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Olympics, Hypocrisy and Orange Toothbrushes
You could almost hear the hollow electric buzz of newsroom lights as CBC reported on our Olympic drought, but as the medals flowed so did the pitch and tone of our beloved public broadcaster. This morning’s medal announcements sounded more like we’d rid the world of evil than won a couple of races. Of course this frenzy of smug satisfaction—Yes indeed we are still major players in this shrinking world—has little to do with sport.
Last night I heard an American athlete tell a television reporter that the original spirit of the Olympics was about international harmony and peace. A noble notion, but one that seems to now take a back seat to official Olympic merchandise and sponsorship. In short, the Olympics are business. No surprise then that one of the world’s fastest growing economies is hosting the current games. And countries going through periods of instability—see war in Afghanistan/Iraq and looming recession—are often united by the patriotism of sport. This is perhaps more apparent in the US. But it tells citizens that their country remains energetic and competitive on a world stage—particularly a foreign stage that many see as a threat to the dominance of western capital.
Communist China is not just an essential cog in the oil-driven engine of modern Capital, it is the spark that ignites the fuel and the wheels that keep the beast rolling. The world’s largest producer and consumer, the US, is so tied to the Chinese export market that any rift between the two would surely cause economic devastation. Of course, Canada is no exception. Indeed, before 9/11 China was on the radar as a major threat to US hegemony and some theorists argue that beside oil wealth, the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan serves as a buffer to Chinese western expansion.
With the tinny hysteria of the Olympics blaring from the radio, I brushed my teeth this morning with an orange, made in China, toothbrush. An entirely political experience. Orange plastic handle; made in China, soap dish; made in China. I’d hazard a guess that 1 in three commodities in all North American homes are ‘made in China.’
But despite this beneficial commodity, leaders of many western nations chose to criticize one of their major trading partners. Why? George Bush says “America stands in firm opposition to China’s detention of political dissidents and human rights advocates and religious activists.” Stephen Harper has even met with the old man of Tibetan independence the Dalai Lama and criticized China for their heavy-handed role in the region.
What makes western leader’s comments all the more violent and hypocritical—Besides the widely documented human rights abuses both of these governments have committed—is their demand that China continues as global manufacturer so we can continue buying orange toothbrushes,but obeying the dictates of Capital: increased growth, decreased cost, maximum accumulation. Don’t treat workers badly! Stop shooting dissenters! Press Freedom! And stop busting Tibet’s chops! But keep prices down so we don’t have to pay more for your exports.
I’m just as horrified seeing Tibetan protesters shot by China as anyone else, but I realize that world leader’s indignation at these events amounts to nothing more than tokenism and Public Relations rubbish. The old ‘pot calling the kettle black’ saying doesn’t really apply. Not because both countries are responsible for heinous crimes against humanity and the deaths of countless civilians and workers, but because they essentially operate in the same parameters. The US bombs civilians in Iraq and buys orange toothbrushes from China. China sells weapons to Sudan and Zimbabwe and makes orange toothbrushes for western consumption. Bush and Harper may take a jab at China’s press freedoms, but their opinion on Communist one-party rule is inconsequential to the beneficial relationship they enjoy with them.
Ram-rod liberal democracy had been the US’s mainstay when dealing with foreign governments they disagree with for years. In Iraq, a lack of WMDs soon became the Iraq people’s desire for freedom from tyranny and Kablam! bombing for freedom began. The tyranny of the Chinese government is not a problem for the US or Canada because we have neither the resources to change it, and I don’t doubt we would, nor reason to. All three players share the same podium, but none can escape without the others falling off.
Chris Webb is a journalist and activist living in Toronto. He is currently the Publishing Assistant at Canadian Dimension magazine and a Communications Officer with SEIU-Local 1 Canada. Read more by Chris Webb.
