Saturday, April 12, 2008
Should people be protesting the Olympics in Beijing?
I don't think so. I mean how else is China suppose to come into the world circuit if we try to boycott them? That's smart. Let's pretend they don't exist and maybe they'll change their tune about torturing and killing people. It's like leaving the fat kid out of four square because he beats up kids for their lunches. Yes you shouldn't let him play because it will feed his ego, but excluding him could make him more hurt because he thinks you don't like him. And is China really the misunderstood overly large kid on the playground. He just doesn't know how to handle his size yet. Give the kid a break. He's learning.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I think you're being a little nice to China. They are being forced to unblock the large portion of the internet that they keep away from their population for the Olympics. Normally, if you search for "democracy", nothing will come up, and they will pinpoint your IP address and have their police investigate you. They bully around Tibet for no reason. They are an amazingly dirty country with virtually no pollution controls--all the factories around Beijing are closing for the Olympics, otherwise the city would be in a filthy cloud of pollution.
That being said, the US demand for cheap goods is somewhat responsible for this. Not only that, what should happen the next time the US has the Olympics. We haven't exactly been a role model to the world recently--maybe other countries should boycott the US Olympics! China has their flaws, but to arrogantly boycott them would be unreasonable--and devastating to all our athletes that have been training their entire lives for the Olympics. Fortunately, President Bush recognizes this.
If we want to change China, we should first look at ourselves and how we influence them, and secondly, do so by spreading our influence to them, not being arrogant Isolationalists. Sorry Ron Paul.
I think China is more than just a misunderstood 'bully,' and they actually know pretty well what they are doing. I mean I don't know the US's exact numbers, but China's military is somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.3 million troops. Active troops.
I think the opening ceremony should be boycotted because that's really the biggest 'display' for the host country. And having some of the biggest countries in the world not walking would be a strong statement.
But as far as the Olympics, I think the deplorable human rights situation(s) in China should be used as a motivation to win everything. What better way to protest than by proving everyone's better than them???
It is really interesting here in Germany because a lot of people (and myself included) see strong parallels between the 2008 games in Beijing and the 1936 Berlin games. The 1936 games was a grand 'showing off' party for the Nazi government in Germany, and I think that this year will be much of the same for China.
Hey Joe, here's a good example of why people talk about sports - it brings everyone together with something in common. In fact, one of the few times they didn't have the Olympics was during the World Wars, which if I am not 100% mistaken, arose due to one of your favorite topics: politics.
But there is kind of a reason to fear China:
Industry leads to money. Money and Industry lead to new Technology and almost always, technology (and money) lead to new military technology. There are people out there who say that within 10 years China's army will be the most technologically advanced. And as China already shows a lack of respect of human rights and does not worry about the loss of human life....
Absolutely people should be protesting the Olympics in Beijing! I don't go so far as to say that we should boycott the whole thing but I think that boycotting the opening ceremony would be a good step. I agree about the parallels with the 1936 games. China wanted these games to be their showcases as they enter the world stage as a superpower. Lets not let them. Their human rights abuses are too much to ignore. China won't change anything if people pretend like the abuses don't exist.
I also think a good reason not to boycott the whole games is because it gives the world a chance to go to China and beat China in almost every sport, except Ping-Pong. Kind of a 1980 Hockey display of power.
Also, I have a Chinese roommate, whom I recently asked about this. She does not watch English or German news or read it, because she does not really speak or read either language very well, and she didn't really know anything about this. Strange.
Post a Comment