More At Stake Than The Gold
There are two words we have all heard a lot of over the past few days: Olympics and Protestors. Whether your co-workers are discussing it at the water cooler, or it’s the first thing you hear on the news in the morning or it’s the last thing you see on TV before you tuck yourself into bed, the topic of the 2008 Beijing Olympics torch run is as hot as the flame it holds.
So, what’s all the hype around this particular summer Olympic games? I’m almost certain most people already know the answer to that. However, in case I’m mistaken – the brief synopsis is this:
China occupied Tibet over fifty years ago and Tibet has been trying to break free ever since. Over the years, major human rights issues amongst the Tibetans have surfaced – ranging from slave labor to killing frenzies by the Chinese.
From what I can tell, the people of Tibet are not against the Olympic Games per se, rather, they are against the country holding the Olympics and their long-lasting, unaddressed human rights issues. What do we expect of these people who have been trying to get their voice heard for half a century? Tibet finally has the stage and the world is their audience.
Back to the whole torch run aspect of the pre-Olympic fever. Traditionally, the torch run is a celebratory show that sets the stage for the Olympics, however, this year it has turned into a growing confrontation over the Chinese government's religious and political persecution.
I live and work in the middle of what is likely going to be pure chaos. My office is practically in the war zone of what I can only imagine is going to be an intense, loud and highly political protest. I find it interesting that Olympic Game protests are nothing new and have been around for years.
It goes back to 1908, when Irish athletes, angered at the refusal of Britain to give Ireland its independence, boycotted the Games in London. It continued in 1936 in Berlin after Hitler took power and the Nazis drenched the games in propaganda. We’re all familiar with the tragedy that struck the Munich Olympics in 1972, or the 1980 Games in Moscow where 62 countries boycotted the event, and of course, the bomb in Atlanta in 1996.
I conclude here with my own questions and thoughts on this issue, but I really want to hear from you.
Why do you think there is this history of violence, protests and boycotting in the midst of an event that is ironically about peace, harmony and bringing the people of the world together?
Does the issue itself begin with the idea of the Olympics?
If these “games” are really about uniting the world as one, why has there always been a divide?
And, finally, can the world ever truly be united, or are we just fueling the flame by encouraging the Olympic competition amongst ourselves?
The Olympic creed is simply this, "The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/world/09torch.html?hp
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jj6kvYFf0F8bLOXmy2cSZp5lQrCg
http://www.mercurynews.com/othersports/ci_8848646
