August 7, 2008 7:17 AM

This is what happens when a good idea grows up...only to become ridiculous

Beijing-Olympic-2008.jpgWith the Beijing Olympics officially beginning tomorrow, I'm finding myself increasing conflicted about whether or not to actually participate by paying attention this time around. Time was when I LOVED the Olympics. The majesty and the pageantry, the human drama of athletic competition (I only wish I could take credit for that one), and the fact that the whole world was gathered in one place captivated me. The Olympics were about the only thing my mother and I ever had in common. Even as disinterested in sports as she was, she watched more Olympic coverage than anyone I knew. This probably explains why dinners were rarely anything to brag about during the Olympics.

One of the most enduring memories of my childhood was from 1972. I came home from school one afternoon to discover my mother sitting ashen-faced in front of the television. That was when I learned about the tragedy involving the Israeli Olympic team. Together, we sat glued to the television, waiting for any sort of news as we hoped for a peaceful resolution. Sadly, that was not to be.

Over the ensuing 36 years, the Olympics have become horribly and irretrievably commercialized and trivialized, just another worldwide mass marketing opportunity. The Beijing Olympics are only the latest example of a continuing trend. What used to feel like something very unique and special has devolved into just another international marketing campaign for companies like Coca-Cola, Xerox, and far too many other multinational corporations.

This time around, though, another layer of dirt has been shoveled onto the grave of something that used to occupy a very special place in my heart. For the first time in the modern era, the Olympics are being staged in a repressive police state...and somewhere Baron Pierre de Coubertin is spinning in his grave.

Yes, this time around I'm finding myself in a real quandary. I've always loved the Olympics, but I'm not certain I can in good conscience watch an Olympics built on the soft sand of so much human suffering. I'm considering the possibility of conducting my own personal boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Of course, I realize that no multinational corporation (or the Beijing organizers) is going to give a tinker's damn about whether or not I watch their Olympics. Think about it for just a moment, though; do you have ANY idea of the suffering that the Chinese government and Olympic organizers have built these games on?

Close to 1.5 million people were evicted from their homes in order to make way for Olympic venues and stores from which multinational corporations can hawk their wares. Freedom of speech and expression, never a hallmark of the Chinese experience under the best of circumstance, has been repressed to degree unprecedented even by Chinese standards. The Chinese occupation and repression of Tibet continues unchecked, and their support for the Sudanese genocide in Darfur is not exactly a state secret. Human rights abuses are rife within China as well. The Chinese government has denied visas to individuals and groups that they've deemed to be threatening (usually because they intend to speak openly and truthfully about human rights violations and Chinese involvement and complicity into the ongoing tragedy in Darfur). THIS is what the Olympic movement is about?

How can I, in good conscience, be a party to a celebration of athletic excellence that has been built on so much suffering and hypocrisy? As much as I love the Olympics and the athletic excellence it offers, how can I get behind any celebration built on the backs of so many that have suffered so much?

I still don't know what I will do. Yes, I understand that the Olympics are supposed to be conducted in an environment free of politics. However, the International Olympic Committee introduced politics into this equation when they selected Beijing to hold these games. When they decided that China represented a market too good to pass on, they ensured that politics would be front and center and impossible to ignore during this Olympiad. This is why I find myself so conflicted. I want to enjoy this celebration, but when I realize what these Games are built on, it's difficult to feel much like celebrating.

No, these are not the Olympics of my childhood. That hasn't been the case for a long time now. The Olympics are now just another multinational brand looking to maximize marketing and profit opportunities for themselves and their corporate partners. The IOC sold their credibility to the highest bidder when they selected Beijing to host these Games, and in doing so, they almost completely lost me.

No, one person's boycott won't mean a thing to the IOC or it's corporate partners. Perhaps it's too late to start a movement, but I cannot in good conscience justify being party to a celebration constructed on top of so much suffering and repression. Besides, it's not like I can't find other ways to keep myself occupied.

Yeah, if you need me I'll be watching Daily Show reruns....

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on August 7, 2008 7:17 AM.

Thankfully, the transfer of stupid was virtually instantaneous was the previous entry in this blog.

This might be funny if it wasn't so true is the next entry in this blog.

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