* If you think that the Rio Olympics is an unmitigated disaster, just imagine what a total crap show a Chicago Olympic Games could have been. The cost over-runs alone would have been astronomical. Not to mention the total logistics and traffic nightmare along with the usual black criminality mixed in.
It’s said that losing the Olympic bid forced Daley, Jr. from seeking another term or two. If Chicago had won the bid, and he was still mayor, the ensuing fiasco would have made him become more of a complete stuttering, stumbling mess than he already otherwise was.
* Rio has a lot of problems, and they’re showing up at these Olympics, even if NBC isn’t in much of a mood to let us know.
Yet and still, the IOC still thought that all that was preferable to Chicago.
They had a point.
* All of these 426 murder victims will be quickly replaced, net-population wise, with more illegitimate babies born by mothers who have no clue as to how to support a child or raise a human being who will contribute to society’s well-being.
* I’ve lived most of my life in the Chicago area and after recently spending time downtown, including the lakefront, River North, the brand new riverwalk, nearby neighborhoods like Lincoln Park, Wrigleyville, Old Town, etc, it’s never seemed as safe, and as “white” to me. In the summer, Chicago is extremely fun and lively.
The violence is occurring a million miles away, in the no-go zones of the South side and the West side. I hardly know anyone who’s ever set foot in those areas.
* Do we know what the development plan was for the Chicago Olympics? Perhaps they were going to plow over the entire South Side. If so, there’d be a lot less crime in Chicago today, which would be whiter, and a lot more crime wherever the South Siders moved to.
* I watched one of this year’s officer-involved-shooting videos–I think it was Alton Sterling–with a Brazilian coworker. He watched, shrugged and said, “Stuff like this and worse happens all the time in Brazil. No one thinks it’s news.”
So, to your point that Rio may still be preferable to Chicago for the IOC, perhaps that is because the police violence necessary to maintain order for an event like the Olympics is unremarkable in Brazil, while it is impermissible in the US.
* Let’s see, there’s been two boxers charged with attempted rape (how one boxer can ‘rape’ two maids is beyond me) one of the torch bearers was shot at, and of course, lots of ruffian-on-tourist action. So far, not the train wreck I was expecting. But they still haven’t had the rowing, sailing or triathlon in that, um, ”water” so who knows. The high dive has been interesting, seems they either couldn’t afford enough chlorine or they don’t know what they’re doing with it.
* When Chicago hosted the World Cup in 1994 the murder rate was twice what it is today. The overall crime rate was higher as well. One of the big news stories from that was about a German radio show that was doing a live remote from the Chicago Loop during the World Cup Games. At least half of the questions from German callers who called in asked if the hosts of the show had armed guards protecting them or if the hosts feared for their lives because of how violent the city was. The feel good part of the piece that aired on local Chicago news programs was that the radio hosts extolled how safe they felt and how Germans in the city were surprised by how much they enjoyed the city. I think that the Olympics in Chicago probably would have been the same. A lot of hype about shootings and attendees to the Olympics not seeing much crime at all. The only exception would have been events that might have been held in places like Garfield Park. But even there the problem might be robberies, not murders. Most of the shootings in the city are from a gang war that has been going on since most of the high rise public housing projects were demolished. This has also increased the crime rate in smaller Illinois cities that some of the residents were sent to. When you hear about a Grandfather who was shot on his front porch or a 6 year old girl being shot, it usually is from a gang banger who is a bad shot.
* Chicago got the Gay Games in 2006. Didn’t that satisfy them?
