One of the arguments, if you can call it that, against comparing Olympic spending to social spending is that social problems would have to be dealt with no matter, and therefore the cost of the Olympics doesn’t factor into the reality of financially tackling them.

Despite being devoid of reason, arguing against that sort of assertion is a losing proposition because it includes talking about the Downtown Lower Eastside, and as soon as you include the neighbourhood in any conversation about the Olympics it automatically becomes a point of contention for those that, Olympics or not, view the problem as one that they shouldn’t have to deal with.

Bums, addicts, losers – nothing changes, so why bother. It’s the Vancouver mantra.

Rae went to the Abbotsford Salvation Army yesterday to talk to some people that have been displaced, many of whom talked about people being bused from the Lower Eastside out to the suburbs. She also took some pictures to document the experience, but before doing so contacted the Salvation Army to make them aware of what she was doing. Ultimately, she ended up on the phone with one of their local public relations people that told her that she was forbidden to talk to any of the people gathered outside. Not only that, when she informed them that her focus was the negative impact of the Olympics she was derided and aggressively lectured about the assured lucrative impact that the games would have.

This from the Salvation Army.

Despite the dressing down, she went anyway, spending the day talking to a variety of people and even helping one young man in trouble that suffered from mental illness that needed to get prescriptions filled – prescriptions for drugs no different than the ones that I take. A few days before he had been jumped and badly beaten, his face in a state of bruised and swollen disarray.

Real people, genuine and glad to talk about the situation. A young man that couldn’t believe that she would be so kind to actually give him a ride to a pharmacy. Another young man that insisted that he follow her most of the day to ensure her safety without her even asking. Human beings with feelings and opinions, no different than you or I.

For her the trip was the beginning of a journey, one in which she hopes to create a series of pieces highlighting the homeless problem in the Lower Mainland by using Olympic clothing as counterpoint to demonstrate a very simple point – that those that are largely ignored actually have valid opinions about what is transpiring, and that their voices need to be heard.