This post is a little late, but we’ve been busy over here at Eastmedia.
I’ve just had the chance to catch up on world news, and I read that protesters attacked/harassed Olympic torch bearers to the point that they even discussed rerouting the runners and/or canceling entire legs. My first thought: All of this over Tibet and some guy who got 3 years in jail for speaking up against the government in a Communist country?
OK look, I’m not a fan of authoritarian government, occupation (ours, theirs, or anyones) or Communism, but I am a fan of the Olympics. The idea that once every four years countries, despite their differences, can come together in peace to compete is one of the few things that makes me feel good about the world. To me the Olympics represent something very human and not political. They can be a powerful reminder that people are people despite political, racial, economic and class differences. Protesting the Olympics over politics seems to be contrary to what many of the protesters want to accomplish. It’s not well thought out.
Now I understand that people are upset that China was chosen. The arguments being made by protesters point to China’s concept of “Human Rights”, the IOC giving in to the money by not taking the higher road, and issues in Tibet. I just wonder if it ever occurred to any protesters that having the Olympics go well in China could actually help their cause not hurt it? I’m sure that question can be argued either way.
My bigger issue is with the actual protests themselves and the behavior of the protesters. Harassing torch bearers and suggesting boycott is ridiculous. Go ahead and protest China because you disagree with their policies, but harassing an Olympic torch bearer, who is probably doing something they never even dreamed they would have the opportunity to do, makes you a complete lowlife ass. At that point your statement of disagreement is no longer political, it’s personal. And to my point about the Olympics being a time when countries can come together in peace, it seems to me that protesting the Olympics amounts to nothing more than protesting peace.
Oh yea and as far I understand it, Tibet has been part of China since about the time of Kublai Khan. That’s a long time. I’m not sure how the US would react if a state tried to claim autonomy by leaving the Union, but I think it might look somewhat like the Civil War. It sucks, but it seems to me that Tibet has had it easy. It’s just a shame that Communism sucks so bad.
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