36 years ago the LA 84 Olympics opened, marking a new era of police militarization, the privatization of our city, and a violent removal of poor Black & Brown people from their communities.
The LA 84 Olympics were nothing short of a war on the poor.
nolympicsla.com/2020/06/29/exa…
The LA 84 Olympics were nothing short of a war on the poor.
nolympicsla.com/2020/06/29/exa…
Unhoused people were swept.
Black & Brown people were thrown in jail without due process. Councilmembers tried to throw the poor in drunk tanks.
Small businesses went bankrupt.
Public land was stolen.
Our broken hotel voucher system was created to disappear the poor.
Black & Brown people were thrown in jail without due process. Councilmembers tried to throw the poor in drunk tanks.
Small businesses went bankrupt.
Public land was stolen.
Our broken hotel voucher system was created to disappear the poor.
Daryl Gates hypermilitarized the LAPD, training with the IDF + giving them all sorts of new Olympic death toys, which would pop up later in the decade in Operation Hammer etc.
The '84 Olympics helped directly create the conditions for the '92 Uprising.
thenation.com/article/archiv…
The '84 Olympics helped directly create the conditions for the '92 Uprising.
thenation.com/article/archiv…
This legacy is undeniable. But what's even worse is that Peter Ueberroth, Reaganite who led the '84 Olympics, was tasked with leading the rebuilding efforts post-'92 via a non-profit Rebuild LA.
Guess what?
Rebuild LA was a massive failure. Nothing was 'fixed'.
Economic disparity grew deeper, in fact. LA never recovered. It just doubled down on police, hotels, sports, and luxury development as panacea.
The LA 84 'legacy' is really the legacy of LA's privatization.
Rebuild LA was a massive failure. Nothing was 'fixed'.
Economic disparity grew deeper, in fact. LA never recovered. It just doubled down on police, hotels, sports, and luxury development as panacea.
The LA 84 'legacy' is really the legacy of LA's privatization.
The local booster-addled media has presented the LA 84 legacy as the following:
- the Olympics made money for LA
- there was no traffic
- they brought the world together through sports, art and culture
We've thoroughly shattered these myths. Let's break them down, one by one.
- the Olympics made money for LA
- there was no traffic
- they brought the world together through sports, art and culture
We've thoroughly shattered these myths. Let's break them down, one by one.
#1 - most of the LA 84 Olympic surplus went to the IOC.
Zero (0) dollars of LA's cut of the surplus went back to the City of LA.
Instead it ALL went to a corrupt ass non-profit called the AAF ( later rebranded as @LA84Foundation)
Here's who LA 84 is:
nolympicsla.com/la84
Zero (0) dollars of LA's cut of the surplus went back to the City of LA.
Instead it ALL went to a corrupt ass non-profit called the AAF ( later rebranded as @LA84Foundation)
Here's who LA 84 is:
nolympicsla.com/la84
LA 84 is a real estate speculation firm posing as a vehicle for social justice. It takes resources that should be ours and funnels them via investments to:
-Goldman Sachs
-Blackstone
-Oil companies
-Oaktree Capital
deadspin.com/who-does-los-a…
-Goldman Sachs
-Blackstone
-Oil companies
-Oaktree Capital
deadspin.com/who-does-los-a…
We've covered Renata Simril and their grift many times before.
We've even forced Renata to step down from her position on the Measure H Citizens' Oversight Advisory Board for her glaring conflict of interest.
We've even forced Renata to step down from her position on the Measure H Citizens' Oversight Advisory Board for her glaring conflict of interest.
A reporter recently found out that the LA 84 Foundation aren't even spending the legal minimum (a paltry 5%) on their stated mission.
The LA 84 Foundation is a fucking scam.
Next question.
thedailybeast.com/behind-los-ang…
The LA 84 Foundation is a fucking scam.
Next question.
thedailybeast.com/behind-los-ang…
#2 - "There was no traffic."
Our infrastructure was hijacked for weeks, months, and years by rich foreign tourists and dignitaries. Convenient that the press chose to tell this story for 30 years instead of LA84's clear connection to the acceleration of police violence.
Our infrastructure was hijacked for weeks, months, and years by rich foreign tourists and dignitaries. Convenient that the press chose to tell this story for 30 years instead of LA84's clear connection to the acceleration of police violence.
#3 - "The Olympics brought us together."
The Olympics decimated poor communities in LA.
Even the vaunted artistic legacy of '84 is dubious at best.
The Olympics decimated poor communities in LA.
Even the vaunted artistic legacy of '84 is dubious at best.
We've spoken with artists who felt betrayed post-84 as their work wasn't preserved because the IOC is unaccountable and no one cares to fulfill any promises once the circus leaves town.
We interviewed the co-designer of LA84 , Paul Prezja, on the questionable alliance between artists and Olympic interests for LA 84 and how their participation actually helps sugarcoat the pills of racial violence and banishment.
nolympicsla.com/2020/07/07/qa-…
nolympicsla.com/2020/07/07/qa-…
Art, like sports (especially youth sports), is weaponized by Olympic boosters to add to the array of shiny things every community indelibly is attracted to in exchange for wholesale gutting of communities.
The truth is we don't need the Olympics if we want art or sports in our cities.
We can build them into the fabric of our public institutions, outside the spheres of mega capital and non-profits.
We can build them into the fabric of our public institutions, outside the spheres of mega capital and non-profits.
We don't have to compromise and cannibalize our city for a few affordable swimming lessons and some cheap cardboard columns.
That was as true in 84 as it is today.
The Olympics never brought us together.
And they never will.
That was as true in 84 as it is today.
The Olympics never brought us together.
And they never will.
