To Boycott or not to Boycott?
Filed Under Human Rights, China | Posted on March 25, 2008
Poor China. They’d hoped the Beijing Olympics would propel the PRC into reputability as a world leader; instead, their continued human rights abuses direct the spotlight on the darker side of Chinese communism.
Tricycle Editors Blog points out that “Olympic boycotts hurt young athletes who spend years training for these events” and suggests that protest may be a better solution than an outright boycott. I’m open to any idea, but feel compelled to point out that the disappointment felt by a young athlete denied the ability to compete in this year’s Olympics pales in comparison to the torture faced by hundreds of Tibetan protestors at the hands of the Chinese government. Compared to being sodomized by an electric cattle prod (one of China’s favorite techniques), skipping the pole vault competition doesn’t sound so horrible.
Supporting calls for an Olympic boycott, the Washington Post’s Anne Applebaum asks, “Why should we believe that the Beijing Games will be an innocent display of sporting prowess, bearing no relation to Chinese politics?” The answer: We shouldn’t. Applebaum directly addresses some of the “Olympic Fallacies” currently being promoted by apologists for the Beijing 2008 games.
“A boycott doesn’t solve anything.” Well, doesn’t it? Some boycotts do help solve some things. The boycott of South Africa by international competitions was probably the single most effective weapon the international community ever deployed against the apartheid state.
“The Olympics are a force for good.” Not always! The 1936 Olympics, held in Nazi Germany, were an astonishing propaganda coup for Hitler.
“The Olympic Games are not the place for demonstrations.” Aren’t they? Actually, the Olympics seem an ideal place for demonstrations.
No wonder then, that everyone who hates or fears China, whether in Burma, Darfur, Tibet or Beijing, is calling for a boycott. And the Chinese government and the International Olympic Committee are terrified that those appeals will succeed. No one involved in the preparations for this year’s Olympics really believes that this is “only about the athletes,” or that the Beijing Games will be an innocent display of sporting prowess, or that they bear no relation to Chinese politics. I don’t see why the rest of us should believe those things, either.
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