Abstract:
The Olympic Games belong to the athletes and not to the politicians," President of the American Olympic Committee Avery Brundage said in 1936. ...
I am surprised. I fully expected to rain down on your position with all the tempest I could muster in disagreement. Instead, while I do not see eye to eye with you throughout, your presentation nevertheless has lead me to consider more in regards to the calls to boycott the games in China.
I do have this one issue with your ealier statement,
"But history also reveals that boycotts have done little if anything to effect a political change in the host country."
While I know your implication is toward a boycott of the Olympics, it should be noted that other forms of boycott can and have been succesful.
Done well, done for the right reasons, and done in force, a boycott can have great success. There is no greater example than the The Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955. That Boycott lasted almost a year, it took great tolls on many brave African-American's, and yet they held strong, and did not waver. They fought through peaceful protect and remained unbelievably unified against an unjust system and the won but only after a long and hard battle that caused as much pain to themselves as it did to the white business men losing money on the boycott, perhaps even more.
The Olympic boycott which I support on principle will not be enough to change Chinese policy, it's a joke to think they will listen to that. A real boycott exacts as heavy a price on the boycotter as on the boycotted in order to work and we American's are far to comfortable with our China made goods and debts to rock the boat enough to feel the pinch we would need to endure to watch policy change in China.
Spring Break
Jason
posted 6/02/08 @ 12:44 PM EST
I do have this one issue with your ealier statement,
"But history also reveals that boycotts have done little if anything to effect a political change in the host country."
While I know your implication is toward a boycott of the Olympics, it should be noted that other forms of boycott can and have been succesful.
Done well, done for the right reasons, and done in force, a boycott can have great success. There is no greater example than the The Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955. That Boycott lasted almost a year, it took great tolls on many brave African-American's, and yet they held strong, and did not waver. They fought through peaceful protect and remained unbelievably unified against an unjust system and the won but only after a long and hard battle that caused as much pain to themselves as it did to the white business men losing money on the boycott, perhaps even more.
The Olympic boycott which I support on principle will not be enough to change Chinese policy, it's a joke to think they will listen to that. A real boycott exacts as heavy a price on the boycotter as on the boycotted in order to work and we American's are far to comfortable with our China made goods and debts to rock the boat enough to feel the pinch we would need to endure to watch policy change in China.