Yes, it’s that time again. The Olympics. And where does it all start? In Olympia, where the first games were held in 776BC. I remember seeing a sketch once in some kid’s encyclopaedia years ago, and it was of what one of the first Olympians would have looked like..and he was running naked! That would have raised a few eyebrows I thought. And what if that torch had a stray flame? Things could have gotten nasty.
Today in Olympia the flame was lit, and will travel 85,000 miles, through 23 cities across five continents in 34 days. Wow. That flame is going to travel more in just over a month than I have done in 5 years!
The question does remain, though. Should we boycott the Beijing games because of what has happened in Tibet? What does boycotting actually do? The Americans did it to the Russians in 1980, so the Russians did tit for tat to the Americans in 1984. Does it really punish the country or just piss off the athletes who have endured rigorous training, starved themselves of food with any form of taste, and woken up so early each morning, even roosters are saying “bugger off!”
Did it affect the Russians? No. Did the Russians not being in Los Angeles in ‘84 have any effect on the Americans? No way. They were glad those ‘commie bastards’ weren’t there. So, we can be all brave and say, “let’s boycott”, but if it does nothing but deprive our athletes from a once in a 4 year opportunity to shine, then aren’t we just shooting ourselves in the foot?
China does need a mesage sent to them, but they are such an immensely strong country, that they listen to very view people in regard to anything, simply because they don’t need to. When Beijing was awarded the games all those years ago, it was a long time after Tianenman Square, but they still got it anyway, and no one jumped up and down. On the contrary. I heard many say how amazing that Opening Ceremony is going to be. So why are we now callling for a boycott, because of Tibet. Tibet has been an issue with China for close on 50 years, and for time in memorial, I have seen ‘Free Tibet’ stickers plastered over cars, walls, and houses. So whether we go to the Olympics as a competing nation or not will still mean a miserable future for Tibet, and for all those mainland Chinese who suffer injustice at the hands of those at the top. Enjoy your day.
March 24, 2008
Any Tibetan volunteers for the torch relay?
Posted by damob under Social commentaryLeave a Comment
Yes, it’s that time again. The Olympics. And where does it all start? In Olympia, where the first games were held in 776BC. I remember seeing a sketch once in some kid’s encyclopaedia years ago, and it was of what one of the first Olympians would have looked like..and he was running naked! That would have raised a few eyebrows I thought. And what if that torch had a stray flame? Things could have gotten nasty.
Today in Olympia the flame was lit, and will travel 85,000 miles, through 23 cities across five continents in 34 days. Wow. That flame is going to travel more in just over a month than I have done in 5 years!
The question does remain, though. Should we boycott the Beijing games because of what has happened in Tibet? What does boycotting actually do? The Americans did it to the Russians in 1980, so the Russians did tit for tat to the Americans in 1984. Does it really punish the country or just piss off the athletes who have endured rigorous training, starved themselves of food with any form of taste, and woken up so early each morning, even roosters are saying “bugger off!”
Did it affect the Russians? No. Did the Russians not being in Los Angeles in ‘84 have any effect on the Americans? No way. They were glad those ‘commie bastards’ weren’t there. So, we can be all brave and say, “let’s boycott”, but if it does nothing but deprive our athletes from a once in a 4 year opportunity to shine, then aren’t we just shooting ourselves in the foot?
China does need a mesage sent to them, but they are such an immensely strong country, that they listen to very view people in regard to anything, simply because they don’t need to. When Beijing was awarded the games all those years ago, it was a long time after Tianenman Square, but they still got it anyway, and no one jumped up and down. On the contrary. I heard many say how amazing that Opening Ceremony is going to be. So why are we now callling for a boycott, because of Tibet. Tibet has been an issue with China for close on 50 years, and for time in memorial, I have seen ‘Free Tibet’ stickers plastered over cars, walls, and houses. So whether we go to the Olympics as a competing nation or not will still mean a miserable future for Tibet, and for all those mainland Chinese who suffer injustice at the hands of those at the top. Enjoy your day.