America should boycott the opening ceremony at the Beijing Olympics, but not boycott the entire games.
Wise Guy said 04/11, 04:19 AM
Over the years, China has committed some truly audacious humanitarian crimes. The massacre at Tiananmen Square in 1989 is a perfect example of this. And of course, the crackdowns in Tibet are something the United States needs to address. Boycotting the opening ceremony would be a clear message to China that their actions are losing our support very quickly. However, it would be totally unfair to the athletes playing for America to refuse to go to the games altogether. They've worked very hard to get this far, and we have no right to take that away from them. Besides, I see this as a viable compromise between those who say that we need to send a strong message to China at any cost, and those who say we need to avoid politicizing the games altogether.
CRISP said 04/11, 07:23 AM
Wise Guy, you advance some interesting arguments, however there are things we all need to be careful about when dealing with this issue. Firstly this notion that America is the messaiah of the Universe, and has to solve all the world's problems is tired and has not worked anywhere. So when you say "the carackdowns in Tibet are something the US needs to address", what exactly do you mean, I hope you are not advocating for a Big Brother status for the (all mighty) America. However, I agree that the politics on this issue have had unintended concequences for the athletes, but not just from the US but from across the globe. I believe that if America wants to boycott the games, its free to do so on its own arcord, but not to impose its views on this matter to other countries. If you listened to Hillary Clinton on this matter, she siad it in a measured way and counted her words when she called on George (War) Bush to "pacially" boycott the games. I believe the effort of protests and boycotts will have little or not effect on the situation in Tibet. I think we should learn from new democracies such as South Africa and Mandela's leadership that dialogue is the only solution. Pat
Comments
Add Your Comment
I say let the individual athletes decide if they want to go or not. I think if there are only like 50 american althletes at the opening ceremony than that will make a big enough statement.
yngster | 04/11/08
Report Offensive Comment
I don't know about you guys, but I'm totally against pushing human rights in a communist country that is loaded down with nuclear weapons that is loaning us money. I might be crazy, but it just seems like bad policy. But seriously Communism is on the downfall in China. Capitalism has left a taste of money in the mouths of many Chinese. Human rights are on their way in China, just give it time. Remember it didn't happen overnight in the U.S. either.
ShawnF | 04/11/08
Report Offensive Comment
This is simple: Don't resort to Jimmy Carter foreign policy.
USA Pit Bull 63 | 04/12/08
Report Offensive Comment
it would be unfair to the athletes to boycott the games altogether, however China is not a country that we can say "hej, let's just be friends" to, in that respect boycotting the opening ceremonies or simply only allowing the athletes and thier coaches to go, is a plausible compromise. i think it is important to allow the athletes to play, and let China know what we think. i don't know where Pat came up with the idea that we're telling other countries to boycott the games entirely, our boycott will probably do little to help the tibetans, but what can Nelson Mandela teach the Chinese or the Tibetans for that matter. S. Africa is hardly a model for any country, the place is on a razors edge of falling into chaos. many S. Africas that have any money at all are leaving. it's not a happy place. Anyways, looking carefully at the arguements themselves it seems as though Pat agrees with wise guy, boycott but not the whole thing.
MorgMcA | 04/12/08
Report Offensive CommentPost A Comment
Please keep it clean. Bad words will get filtered, and offensive comments will be removed.
Only Axl Rose remains in the group, but since 1987 GnR has been rocking with fury
More than 50 years of cover stories about the 35th President
What if you were a young athlete who had never been to the Olympics before. The opening ceremony is a once in a lifetime opportunity for some of them. It's not fair to take that expierence away from those athletes who will never get to go to another olympics.
yngster | 04/11/08
Report Offensive Comment