2008 Woodie Awards
Protesting Olympics not the real issue
by Michael Barry
Issue date: 8/18/08 Section: Opinion
Lately, there has been a lot of controversy over the Beijing Olympics, mostly over whether the United States should have boycotted the event or not.
At this point, we really can?t go back in time and change. For future reference though, it's always good to understand the topic.
Competing in the Olympics was non-consequential. Competing didn't greatly hurt our aims and boycotting would have done very little, if anything, to help.
Let me explain the problem; I believe you might just come to the same conclusion.
The issue of the Beijing Olympics is only a small part of the real issue, namely, the genocide being committed in Tibet.
Why is this genocide being committed? It's simple. The Tibetans don?t like being under Chinese rule.
The majority of them still hold the Dalai Lama as both their religious and political leader. Since the Dalai Lama was exiled to the Sudan, the Tibetans have been protesting the invasion of Chinese communism peacefully.
Of course, the Chinese responded as they always respond, with tanks and machine guns. The Tibetans, like their Indian teachers, stand in protest, and the Chinese shoot them down like cattle.
This is unacceptable behavior. The United States should attempt to stop the violence.
The question is this: How can we best stop the killing? Would boycotting the Olympics truly help the situation?
I say no. The Chinese hold massive U.S. debt. As long as they hold this debt, we are dependent on them. We should do nothing, short of declaring war, to stop them.
Declaring war is out of the question. Even if we were to win a war, the casualties caused by the far-reaching effects would displace the lives saved.
Therefore, my opinion is that the Olympics aren't even an issue. If we really want to do something to help the Tibetans, we should get rid of our Chinese debt and start talking business like the world superpower we claim to be.
At this point, we really can?t go back in time and change. For future reference though, it's always good to understand the topic.
Competing in the Olympics was non-consequential. Competing didn't greatly hurt our aims and boycotting would have done very little, if anything, to help.
Let me explain the problem; I believe you might just come to the same conclusion.
The issue of the Beijing Olympics is only a small part of the real issue, namely, the genocide being committed in Tibet.
Why is this genocide being committed? It's simple. The Tibetans don?t like being under Chinese rule.
The majority of them still hold the Dalai Lama as both their religious and political leader. Since the Dalai Lama was exiled to the Sudan, the Tibetans have been protesting the invasion of Chinese communism peacefully.
Of course, the Chinese responded as they always respond, with tanks and machine guns. The Tibetans, like their Indian teachers, stand in protest, and the Chinese shoot them down like cattle.
This is unacceptable behavior. The United States should attempt to stop the violence.
The question is this: How can we best stop the killing? Would boycotting the Olympics truly help the situation?
I say no. The Chinese hold massive U.S. debt. As long as they hold this debt, we are dependent on them. We should do nothing, short of declaring war, to stop them.
Declaring war is out of the question. Even if we were to win a war, the casualties caused by the far-reaching effects would displace the lives saved.
Therefore, my opinion is that the Olympics aren't even an issue. If we really want to do something to help the Tibetans, we should get rid of our Chinese debt and start talking business like the world superpower we claim to be.
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