J.Locke777

Recently, it has become a popular idea to call for a boycott of the Bejing (Peking for my tibetan friends) olymics. I would have to disagree wholeheartedly with that idea for the following reasons

• To do so would be unfair for our athletes who have trained long and hard for their chance at the gold
• The olympics are supposed to be a time when countries set aside their differences to engage in friendly competition
• It only increases to the tensions between nations
• and last but not least, Hillary Clinton is advocating we do so.

China has certainly committed many wrongs, including their numerous human rights violations, aiding to the genocide in Darfur, and what they are doing in Tibet. However, the Olympics are not an arena for political pressure. It would do more good to embargo and sanction them in othere areas. If we boycott the olympics, we only hurt ourselves. China is not going to care whether or not our leaders are there, why would we send the message to our athletes that we don't respect them enough to see them compete?

That is why I advocate going to the Bejing (Peking) summer olympics rather than doing something we'll regret in boycotting them.

__________________
~John Locke

Discuss the Issue, Not the Poster

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not everyone is entitled to their own facts"
-Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan

"Great thoughts speak only to the thoughtful mind, but great actions speak to all mankind."
-Teddy Roosevelt

Martin

Of course, but unfortunately major sport events and especially the Olympics have already been hijacked by politics since many decades. Not sure but didn't that all started in 1936? Sad thing.
The Beijing Olympics are going to backfire on all, is my conviction. As well on the West as on China.
And while China has improved enormously in the last say +/-15 years, it most definately underestimated today's worldwide reactions when it won the selection back in 2001. Probably mostly because of the evolution of the web since then?
------
BTW, I didn't know that Beijing was called Peking by Tibetans, as in fact it's the name of the capital translated from Cantonese (aka Guangzhou Wa).

Glad to learn something new again, every day.

TheKentuckian

The shame is we will probably do nothing, not even the token action of boycotting the Olympics, which would at least be a statement.

AzTeK

Boycotting the Olympics is not a token action. That's as big as it goes without having to engage in an economic embargo

Boycotting the opening ceremony, however, is a token action, and I believe this option should be on the table. It's really no biggie since it has no effect on anything of importance, but it shows that the West will not tolerate human rights violations, which must be stated. It's purely symbolical, but strongly symbolical.

__________________

LiveUninhibited

Why/how exactly are the olympics some kind of sacred, world-uniting thing? It certainly did little to mitigate WWII. The olympics are pointless. To me, the olympics are boring. So me boycotting them wouldn't be very meaningful as I wouldn't watch anyway. (:

AzTeK

Do you feel that sports are also pointless?

__________________

Kazikli Bey

I have to agree with the OP here, boycotting the Olympics is a pathetic attempt by nations to try to pressure China without actually pressuring China in regards to the Tibet issue. If they really want to make a stand, they'd have placed a trade embargo or something like that on China years ago.

__________________

LiveUninhibited

Recreationally I think they are a great way for people to have fun and stay in shape. At the same time, I don't understand why people care about professional sports. They don't know anybody on the team personally, so why does their performance matter and how is it interesting? (:

A trade embargo will just make things harder for the Chinese people. Boycotting the olympics will not harm the Chinese people to the same extent, (though I suppose it would limit the economic boost that the area near the olympics receives) but would send an equally clear message to their leaders.

Kazikli Bey

True that and i am opposed to such a course of action. I am merely pointing out the baselessness of boycotting the Olympics because it really does not pressure China into doing anything, it is a token gesture and nothing more.

__________________

Svante

.
Boycotting will prove nothing and it will only hurt athletes who work hard in competitions. Peking (Beijing) don't care who attend the Olympics. They don't care if world leaders attend and if world leaders don't attend, they won't be missed anyway.
.