Dear IOC
I am appalled that a commuist country with the human rights problems of China would be given the Olympics. In my opinion, the IOC should be ashamed of itself. The IOC has dropped the ball on this one, and now it’s trying to spin things so they don’t look like complete fools. Why don’t you award the next Olympics to Iraq or North Korea?
The IOC says that the Olympics were given to China because 1/5 of the worlds population lives there and they had a good bid. If you did give the Olympics to China for those reasons, fine, that’s your decision. (It wouldn’t have been mine). My problem was that there were no bench marks put in place to make sure that China was doing everything it had promised in order to get the Olympics. The Chinese said they would open up and show the world their great culture and heritage. It seems to me that was lip service to get the Olympics, and now that they have it, they are going to do whatever they want to do. If any country is vocal regarding problems with China’s performance thus far, they are threatened with economic sanctions. The Olympic website asserts that the Olympics are not political. I could not disagree more; the Olympics have always been political: Munich was political, Los Angeles was political and Moscow was political. The very reason that China received the Olympics was political.
Since most world governments get so much of their trade from China, they are all too scared to say anything to the Chinese, regarding Tibet or their human rights record. I am also finding that a lot of the real news is not being reported because of fear and threats made by the Chinese Government. The Chinese government is presently in the process of suing CNN for comments made by Jack Cafferty, a CNN host. He referred to the Chinese Government as a bunch of “goons”. I am sure that this is just the beginning of the Chinese trying to control the flow of information in and out of China.
Now, we are just months before the Olympics and what do we see or hear? We hear athletes talking about there fears about going to China. I hear reporters talking about making out their will before they go cover the Olympics. We see daily protests shadowing the torch, where ever it is being run. I read today that British athletes were asked to sign documents that state they will not say anything political against the Chinese government. If they don’t sign the documents, they cannot participate in the Olympics. This is a great way to prove how screwed up things have gotten, so far.
I hope that by awarding the Olympics to China it has a huge impact on the region. I hope that there are marches, protests, demonstrations, etc. You put reporters and journalists from 200+ countries in a communist country and expect protestors not to take advantage of this? When things go bad in China, which will happen, the only question is how it will be reported? Will the media be able to report what happens? Will they have access to the athletes and to outside the venues? For example, I have heard that videos and interviews will not be allowed from Tienamin square. Great job IOC, you have made the Olympics a protesters dream!
If you look at the comments that have come from China regarding the torch run, you would never know that there were protests. According to China, the torch has been met warmly where ever it has been. Communist propaganda I think it is called! Let’s all look back to when the torch was run from country to country first. I remember reading that it was Hitler’s idea to run the torch through all the countries that he had conquered to show power and strength. That run ended with the torch in Berlin, and the stadium torch being light with 3 swastikas in the background. Politics has nothing to do with the Olympics right?
When accountability is needed, and it will be needed, I hope that the head of the IOC takes responsibility for the mess that he and the IOC have helped create. When something happens, and it will, it won’t be the fault of an athlete, reporter or protester. I can hear it now, how did something like this happen? I will tell you how this happened. Things like this happen, when good people do nothing. When the Olympics are over, I am sure there will be enough blame to go around, but how much accountability will there be, is the question?
The IOC and the Chinese Government may be able to convince the sheep of the world that everything is fine and going to be fine. Those of us out there, who are free thinkers and question things, know the truth. You can not silence everyone.
2 comments:
The IOC blundered big time on this, but, like you say, there's no accountability. Turns out a billion Chinese CAN be wrong, but the IOC refuses to admit it made a mistake. Neither the buck nor the torch stops here, or anywhere else on the road to China or the IOC head office.
Jenn and I were talking about the Olympics this evening. The propaganda seems to be raising temperatures both outside and inside China. It makes me concerned about how this event will play out. When I was a kid, I would watch the Olympics in absolute wonder. I saw Olga Corbett on the balance beam in 1972 but was too young to understand the tragic events of those Games. In 1976, I was just into my teens and watched a young Romanian girl named Nadia charm the world with her amazing performances. There was concern that there would be a repeat of the violence witnessed in Munich, but we were lucky. And so it goes. Like you said, when has international sport not been tangled up with international politics. Watching an athlete have the performance of his or her life, regardless of their country of origin, well it is a powerful thing to witness. I'll still tune into the 2008 games. And I'm praying that those involved stay safe.
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