Olympic Gaff

[dragon]

Not having a TV I didn’t actually see the opening night of the Olympic games, but I heard on the radio that part of the show included dancing hospital beds and doctors etc., etc. Clearly this was intended to advertise aspects of the UK i.e. its prized NHS. My instant response when I heard this was to squirm in embarrassment at the crassness, and worse, to feel slightly squeamish as one does when presented with a plate of rotten, maggoty meat. If the UK wished to advertise its health services, the correct way would be to display the resultant healthiness of its population rather than to display the accoutrements associated with ill health. What the UK is doing, though they fail to realise it, is the same as lepers begging for alms. They are implying the sickness of the British population and using that to sell the NHS.

[TheHub]

I rather got the idea, that this was an attempt to show the great thing that this and previous Tory governments have destroyed or are in the process of destroying. Maufacuring, Mining, Steel, Railway NHS etc. It was a bit left wing orientated.

[dragon]

Interesting point, TheHub. As I said, I did not actually see the ceremony so I may have missed something. On that basis I stick by what I said. For one thing, I checked on the brief given to Danny Boyle and it seems to me that he has fulfilled it: to showcase the best of British. If he had wanted to make a political point about the destruction of the NHS he would have had to make some reference to privatisation. After all, the NHS has not actually been destroyed, just privatised. Also, if he wanted to showcase what has been lost then reference to shipbuilding etc. would have been more apposite. Another point I would make, though it may not have been a consideration of Danny Boyle's, is that the bulk of the audience haven't a clue about British politics and less interest. It is a poor venue for politicing. One last point, the Olympic games are not perceived by government etc, (or so they would have us believe) as the proper place for raising contentious issues; it is the proper place for all Good Britons to stand shoulder to shoulder and present A Proud and United Front to the world!