Sochi Schadenfreude: 'Ha Ha, The Russians Screwed It Up Again!'

[unhappycamper]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/editorial-on-western-bashing-of-sochi-olympics-a-952638.html



Communal toilets made quite a stir in recent weeks after journalists discovered them in Sochi.

Sochi Schadenfreude: 'Ha Ha, The Russians Screwed It Up Again!'
A Commentary by Benjamin Bidder
February 11, 2014 – 03:07 PM



I had only myself to blame. After waiting too long to finally book a hotel in Sochi, here's what I got: A bathroom that smelled like a sewer. The cold air traveled right through the window. The furniture was straight out of the 1970s. If you had tried to sell all of it at a flea market, it is unlikely anyone would have paid more than the $200 a night I paid each night to stay there. The place looked like it was bug-ridden -- and by that I do not mean eavesdropping efforts by the FSB intelligence service.

Even though Sochi has been booked out for weeks now, I still managed to change hotels. An acquaintance had a pal who called a friend who happens to work in another hotel. What would Russia be without these Russians, their relationships and their inimitable spontaneity? I'm now staying at the Marins Park Hotel for $140 a night, with a view of the sea from my window, gorgeous weather and no twin toilet of the sort that has been the subject of social media mockery in recent weeks. The hotel I'm now staying in has even hired a pianist to play during breakfast. The trains to Sochi are free. Indeed, this city is making a real effort for its visitors and you'd pretty much have to close both eyes not to see that the Russians here are doing their best to welcome the world.

Unfortunately, the world is too busy posting its images of dread from Russia. Indeed, the criticism has lost any measure of proportionality. It is true that the Olympics are Vladimir Putin's pet project. This modern day czar wanted the games, and he ordered a massive, $50 billion effort to make sure they happened in Sochi. Corruption and poor planning drove costs to dizzying heights. Considerable environmental damage has been caused and construction workers have been exploited. Putin has also done his best to stir up sentiment against gays.

'There Are No Gays Here'

But Russia has not earned the schadenfreude that bubbles up each time another broken door knob or damaged park bench is discovered. Whatever doesn't fit into the narrative is forced in nonetheless.

[jakeXT]

1. So the BBC did some creative editing

If Pakhomov did indeed say that, then he needs help, because it would be clear that he is suffering from an undiagnosed dementia that strikes only sporadically. How else could the mayor forget that he himself had spoken with the operator of a gay bar shortly before the interview took place? He had asked for the briefing as part of his preparations for an interview with a BBC journalist.

At city hall in Sochi, few believe there's a medical explanation for what happened. They claim Pakhomov's statements were taken out of context. The actual words used by Pakhomov were, "We don't have them in our city." The mayor now claims that what he actually meant were gay activists. Without trying to play down the extremely difficult situation for gays and lesbians in Russia, there is a significant difference.

[bemildred]

2. It's pathetic. Infantile. There is plenty of real stuff to complain about.

Instead we get infantile babble and toilet jokes.