Should the US boycott the Olympic opening ceremonies?

[prejudged_Fire]

We're discussing this in World Issues class right now. Here's a blog I found on it:

Interesting debate on NPR between a human rights activist and an official of the International Olympic Committee about whether U.S. government officials, and perhaps even athletes, should boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic games this August.

Listen to it HERE.

Human rights attorney David Kilgour, a former Canadian member of parliament, originally had supported a complete boycott because of China's abysmal record on human rights. But now he feels that the games are bringing greater scrutiny to that record -- in Tibet, Darfur, with the Falun Gong and more generally -- so he's instead calling for a boycott of the opening ceremony by government officials.

Now is the time to exert some pressure, he says.

Former U.S. rower and IOC member Anita DeFrantz — who missed the 1980 Moscow games after then-President Jimmy Carter pulled out the U.S. to protest the USSR invasion of Afghanistan — says such a boycott wouldn't work.

It got heated. The IOC "doesn't have a single scruple when it comes to totalitarian governments," Kilgour said.

What do you think?

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpu...-the-us-b.html

While I don't support China's actions towards Tibet, I don't think the Olympics should be mixed with politics, and I don't think it should be used as a means to show political support for a particular country/region/government.
What do you think?

[Matt W]

This is a blog, an op-ed spot, not Breaking News. Moving.

[nomad-town]

We're discussing this in World Issues class right now. Here's a blog I found on it:

Political Punch

While I don't support China's actions towards Tibet, I don't think the Olympics should be mixed with politics, and I don't think it should be used as a means to show political support for a particular country/region/government.
What do you think?

I agree with your view. Olympics shoud not be used to show pressure to one government,and support one political group.

[Anmon]

All politics should be left out of sport, it should be a neutral zone like it was intended.

[grandpa]

All politics should be left out of sport, it should
be a neutral zone like it was intended.

That's how life should be, not just the Olympics. However, the olympics are little other than nationalist showboating. It therefore makes little sense to think it immune from nationalist politics.

Grandpa h.

[Technosoul]

I think this is more a boycott of Bush for attending the games rather then a real boycott of the Oylimpics. It is about bashing Bush for not making a statement about the tibet situation.

Hey, is anyone upset because we did not allow all the protesters a chance to protest the Oylimpic Torch run here in the USA? When we went out of our way to subdue that protest which was also targeting China?

And we did it in the captial of the protester movemment. S.F.

[Gods_Mercenary]

I'd remind everyone that the running of the Olympic torch was started by Adolf Hitler, as was much of the showing off, so lets not delude ourselves as to the nobility of the ceremonies.

[WearetheWorld]

China can do whatever they want as long as they aren't bothering me or bombing me, the US aren't the world police, and the Olympics shouldnt be a place to make a political stand.

[Gods_Mercenary]

The U.S. isn't being particularly nosy about this issue, for reasons I stated above, but there's minding your own business and taking part in a Red China propoganda lovefest while women and bhuddist monks get beat up in the street.

[grandpa]

The U.S. isn't being particularly nosy about this issue, for
reasons I stated above, but there's minding your own business
and taking part in a Red China propoganda lovefest while
women and bhuddist monks get beat up in the street.

True, and the Olympics are as good a place as any to highlight the
right of self-determination, a hallmark of reasonable society. The question is: Which is more important, a bunch of silly games or having human rights? Like many issues, concerns over rights abuses are not intrinsic to everyone's understanding, so such concerns should be publicized.

Grandpa h.

[Anmon]

So who wants to take bets on some athlete who wins a gold medal, will unfurl a banner hidden in his tracksuit, raise it over his head on live TV that reads 'Free Tibet' ?
This will then put said athlete into the halls of protester fame up along with the guys doing the Black Panther salute at the Mexico Olympics in 68.
Not to mention all the money offers after the games(if he or she makes it out of China that is) from popular chat shows world wide and magazines focusing on 'take us through that moment why just did you do that?
Athlete thinks about 100,000 dollar cheque deposited in account to come on Oprah briefly..

[grandpa]

So who wants to take bets on some athlete who
wins a gold medal, will unfurl a banner hidden in
his tracksuit, raise it over his head on live TV
that reads 'Free Tibet'?
This will then put said athlete into the halls of
protester fame up along with the guys doing the Black
Panther salute at the Mexico Olympics in 68.

It could happen. It'd be just as likely for an athlete to come out in solidarity with the world's poor.
In China, "Free Tibet or Free Taiwan" are fighting words.

Grandpa h.