From the Mind of Meegs

My interest in the Olympics has gradually decreased over the last few days. I was all caught up in Phelpsmania, and I even watched the gymnastics some. Of course, a good deal of the gymnastics aired way past my bedtime. NBC: nice thought on the live events, but not quite. Despite being a runner, track has proved a little less compelling, which I have to believe is due to the whole running concept being a little too close for comfort. Why watch people contort their faces in pain when I can go out and do that myself? But then again, that can't be quite it since by far the most interesting race to me was the marathon--which is much closer to my experience than, say, the 100m dash.

Maybe it's just that it's depressing to see how fast they run compared to how fast I run. On the other hand, I haven't swam competitively for years, so any feelings on that are safely encased in a cone of nostalgia.

However, I think my enduring impression of these games will be how much I have grown to sincerely dislike China, not that I was especially enamored of the country to begin with. With all the dissent-crushing and the lip-synching and the age-lying and the all-around dignity-raping going on, I've grown tired of their bullshit. Moreover, I've grown tired of the world's collective unwillingness to call them on their bullshit.

It's a shame because I know this was supposed to be China's entry into the 21st century. And from NBC's aerial coverage, the country seems beautiful. And the people seem lovely. But given that the point of these games was to induce in me warm and squishy feelings about China, I have to say they've been a rousing failure.

I have no idealistic fantasies about my own country, as I think everyone knows by now. For example, we can't really complain about protestors being herded into special protest zones when we do the exact same thing. But at least applying for a protest permit won't get you sent to a labor camp here in the US. Nice job, Chinese government assholes.