Olympics

I've never seen anything like it - I don't think anyone has, in Canada at least. Literally thousands of people flooding the downtown streets so overwhelmed by their sense of patriotism that they can't contain it. Screaming, chest-pounding patriotism; oceans of red and white; young dudes wearing nothing but the Canadian flag and Dickies, their faces painted, breaking into the anthem every two seconds. I hate to be a downer, but being on Granville last night made me uneasy, in part because I was the only one sober.

And maybe sobriety is unpatriotic, because there was something ominous about the fist-pumping, howling patriotism on display last night. There's too much history of bad behind it. It's a baby-step from jingoism, from exclusion and group-think and a sense of the un-Canadian. At the same time, it's like, let the kids feel a sense of pride in their country. why not? As long as they're not beating on immigrants. It's very Canadian of me, actually, to be weary of too-outwards of an expression of this.

But I always believed that one of the reasons Canadians didn't display their patriotism in such a fanatical way was because of a collective distaste of it. We see what happens south of the border and are a bit repelled. I feel like something really changed with these Olympics. Like one woman said on TV, Canadians are finally allowed to express the pride they feel for their country. And there's nothing wrong with that.