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Originally Posted by LAKings22  This topic come up in a discussion today during one of my philosophy classes. Oddly enough, it is a Confucian thought class and our teacher in a native of China.
She said it it pointless and would be extremely detrimental to boycott the Olympics in any way. According to her, China has spent the past 8 years educating its citizens on the history, procedure, and basically anything that has to do with the Olympics, starting with teaching students in regular classes. This has caused a HUGE fervor among the Chinese citizens, the general population is extremely excited and hopeful for the games. As a result, boycotting the games would totally demoralize the country.
The point that I have is if a half-ass boycott of the Olympics is our biggest leverage in persuading the Chinese government in changing their ways, we a are in big trouble. The support we give China economically is the endorsement that is really crucial and far outweighs the support shown through taking part in the Olympics. |
I don't think we should boycott all of the Olympics, just the opening ceremony. Besides, it would be better for the athletes to spend as little time in a polluted Chinese megalopolis as possible. I want to see some track records broken.
But seriously, the argument against boycotting is "it will make them sad?" Awww, they got disappointed...
Furthermore, some sort of economic sanctions would not necessarily be the answer. China was after all, just as bad if not worse when it came to human rights when it was a true communist country. And there is no doubt that the influx of capital in recent decades have made China a more open society (but of course has had a hugely negative effect on the environment).