Unofficial We Don’t Want the Tokyo Olympics to Happen

Great thread

So this thread was deleted earlier but it has been rightfully restored. Thank you. The truth is that I would like to see the Olympics take place. This is not a black/white issue as it is abounding in nuance. There are priorities where people will stake their ground and then there are potentially unforeseen deleterious repercussions. There are persuasive arguments from both sides. However, with the information we currently have it seems the wise move is to cancel the 2021 Tokyo Olympics IF our top priority is the health and safety of the earth’s inhabitants. Having said that, it is devastating to the athletes and fans. No doubt.

I haven't read any of the other threads on this, but I'll share my general thoughts. This is not a black and white issue. Reasonable people can disagree about whether the Games should go forward.

Ultimately, the opinion that should carry the most weight is that of the Japanese people, since they are the most at risk. While there is certainly some risk to the athletes themselves, they are going to be subject to strict testing and quarantine requirements, and they are the world's healthiest human beings. The host communities will bear the bulk of the risk, since they are inviting tens of thousands of people from all over the world into their country.

At this point, I believe the Games should go on. There are ways to dramatically reduce the risk -- eliminate spectators, eliminate everything except the competition itself, etc. Look to the 2020 NBA season as an example. There will always be a risk, but if you take extreme measures, you can have a reasonably safe event. It won't be the same, but it will be something.

This is one person's opinion, and as I said above, the Japanese people's opinion should be the most important factor. However, this is a very complex decision, and we should be wary of people who see it as black and white.

Jimmio wrote:

How many lost lives would be OK just so you can watch your sporting event?

I am OK with losing some lives for the Olympics. Just like I am OK with losing some lives in a world with peanut butter, some lives in exchange for showers, some lives in exchange for air travel....

There is inherent risk in everything. Individuals and society at large make risk/reward decisions every day, usually without thought. (Which is where you come in, not thinking and such.) Cars kill everyday but as a society we have come to terms with the reward of fast, convenient travel and quick delivery of goods and services - heck they are better than horses - and we have accepted these rewards at the cost of the associated risk. Analyze the Olympics with the same logic and you will see that the Olympics kills too and has already killed. If x/1,000,000 people die in air flight then every additional flight caused by the Olympics has contributed to some fractionalized death.

So by now you have come around to some analytical thinking, because posting a couple paragraphs on the internet always changes peoples minds, and you want to tap the brakes because COVID. That is fair, but do the math. Calculate the risk for the participants, calculate the risk for the host population and staff and balance that against the rewards for all involved...

I don't want the Olympics to happen. The host country's politicians are idiots, the IOC is corrupt, the athletes are cheaters.

We're talking about additional risk here, since you failed to notice.

If the world geared up to produce vaccines over the next few months the way countries geared up to fight WWII, there would be no problem putting on the Olympics this summer. But we are leaving vaccine production up to a small number of manufacturers who are not willing to take big financial risks on ramping up production. So, the rich countries are hording vaccines and poor countries have almost nothing. Add to that the dramatic mutations that we are seeing in UK, Brazil, SA and even California, and it is just fundamentally irresponsible to try to put on an Olympic Games.

Even if everyone wears masks and socially distances as best they can, the Olympic Village will be a superspreader event like no other. A few elite athletes will be able to protect themselves, but for most everyone else, the generally corrupt Olympic committees from each country will just let their athletes run wild once competition is over and do nothing upon the return to their respective countries after the games to quarantine athletes to make sure they do not bring anything home.

Notably you are putting every Japanese person at risk and not yourself. How brave. We know ahead of time, unlike with plane crashes, that if we have a "normal" Olympics, people in Japan, will absolutely die. Even some will die from 2nd or 3rd hand encounters.

No one in the world should invite an international audience to all come to the exact same place during a known pandemic unless the people of that country are comfortable with it. Japan gets to decide and your opinion is worthless.

The idea that anyone buys WeJo moralistic stand on the values of international brotherhood is ridiculous. He owns a running website, he as material interest in the Olympics happening. He only has selfish reasons to want to see the Olympics. You only have selfish reasons, also. It is purely for your entertainment that hundreds of thousands or millions of Japanese should be exposed to deadly virus. JFC.

There is no financial reward for the Olympic host city. That is an established fact.

Dumb

By saying you do not want the olympics, you are inciting violence and suicides because Japanese take great pride in hosting and the athletes have dedicated too much sacrifice.

Roy is right once again. No Olympics. Not worth it.

I’m not going to offer an opinion on whether the Olympics should be held this year or not.

I think that World Athletics should begin looking into a contingency plan of holding a global athletics (T&F) championship this year. The dramatically reduced number of athletes would begin to make it safer in and of itself. Then you could take certain measures to reduce the risk of it becoming a Covid spreading event:

-Mandate negative results on at least two Covid tests before traveling, as well as health-screening before entering the athletes’ village or “bubble”...once inside, athletes must remain in the bubble or they will not be allowed to re-enter

-Limit number of coaches, officials and other personnel, all of whom must adhere to the same travel and admittance protocols

-No fans in the stadium...just the way it’s got to be

-More stringent qualifying standards to reduce the number of athletes and concomitantly the duration of the Championships (i.e. fewer rounds)

-Strongly encourage wearing masks and social distancing at all times except for when competing, and discourage socializing with athletes from other countries or who are not sharing the same rooming quarters

Yeah, it doesn’t sound as fun as competing in an ordinary Olympics or World Championships, but if I were a world class athlete I would still 100% want the opportunity to compete for a global gold medal even under these conditions.

I bet Australia could do it. But it would be an exhibition event. Better than nothing?

If the Japanese don't want the olympics, then they should give them up and let them be held in a less paranoid city like Minsk.

Yeah let's just lock ourselves in our rooms indefinitely.

Should ban cars while we're at it also, too dangerous

If you are concerned about getting the virus, it is incredibly easily to protect yourself and does not require anyone else to do anything. The government and media has created this false narrative stating otherwise. If you don’t want to get the virus then stay the f*ck in your house. They report the number of cases as a bad thing. I don’t care if I get Covid, I don’t care if my family gets Covid. It is f*cking absurd that anyone would tell me I’m not allowed to catch a cold and I honestly have no desire to live anymore because of how much I can’t stand people anymore. I’ll wear a mask and stay 6 ft away. Hosting the Olympics would not cause a single person to get Covid that isn’t okay with getting it. And if you are someone that doesn’t want to get the virus and do get it, it’s your own f*ing fault. Take some personal responsibility and stfu

briswiss wrote:

Hosting the Olympics would not cause a single person to get Covid that isn’t okay with getting it. And if you are someone that doesn’t want to get the virus and do get it, it’s your own f*ing fault. Take some personal responsibility and stfu

You’re not very bright, are you?

Is there an official thread on this, or are we stuck with this unofficial one?

John Wesley Harding wrote:

briswiss wrote:

Hosting the Olympics would not cause a single person to get Covid that isn’t okay with getting it. And if you are someone that doesn’t want to get the virus and do get it, it’s your own f*ing fault. Take some personal responsibility and stfu

You’re not very bright, are you?

Definitely a rhetorical question. Briswiss is not one who possesses the requisite cognition to discuss these matters. If he were trying to appear stupid it is not at all clear he would be any more successful in wearing the dunce cap.