VANOC on the Buses

An elderly woman is seated on a city transit bus the other day.

She has her groceries on the seat beside her.

The bus is half empty.

Let me repeat.

The bus is half empty.

A young woman with VANOC marked all over her perfect self gets on, heads straight to the seated woman, and declares, "I want to sit there."

Not, "Excuse me, ma-am, but may I sit in that seat? Could you move those parcels please..." and anything like this.

And why there?

The bus is half empty.

Did I mention that?

The rude, privileged demand is hardly out of her mouth than the entire remaining passengers begin angrily and loudly chanting, "OFF VANOC! OFF VANOC! OFF VANOC!"

My friend, Donna, who told me this story yesterday, sees this incident as a clear and strong evidence of how so many Vancouverites are feeling about the arrogance of the VANOC Class.

I told her about a first year University professor I had about a thousand years ago, who came into class one bright winter morning and wrote in huge letters across the entire width of the blackboard, "CREDIT IS A SACRED TRUST."

He told us he had just seen this obscenity on a billboard in downtown Winnipeg.

He then ranted for an hour about the abuse of language, about putting spin on usury to make it holy.

This is how both Donna and I feel about "I believe."

Exactly what is it that Donald Sutherland and Bill Goo and all those other stooges believe?

I believe in God?

I believe in the divine right of Vancouver to host the Games?

I believe in free tickets? Little Upchuck? Red Mitties?

Pure shmarm.

Show me an athlete skiing or skating. Don't spend the entire budget to do it. Don't shut down social, health and education programs to pay for it. Don't declare yourself a "world class city." Don't raise Groupthink to Orwellian proportions.

Show me an athlete.

Keep it simple.