Quit whining you Olympians. You of all people should know that the Olympic games are inherently political. When you have athletes representing their countries in competition with athletes from other countries, well, that is political. That 100 yard dash might as well be a battle in the Sahel region of Africa. Except without the genocide and starvation. And people win stuff made of precious metals instead of plundering the stuff. If the Olympics weren't political, then it'd just be athletes from around the world showing up for a huge sporting event. The biggest draw to the Olympics is that nations are pitted against each other in competition.
However, this isn't necessarily friendly competition. During the Cold War all we cared about was defeating the Soviets. Even though they accused us of doping and we accused them of doping; when in reality they were all probably doping. The point is, the Olympics have been used in the past to further political ends because nations can make a point without consequence. Remember in Munich, Jesse Owens dominated his German counterparts and put to rest the "supremacy" of the Aryan race. And Germany used the Olympics to demonstrate the power of German technology by broadcasting the opening ceremonies across the world.
Arab terrorists killed Israeli athletes in Munich in 1972 and the whole world saw because the world pays attention to the Olympic Games. If the Arabs had done the same thing during some international meet in Djibouti, nobody would have paid attention. The Israeli's would just be more deaths chalked up to the Arab-Israeli conflict. President Carter's boycott of the 1980 Olympics drew attention to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the atrocities being committed in that nation. When a powerful nation refuses to participate in the Olympics, everyone wants to know the reason. It is the best publicity a cause can get. If we want to take the politics out of the equation, then we have to take the countries of the games and therefore defeating the purpose of the games altogether.
Currently there have been protests at the Olympic torch relays across the world due to China's crackdown in Tibet a few weeks ago. I understand that for the athletes carrying the torch it is a moment of honor that they will cherish for a lifetime. And I genuinely feel for them when some idiot with a fire extinguisher charges them en route and tries to put out the sacred flame. But with the calls from world leaders such as Nicolas Sarkozy and President Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies, the athletes must understand that its a well calculated policy move. The world can pressure China immensely to improve their dismal human rights record without any consequence. China won't cancel the games because that would only hurt them economically. Nor can they lash back because then the calls for reform would be justified. By hosting the Games, they have opened the floodgates to criticism from the international community. And if getting China to treat its citizens like humans takes a boycott of the opening ceremonies, then athletes should understand and acquiesce.
However, this isn't necessarily friendly competition. During the Cold War all we cared about was defeating the Soviets. Even though they accused us of doping and we accused them of doping; when in reality they were all probably doping. The point is, the Olympics have been used in the past to further political ends because nations can make a point without consequence. Remember in Munich, Jesse Owens dominated his German counterparts and put to rest the "supremacy" of the Aryan race. And Germany used the Olympics to demonstrate the power of German technology by broadcasting the opening ceremonies across the world.
Arab terrorists killed Israeli athletes in Munich in 1972 and the whole world saw because the world pays attention to the Olympic Games. If the Arabs had done the same thing during some international meet in Djibouti, nobody would have paid attention. The Israeli's would just be more deaths chalked up to the Arab-Israeli conflict. President Carter's boycott of the 1980 Olympics drew attention to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the atrocities being committed in that nation. When a powerful nation refuses to participate in the Olympics, everyone wants to know the reason. It is the best publicity a cause can get. If we want to take the politics out of the equation, then we have to take the countries of the games and therefore defeating the purpose of the games altogether.
Currently there have been protests at the Olympic torch relays across the world due to China's crackdown in Tibet a few weeks ago. I understand that for the athletes carrying the torch it is a moment of honor that they will cherish for a lifetime. And I genuinely feel for them when some idiot with a fire extinguisher charges them en route and tries to put out the sacred flame. But with the calls from world leaders such as Nicolas Sarkozy and President Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies, the athletes must understand that its a well calculated policy move. The world can pressure China immensely to improve their dismal human rights record without any consequence. China won't cancel the games because that would only hurt them economically. Nor can they lash back because then the calls for reform would be justified. By hosting the Games, they have opened the floodgates to criticism from the international community. And if getting China to treat its citizens like humans takes a boycott of the opening ceremonies, then athletes should understand and acquiesce.
2 comments:
Wow. First of all, I don't think the athletes care which political dignitaries attend the Opening Ceremonies. Will the presence or absence of President Bush really do anything? I consider it to be an irrelevant decision and it bothers me that so many people want to make it out to be much more than that.
And I cannot condone the attacks on the Olympic flame. How does attacking a symbol of peace and unity bring positive attention to any cause? But worst of all, who are these people calling for total boycotts of the games? Athletes spend their entire lives training for a chance to compete at the International level. Athletes should not be punished and used as political pawns for the gain of others. What did the 1980 boycott accomplish? I would argue nothing, except a retaliatory boycott in 1984.
Sure, political discord is impossible to avoid when all nations are pitted against one another, but the core of the Olympic event, the athletic competition, should not be affected by these outside issues.
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