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By Joe Fries
The stench that came off an Olympic-themed press release issued by Coca-Cola on Wednesday took me back to the motel rooms my minor hockey teams would rent for the sole purpose of airing out everyone’s equipment while at out-of-town tournaments.
Imagine the smell of 15 teenaged boys’ gear, jammed into a single room with the heat turned up full blast. Whatever the expense, our parents certainly deemed it a bargain not to have the smelly stuff in their rooms along with two or three smelly players. And I still pity the unsuspecting chambermaids who happened upon the scene after we blew town. Yes, it really was that bad.
So was this press release headline: “Premier Gordon Campbell and John Furlong Win Coca-Cola’s ‘Live Positively Award’ at Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.”
It gets better as it goes to explain that Campbell was cited for his “vision for combating climate change,” which is apparently held up worldwide “as an example of decisive climate action.”
When I think of climate action in B.C., I think of free light bulbs and the gas tax. That’s what stands out among the 60,000 other announcements that professed to take dead aim at climate change.
Anyhow, lacking the requisite three weeks to figure out what decisive measures are at play here, I’m going to focus on the self-serving nature of this announcement.
This is like my dog giving me an award for being one of his two favourite people. Plus, the press release was written by a hired gun at a high-profile PR company and didn’t even make it on the B.C. government’s website along with the premier’s feel-good statements on Canadian medalists, Chinese new year and investments in clean energy, which seems strange.
And what’s with accepting an award from Coca-Cola? Isn’t pop verboten in most B.C. schools now? I, like most other people I know, have now abandoned criticism of the Games in favour of unabashed patriotism. Why cheapen that?
Footnote:
And after the maelstrom triggered by last week’s column, I’d be remiss not to address some of that criticism.
For those who missed it, I started with the premise that I found the gay community’s current all-inclusive handle of LGBQTTI just a tad unwieldy.
I also suggested that the community is known for its flamboyance – and I now submit big-city pride parades as an exhibit – and could do a better job coming up with a name for itself.
Yes, that is a generalization. But so is the comment from the person who suggested the shaved head in my old profile picture said something about my beliefs when all it speaks to is my rapidly thinning locks.
The column was meant to be funny. That’s all. And it came from the perspective of a straight, white, middle-of-the-road man, albeit one who is open-minded. I realize the gay community has struggled for a place in the mainstream, and I didn’t belittle or criticize those efforts. I was of the opinion that we’d moved past all that.
Obviously the scars are still fresh, but if you can’t laugh at yourself, you’re taking life too seriously. Maybe someone from the LGBQTTI community should start writing a weekly column presenting that perspective on things.
joe@kelowna.com
250-575-4303
