Should the US Boycott the Russian Olympics?

[Coin]

you're a real homophobe, aren't you? A "few" figure skaters, but not skiers, bobsledders? What if they said no Christians? Ya still O.K. with Muslims, Jews, and agnostics and atheists going?

Try to fix the problem with Christians then.
Why to use muslim, jews and others because you are unable to find a way to fix the problem.
Mulsims, jews and others have nothing to do with that problem. Why to sacrifice them??

 

[chromium]

I think instead of boycott, because i agree it's unfair to the athletes, they should move the olympics or ban team russia. Either scenario would be so hilarious i might even consider those laws worth it.

 

[Jango]

Definitely and definitively no.

 

[TurtleDude]

you're a real homophobe, aren't you? A "few" figure skaters, but not skiers, bobsledders? What if they said no Christians? Ya still O.K. with Muslims, Jews, and agnostics and atheists going?

that is stupid and not a correct analogy. Gays are not banned from competing. They apparently will be cited if they engage in certain behavior. IT would be akin to Christian athletes being told they could not engage in a Christian celebration while in Russia.

 

[humbolt]

If Obama and Putin have issues, they should compete against each other at the games. Should be competition in pairs, with Obama paired with an angry old white guy and Putin paired with a gay guy. Should be fun to watch.

 

[Artevelde]

No. That would be stupid.

 

[Zyphlin]

With all the controversy around a new Russian law against homosexual "propaganda", some are calling for the US to boycott the 2014 winter Olympics in Russia. I don't think we should because it just punishes the athletes that have been training and preparing their whole lives.

What do you think?

I think this is a decision that needs to be made in conjunction with the Athlete's attending and in terms of the feasability of us fielding a respectable competitive field.

It's unfair that homosexual athletes would need to exclude themselves or attempt to remain "in the closet" through this to achieve their dream and goal of competing in the olympics. At the same time, it is also unfair to all other athletes to be excluded from achieving their dream and goal due to a desire to make a political statement.

If in a show of disagreement the majority of athletes, or enough athletes to remove U.S. representation in a majority of events, refused to attend the Olympics then I would be fine with an overall U.S. boycott. But short of that, I don't think I would be fine with it.

 

[Andalublue]

I'd like to see no boycott but a concerted show of solidarity with Russian LGBT people and LGBT athletes. Something like a pink glove or a raindow coloured necktie could be worn throughout, or at least at medal ceremonies to show Putin and his queerbashocrats that he's out of step with the civilised world. I'm suggesting ALL athletes who support LGBT people take part, not just LGBT athletes themselves.

 

[Cyrylek]

No. American sportsmen should not be used as pawns in any political game. They are not government employees.

Also, in this particular case, such boycott will play straight into the hands of the Putinist authorities. While the vast majority of Russians were extremely unhappy about the Afghan War, the vast majority of Russians are less than comfortable with gay rights, to put it mildly. It would be foolish to reinforce the idea that gay rights are a part of "Western cultural genocide program" (an actual phrase I've heard from a Russian intellectual - not a sympathizer of Putin, and certainly not a Communist)

 

[Cyrylek]

I'd like to see no boycott but a concerted show of solidarity with Russian LGBT people and LGBT athletes. Something like a pink glove or a raindow coloured necktie could be worn throughout, or at least at medal ceremonies to show Putin and his queerbashocrats that he's out of step with the civilised world. I'm suggesting ALL athletes who support LGBT people take part, not just LGBT athletes themselves.

While I would support such show of solidarity by Russian athletes, I would not recommend that coming from us or Spaniards. For the reasons mentioned in the previous post.

 

[humbolt]

No. That would be stupid.

Probably, but not as stupid as boycotting the games. Besides, I'd like to see both leaders forced to deal with the reality rather than the false images they've conjured for public consumption.

 

[Tigger]

YES, but not beacuse of the "homosexual" issue or Mr. Snowden's presence. The US should be boycotting ALL foreign athletic events... The World Cup, The Olympics, etc... because they inspire interaction with foreign people in foreign lands.

 

[Fisher]

With all the controversy around a new Russian law against homosexual "propaganda", some are calling for the US to boycott the 2014 winter Olympics in Russia. I don't think we should because it just punishes the athletes that have been training and preparing their whole lives.

What do you think?

Random Thoughts:

1) The Olympics were supposed to be a venue for countries to put their politics aside, not force them onto others;

2) The Olympics are so corporate that they should be ended;

3) This is a stupid issue;

4) Winter Olympics suck anyway. But for curling that makes me think "You know, you could maybe still be an Olympic athlete one day", I would not watch

5) I am sure MSNBC will still gay them up just fine all on their own; and

6) Only athletes from the states that have gay marriage should boycott. Athletes from the majority of states that have banned gay marriage should be allowed to still compete. :thanks

 

[Andalublue]

While I would support such show of solidarity by Russian athletes, I would not recommend that coming from us or Spaniards. For the reasons mentioned in the previous post.

You think that athletes showing solidarity with the Russian LGBT and LGBT athletes plays into the hands of propoagandists? You don't think that simply ignoring it gives Hijo de Putín a propaganda victory of even greater dimensions? "See no one cares about the queers!"

Also, leaving any protest to the Russian athletes leaves them way out on a limb, unprotected and unsupported and just waiting for the knock on the door in the night a week or two after all the TV cameras have disappeared.

I think that would be a very cowardly route to take.

 

[Gardener]

How have the Russians made it so.....they bided for the games how far out? They didn't know Gay Rights would be an issue at this time.

Neither their bidding on the Olympics nor the acceptance of the bid had anything to do with their politicized announcement. The announcement was the political act, undertaken in order to intimidate.

 

[Artevelde]

Probably, but not as stupid as boycotting the games. Besides, I'd like to see both leaders forced to deal with the reality rather than the false images they've conjured for public consumption.

I think you've missed my point. I oppose a boycott because it would be stupid.

 

[Artevelde]

For those of you living under a rock: the World Championships Athletics are going on right now in Moscow and nobody there seems to have any problems. Puts all this stupid boycott-talk in a bit of perspective.

 

[CanadaJohn]

With all the controversy around a new Russian law against homosexual "propaganda", some are calling for the US to boycott the 2014 winter Olympics in Russia. I don't think we should because it just punishes the athletes that have been training and preparing their whole lives.

What do you think?

I personally think such boycotts serve no purpose whatsoever and in many cases harm innocent young people who've worked their entire lives to get that one chance at success in their chosen sport.

To send a message to the Russians, I'd be more inclined to have every non-athlete official representing every country be "Ru Paul" gay and flamboyant and strut around the games in full drag etc. Make Richard Simmons and Ellen Degeneres honorary coaches. In-your-face ridicule and disregard of ignorant actions in any situation is far better than avoiding the problem and letting it grow in acceptance.

 

[Andalublue]

I personally think such boycotts serve no purpose whatsoever and in many cases harm innocent young people who've worked their entire lives to get that one chance at success in their chosen sport.

To send a message to the Russians, I'd be more inclined to have every non-athlete official representing every country be "Ru Paul" gay and flamboyant and strut around the games in full drag etc. Make Richard Simmons and Ellen Degeneres honorary coaches. In-your-face ridicule and disregard of ignorant actions in any situation is far better than avoiding the problem and letting it grow in acceptance.

I'd make the speed-skaters, ice hockey players and bob sleighers wear the same outfits that the figure skaters have to wear. That'd gay it up a bit.

 

[Cyrylek]

You think that athletes showing solidarity with the Russian LGBT and LGBT athletes plays into the hands of propoagandists? You don't think that simply ignoring it gives Hijo de Putín a propaganda victory of even greater dimensions? "See no one cares about the queers!"

Also, leaving any protest to the Russian athletes leaves them way out on a limb, unprotected and unsupported and just waiting for the knock on the door in the night a week or two after all the TV cameras have disappeared.

I think that would be a very cowardly route to take.

Putin is what he is, but a new Lenin or Stalin he is not. There will be no knocks on the door in the middle of the night. Not their style.

To the point: Russia is not Spain, not America, not even Argentina. It is Russia. OK, I am a Pole who grew up in Russia, it was not a jar of honey, my bias is obvious. Still: I will go out on a limb here and say: If tomorrow there will be a referendum on whether to restore the Soviet-time criminalization of homosexuality, 75% of Russians will vote Yes.

This is not a result of any propaganda effort by Putin - this is the state of mind of a great nation beaten into imbecility by its horrible history.

Should we try to change their minds? Yes, of course. But we should understand what we are dealing with. We have an ultra-conservative (not in the American sense), bigoted mindset to begin with - greatly exacerbated by the post-imperial paranoia ("They are out to destroy what's left of our greatness").

Americans and Europeans parading on the Russian soil in support of gay rights, of all things? In a country where nobody is sure whether they have any rights at all?

Get real. That would be a dream-come-true for the most homophobic (among SO many other things) Commie/Fascist faction in the modern Russian politics. The folks that make Putin look like a bleeping Mahatma Gandhi.

 

[Andalublue]

Putin is what he is, but a new Lenin or Stalin he is not. There will be no knocks on the door in the middle of the night. Not their style.

Well, we know that there are officially sanctioned violent attacks on gays in the daylight. Perhaps I just got the time of day wrong.

To the point: Russia is not Spain, not America, not even Argentina. It is Russia. OK, I am a Pole who grew up in Russia, it was not a jar of honey, my bias is obvious. Still: I will go out on a limb here and say: If tomorrow there will be a referendum on whether to restore the Soviet-time criminalization of homosexuality, 75% of Russians will vote Yes.

I've no doubt that's true, so how would you try to change their minds?

Americans and Europeans parading on the Russian soil in support of gay rights, of all things? In a country where nobody is sure whether they have any rights at all?

Why "of all things"? It's a fairly central issue of universal relevance. It directly affects anywhere between 4 and 15 million Russians who are living under severe and brutal repression. We've seen what happens to anyone who self-identifies as LGBT in Russia. As a LGBT activist in Russia I'd be delighted to see just a little bit of the heavy lifting done by the international community. I wouldn't expect it to have an immediate impact, as the actions of the early LGBT movement elsewhere in the world didn't, but bit by bit Russians will learn that the civilised attitude to take is the opposite path to the one they are on now. If they get embarrassed at their own showcase because of their brutality against gays then it could have some major positive benefit.

 

[radcen]

Part of the whole point behind the Olympics is to foster better understanding between countries with a format void of politics.

Ok, now back to the real world... but we should still try.

 

[polgara]

Neither their bidding on the Olympics nor the acceptance of the bid had anything to do with their politicized announcement. The announcement was the political act, undertaken in order to intimidate.

:agree: Just a case of leaders muscle-flexing for the cameras, IMO. :doh:

Good afternoon, Gardener. :2wave:

 

[polgara]

No. American sportsmen should not be used as pawns in any political game. They are not government employees.

Also, in this particular case, such boycott will play straight into the hands of the Putinist authorities. While the vast majority of Russians were extremely unhappy about the Afghan War, the vast majority of Russians are less than comfortable with gay rights, to put it mildly. It would be foolish to reinforce the idea that gay rights are a part of "Western cultural genocide program" (an actual phrase I've heard from a Russian intellectual - not a sympathizer of Putin, and certainly not a Communist)

Excellent post! :thumbs:

Good afternoon, cyrylek! :2wave:

 

[radioman]

4) Winter Olympics suck anyway. But for curling that makes me think "You know, you could maybe still be an Olympic athlete one day", I would not watch

---------------


Good point.
I also feel that I could dominate curling on the int'l level.
Not much cost involved either.....a broom fer crissakes???
On a side note, the womens' curling involves skin-tight bodysuits!!
The 2010 Canadian captain was a knockout!
Oh, yeah....no boycott.