Why the Olympics should not be protested

The spirit of the olympic games has always been to shun political differences in the name of promoting human achievement in sport. It's a shame to entangle sporting achievement with all this politics. In the spirit of the original games, we should look back at how in the ancient olympics even greek states that were at war with one another would participate in friendship with one-another at the olympic games. We forget what the olympic games are all about, and China is sacrificing a lot of her wealth to put on these games for the whole world to enjoy and draw inspiration from.

It's utterly wrong and improper for the olympic celebrations to be hijacked by politics. I'm not saying its not important, I'm just saying you shouldn't use the olympic games as a means to gain publicity to your cause.

 

I agree.. sports should be kept off any political agenda.

 

Free Tibet

 

the spirit of competition has always been to make slaves imagine they are free while keeping them slaves too. i propose the whole concept of athletics be ignored entirely.

no one loves those with a strong back and a weak mind better then those who wish to exploit them.

=^^=
.../\...

 

It is not a political agenda, it is a human rights one.

 

Someone just tried to put out the torch in London with a fire extinguisher, excellent!!!!!!

You can find a clip on this page here, it is fucking funny.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7332942.stm

Go and fuck yourself and your olympics china (with a small "c")!

 

i'd hit them with the fire extinguisher if i saw that happen...yea, i'd take it from the person trying to put the flame out and probably spray it down their throat

 

Well I read the article in Time that says basically what you said ... but for me, I just don't care because... I do not watch the olympics anyways.

 

Let's round up dissidents, jail people you don't like, use slave labor to build facilities, invade other countries and randomly shoot people, and just make like everything is OK.

Wait... that's the US, not China. It's ok, Im not watching the olympics anyway.

 

There's nothing wrong with protesting China making money off suffering and exploitation and trying to destroy another countries peaceful culture. The only problem at the moment is that boycotting the olympics is just the tip of the iceberg. The West is so far up the arse of Chinese business and exploitation that it's near impossible not to end up supporting the Chinese anyway. It's disgustingly hypocritical that Gordon Brown refuses to meet with dictators like Mugabe. But allows the Chinese ambassador to run through the streets of Britain carrying a supposed symbol of freedom. It's thinly veiled corruption.

 

Then politicians need to stay out of it and stop linking it to the olympics and hinting at boycotts..

 

I completely agree. The people need to rise up and say "STOP" and boycott the olympics. Not politicians, not governments. The biggest statement that can be made is for participants to no-show.

Of course then China would garner all the medals and flash them at the world in arrogance, much like the Soviets did in the past.

 

Our PM Gordon Brown is doing that, staying out of it, although some politicians are choosing to boycott it. It is not a political event so I think that they are therefore within their right to boycott it on human rights grounds.

 

I agree its their right...but politicians dont have that luxury and they know it... every action affects their supporters/opposers.

 

What right? The right to not turn up at an non-political event? I think they do have do have that right.

 

I didnt say they didnt have the right, I meant they couldn't afford it...for example, the Bill Clinton affair with Lewinsky, its his right to have an affair and its non-political...still since he was a president and a politician it hurt him badly, you know what I mean?
All I am saying is politicans/presidents/PMs boycotting an international sporting event based on Tibet will create a lot of tensions, and the world could use less of that.

 

I hardly think that boycotting the olympics is going to harm their credibilty with anyone other than the Chinese government. If anything it will gain them support from the people, as did the affair Bill Clinton had with Monica Lewinsky.

 

A boy in my english class in high school just beat the Canadian record for the butterfly and is going to the Olympics as of today.

I'm still protesting.,

 

im not a fan of much summer olympic sports, but im still not going to not watch it.

the only thing boycotting would do is piss of the cable companies.

 

It has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with a country that brutalizes its people and punishes freedom of expression. The fact that the Olympics are being held in China says less about the Chinese government than it does the people organizing the event.