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in case you wondered
And in case anybody was going to ask me (I know you weren't, but I'll tell you anyway), I am of the strong opinion that Canada should boycott the Beijing Olympics. We should refuse to take part in this exercise in totalitarian maneuvering and vast suppression of human rights.
Obviously, I do not buy the IOC's claims that holding the Olympics in China will wrench the Chinese government into the 19th, 20th or 21st centuries. I do not buy their explanation that the games will bring much-needed economic stimulus, nor that the IOC will have some kind of bargaining power to assure an increase in human rights* in Beijing proper for the duration of the games (which will miraculously outlast the games themselves.) They obviously do not, to judge from the ongoing cencorship of the web, to take a recent example. The IOC seems to have forgotten that they now need China as much as China needs them - what are they going to do, cancel the games if China is naughty? Unlikely.
* For non-Chinese citizens, that is. Chinese citizens can go fly a kite. Or not, if they haven't received permission from the government to do so, of course.
Comments
Personally, I think Canada should withdraw from the Olympic movement entirely. It's a private corporation, beholden to no-one, overseen by no-one, whose directors get rich from the tax dollars of the world. It's a crock of shit whose time has passed.
Clearly neither of you are athletes. I only ever hear this economic/boycotting stuff from non-athletes.
The Olympics are the best possible forum for the world's nations to come together and compare their resources, the strength and willpower of their people, and their willingness to put it all on the line in the name of their country. And it's done without reference to religion or race. It's done without anyone dying (usually, and when someone DOES die it's a tragedy mourned by all participants together).
For athletes, the Olympics represents the highest possible pinnacle of achievement. It is a dream, something to be aspired to for youth everywhere... and even non-youth. Canada's fencing athlete is 50 years old.
If countries put 1/10th of the resources normally dedicated to the military into their sports programs, imagine what would be possible for the realm of human athletic achievement. The Olympics glorifies the human body and its possibilities.
And if you want to see what a real Olympian thinks about it, read this: http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/blog/athletes/adam_kreek/an_olympic_boycott_m...
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