Olympic Poll #4: Boycott

[ColbertWatcher]

Poll question: Olympic Poll #4: Boycott

I am boycotting the 2008 Beijing Olympics because...

Choice 1: China's actions against Tibet should not be rewarded
Choice 2: China's actions against Taiwan should not be rewarded
Choice 3: China's inaction in Darfur should not be rewarded
Choice 4: China's human rights abuses against their own people should not be rewarded
Choice 5: All of the above and more (which I will elaborate on in reply)
Choice 6: I am not boycotting the Olympics because ___ (give reason in reply)
Choice 7: I am conflicted, I know about China's human rights record, but this is the Olympics, and it's not supposed to be political

Olympic Poll #1: Opening Ceremonies Commercials

Olympic Poll #2: Opening Ceremonies Commentary

Olympic Poll #3: The Ceremony

[dzhuang]

1. Specious and Ineffective

First, I assume we have to look at it from the government and individual viewpoints.

While it might seem like the right thing to do to boycott the Olympics, all it does for the US government is paint it as arrogant and demanding. It would only frustrate a rising China, not bolding well for its future relationship with a nation that it definitely needs to keep an eye on.

On the individual level, isn't blaming China for many of the issues such as Darfur just using them as a scapegoat? I can understand being frustrated with their human rights abuses, but we should be taking on the Darfur issues more directly through humanitarian assistance instead of just blaming China for not picking up the slack. China won't listen to boycotts--it has plenty of other countries participating and already knows the US reserves a growing fear of it.

[Bicoastal]

2. Boycott the opening ceremony if you must--but the athletic competitions themselves

...are apolitical. They could all be happening in Switzerland for all I care. Outside of the opening and closing ceremony, the Olympics host city is just a staging ground, and what goes on there can transcend politics.

Consider the 1936 games, for example--I wouldn't watch 5 hours of the Nazis goose-stepping around the Berlin stadium if you paid me to. But would you deprive yourself of the sight of Jesse Owens in his prime, breaking records, winning medals and embarrassing Hitler on his own turf? I think not.

[ColbertWatcher]

3. I am conflicted.

I know better. I know I'm supposed to be doing something.

But, I've watched this Darfur conflict almost since the beginning (Thank you, BBC) feeling more and more helpless with each passing day, week, month and year.

I know about Tibet and the Dalai Lama, Taiwan and I'm not going to forget Tiananmen Square.

But, this is the Olympics! This is the time for the athletes! Not the politicians.

There's going to be a moment during these Games when some kid from some godforsaken backwater country is going to come in last in some event after falling down or breaking their leg or something and I'm going to cheer and cry and feel a sense of pride like it's my own damn kid. And nothing is going to take away from that simple accomplishment.

I'm not going to forget the torture and disappearances and negligence.

I just want to have one minute away from it all and watch someone try to do something better than the cowards I've been following the past 7 years. That's all I want.

[Chovexani]

21. That's exactly how I feel.

Which is why, despite everything, I watched the Opening Ceremonies and ooh'd and ah'd anyway. I enjoyed the artistry of it.

I love the Chinese people, I just hate the Chinese government. I'm sure a lot of people in other countries feel the same way about us.

[PFunk]

4. I voted for 5

In my opinion China shouldn't have been given the Olympics in the first place. Besides all of the already mentioned reasons China either lied and/or regeed on every promise they made to get the games. Plus it's not exactly the greatest environment health-wise to have them.

[LeftyMom]

5. I don't watch them no matter who hosts.

Very little interest, and no desire to wade through the horrible coverage.

[ColbertWatcher]

6. True, the coverage for the Opening Ceremonies was embarrassing!

It was tape delayed, yet they found time to cut out some of the participating nations to spend more time bitching about stuff or taking pictures of Kobe Bryant (he must have a good agent).

I'm going to watch when I remember, but I know I'm going to be disappointed.

[David Zephyr]

7. The Olympics is the one place politics has no place. America's action the past 8 years were worse.

Where do we draw the line?

The U.S. has invaded another nation that did not harm it and the result is 1 million dead civilians. We pollute the planet and have overthrown governments around the world since the 1950's.

Russia, under Putin, has clearly become a very dicey world neighbor.

The Olympics is the one place every four years where athletes, not politicians can compete and get to know one another face to face and to learn how much we all have in common.

Boycotting the Olympics is the last thing we need to do.

Americans can not throw any stones at China after the way the Bush Administration has behaved the last four years.

When we clean up our own act, close down the hundreds of military bases we have all over the planet, stop pumping toxins into the air...then we can see clearly to take the mote out of China's eye.

The Olympics is about our common humanity. We compete not with weapons or bombs, but in sports. That is to be celebrated.

[RNdaSilva]

8. It is that simple...well said.

[eshfemme]

12. It IS a problem if the hosting country acts as if the Olympics is THEIRS to deal with as they please

The Olympics are prestigious because it is the common property of ALL of the participating countries. Sure, it's also a good opportunity to show off the good of your country but it is NOT an excuse to try to show off some ill-conceived notion of superiority. It would be good if China was just simply aiming for the most medals but their political ambitions are greater than that and hence, tarnishes the purity of the Olympics in my mind.

[Chovexani]

22. LOL, what "purity"?

The purity of doping scandals, IOC bribery? Were you not at all paying attention during Salt Lake City? You're accusing China of behaving exactly the way the US does every time we get the Olympics. The Chinese government sucks but they're only doing what the US government does every time we have the O's here.

Watch what you're throwing from those glass houses.

[Dawgs]

9. Is it the athletes fault that China is run by thugs? What about the people of China?

Is it their fault?

Boycotting the Olympics wouldn't change anything.

It only hurts the people that aren't at fault.

And, as someone said earlier, the US has been just as bad.

[eshfemme]

13. I do feel badly for the athletes as they spent 4 years preparing and training for it

and they had no say in where the Olympics would be held. But frankly, I am also rather bothered by the lack of transparency or consistency of the Olympic committee. China was only allowed the site with some conditions such as cooperation with the press, a loosening of their dictatorial control and a more open government. Instead, China is directly following in the now defunct Soviet Union's footsteps. And I see no hint that the Olympics committee is doing anything to enforce anything. The international censure I am seeing is rather weak too as China will just do what they and Bush have been doing and that is to shrug and just go on their merry little way.

It does bother me too the various scandals that seem to pile up in the Olympics past. So that coupled with China's problems make it not worthwhile to me to see the Olympics.

[Fox Mulder]

10. Choice Five.

[eshfemme]

11. I am increasingly worried about China's overt attempts to take Russia's place in a Second Cold War.

I find Chinese actions against Tibet and Taiwan very disturbing as their efforts to propagandize to their citizenry have been all too effective. Reading some of their citizens' perspectives makes me see a way too highly nationalistic perspective of government without any skepticism, which just gives me chilling reminders of the way the German citizenry were docile under the Nazi regime. Frankly, their claims that Chinese ethnicity officially encompasses the 56 officially recognized ethnic groups without even attempting to make this membership voluntary makes this ridiculous to me. I realize that citizens who are born to America technically don't have a say in it either but for the most part, even if we didn't have a say in it, our parents or ancestors did. The current PRC was enacted through a coup that wasn't unanimous and many of the minorities' "membership" as part of the Chinese ethnic family was just that, compulsory. (If you want to get any non-Western perspective on China, go to http://www.zonaeuropa.com as they are a collection of English-translated articles from a selection of Chinese publications)

I also see Chinese hegemonic ambitions disturbing considering the bloody history and damage that Japanese imperialism wrought to Asia in WW2 (people don't realize that before the "official" war in Europe, the war had already been raging in Asia for at least a year). This is almost like the case of the pedophile who went on to be one despite being molested as a child. It is unhealthy. (I have to note that Korea's overly nationalistic self-identity bothers me too but at least their traditions of being isolationist save them from this suspicion for the most part) It's also a problem because Chinese ambitions are also a perfect excuse for the Japanese to go into an arms race with them in order to counter any perceived threat and considering WW2 history, that is NOT a pretty thing to think about.

I just hope that people know enough to divorce Bush's actions from US actions. And that an Obama Presidency will known enough to consider the same sort of issues I have brought up.

Disclosure: My parents are immigrants from Taiwan who have naturalized as American citizens. I am bilingual in Mandarin and hold dual citizenship in America and Taiwan.

[glowing]

14. The athletes are the one's competing. They work hard to perfect themselves

and its nice to see international sporting competitions. Now, if you don't agree with China, stop buying anything Chinese and protest every moment this govt decides to spend another billion that we don't have. Best way to impact the Chinese. I don't know how effective this is or not, there are 1.3 billion Chinese.. makes it kinda tough.

[OneBlueSky]

15. Choice 6: I am not boycotting the Olympics because ___ . . .

I've had no interest in the games since they started allowing professional athletes to compete and became pretty much a massive corporate advertisement . . . so I'm not boycotting -- I just wasn't interested in the first place . . .

I did watch the opening ceremonies, however, because I thought the Chinese would probably pull out all the stops and come up with something spectacular . . . I was right . . .

as for the rest of the stuff, I really couldn't care less . . .

[ColbertWatcher]

29. "since they started allowing professional athletes to compete"

This is when it started to get nasty for me too.

And, I think we (the U.S.) were the ones to start it using the excuse that "some other teams did it first".

Such a whiney excuse.

[LBJDemocrat]

16. Lack of democracy, independent labor unions, human rights

And imperialism in the west.

[WeDidIt]

17. Elaboration on Choice 5

I view these Olympics as nothing more than a propoganda attempt and are the moral equivalent to the 1936 Olympics.

[DailyGrind51]

18. I don't watch them anymore, but I don't watch "American Idol" either!

[dems_rightnow]

19. #6- Not boycotting because.....

The Games aren't meant to be political.

They're a beautiful spectacle of the world's best athletes in motion. Athletic competition is a wonderful and graceful thing, and these athletes should be seen, noticed, and appreciated.

[ColbertWatcher]

20. Saturday kick. n/t

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

23. I'm boycotting because of the lousy coverage and the commercials.

[Occam Bandage]

24. Boycotting the Olympics because of political issues is dumb.

The Olympics are about the unity of humanity in sport. Sitting out because you don't like what another country's government does is contrary to the very idea of the Olympics.

[ZombieHorde]

25. Choice #8

Sports are for drunk jerks. If you like sports, then you should know these two things about yourself; your drunk (I bet many of you don't even remember drinking) and your a jerk.

[fishwax]

26. not boycotting

why not? Because I love the Olympics, and look forward to them every four years. I'm not unconcerned about human rights issues, but refusing to watch the Olympics would not be, for me, a rewarding or effective form of resistance to that. This isn't to say I think those who are boycotting are silly to do so, it's just not for me.

As for politics, I think the idea of politics and the olympics being separate is but a myth. The olympics have always been political. This is actually another reason I find it interesting and want to watch, and since I'm into media and cultural studies it's all fertile ground for me.

[MrCoffee]

27. I am not boycotting the Olympics because boycotts are stupid.

[LWolf]

28. #6

Since I'm not interested enough to give them any air time to begin with, I can't call not watching them a "boycott."

[Tindalos]

30. #5 all of the above plus. . .

commercialism, jingoism, politics, propaganda, . . .

Although, in all honesty, I'm boycotting more than just the Olympics. I'm not watching any TV lately. I couldn't take it any more.

OTOH, I admire the athletes and wish them good luck.