. Are there jokes, though, no matter how crude or insulting, those are actually worth killing over?
I’d like to think not.
Agree? Disagree? Drop me a line at news@thereminder.com or at 280 N. Main St., East Longmeadow, MA 01028. As always, this column represents the opinion of its author and not the publishers or advertisers of this newspaper.
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