| Feature | Apr. 17, 2008 | 8:20 pm |
Maybe the next Olympic Games should be in Iran
By
In case you haven’t paid much attention to the news lately, a few people have a problem with the 2008 Summer Olympics and have been taking it out on its symbol — the Olympic Torch.
On March 25, the torch began its relay from the birthplace of the Olympics-Athens, Greece- to Beijing. Immediately, the relay was met by protesters calling for a boycott of the Olympics because of China’s human-rights record, mainly regarding its policies in Tibet and its support of Darfur’s government as genocide strickens the region.
I enjoy the Summer Olympics. Being a big sports fan, it’s rewarding when sports are on TV 24/7, as will happen this summer. It’s also fun to see athletes compete in events that require extreme skill, speed, and other things that I don’t have. And as a fan of the Olympics and its traditions, I haven’t enjoyed seeing the torch be the target of protesters. But, as a fan of human rights and someone who particularly doesn’t enjoy genocide, neither can I comprehend why the Olympics were ever put in Beijing.
Even now, the protests have not stopped as Olympic organizers have scrambled to save the torch from being extinguished at each city it has visited. Routes have been changed or kept secret, and some places have canceled portions of the relay. Runners who received the tremendous honor of holding the torch have dropped out due to concerns regarding their safety.
The protests and chaos surrounding the flame exploded in London and Paris. In London, the torch was briefly stolen by a protester. In Paris, protesters scaled the Eiffel Tower.
On the eve of the torch arriving in San Francisco, its only North American stop,protesters made their points by climbing the Golden Gate Bridge. The relay route was then altered the next day. Amidst protest, secrecy by the mayor, and fear for the safety of the runners, it wasn’t easy for people in the area to get a glimpse of the flame. All of the bizarre events of the day even inspired. The torch traveled to Argentina after its crazy day in the States, and is now in India.
Who decided that China would be a suitable country to host the Summer Olympics? Why would the International Olympic Committee (IOC) let such a controversial site host such a monumental and international event? Thanks to wonderful internet archives, I found that in 2001, the IOC chose Beijing over Toronto as the host by a vote of 56-34. And, guess what, lots of people had a problem with China receiving the bid.
Almost seven years since the decision, attitudes about China hosting the Olympics haven’t improved. Tensions have gotten most hostile in regards to China’s relationship with Sudan and its involvement in Darfur. Further, Tibetan human rights was a huge issue in 2001, and clearly hasn’t been resolved. What made anyone on the IOC think that China was going to fix its problems? Suddenly, because they are receiving this gift of the Olympics, a gold mine for its economy, China will fix their human rights record and stop supporting Darfur?
Absolutely not.
If anyone on the IOC made this decision as a way to help China, they were sorely wrong. If anyone thinks that being in the international spotlight will erase the reasons people hate China, they are wrong. Seeing the same issues surrounding China’s human rights record when the decision was made in 2001 makes me wonder what it takes to be on the IOC. Maybe the next Olympic Games should be in Iran.
A lot of protesters are asking for countries to boycott the Games. That is the wrong request from the protesters and something I cannot agree with. Competitors from the 1980 boycott still are angry over losing what, for many, was their only chance to compete in the games. There are other ways to deal with a country’s political faults other than keeping athletes who have been training their entire lives from accomplishing their dreams. If President Bush wants to boycott the Opening Ceremonies, fine, but boycotting the entire games is sending the wrong message.
The protesters have reason for speaking their mind as China does not deserve to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. But attempting to extinguish the torch is the wrong way to go about it. Go hold up posters and grab media attention during the torch relay, but do not interfere with a time-honored tradition of carrying the torch from Athens, Greece to the host of the Games. We all have to suffer from the idiotic decision by the IOC in 2001 that looks worse and worse as the days go on. But it is not right to try and take opportunities — whether it be carrying the torch or competing for a gold medal — away from the athletes.
BiBiJon said,
April 17, 2008 @ 8:59 pm
There might have been a time when we had a leg to stand on when it came to human rights. The whole Iraq episode shows if you have might, then vis-a-vis any number of women and children you have the ultimate right.
As for bashing Iran in every possible headline, why not. AlQaeda-Iran, Tibet-Iran, you hyphenate it, we get the message.
See http://www.bibijon.org/iranimage/
Matt Leib said,
April 17, 2008 @ 11:13 pm
The Olympics are sport. Sport is pure. Sport should not be used as a bargaining tool the dirty world of politics even if to protest human rights violations or what have you. Sport does not deserve to be pulled down into that mire. It is a liberating thing sports and they do more good toward people and the world when played, not boycotted. Not only is it not fair to the Olympians who’ve trained to get there to not be allowed to march, but it is unfair to human nature. It should be the choice of athletes not to march and not some vote-pandering suggestion by Hillary or statement by Bush.
The best thing to do is go into China and smoke their collective ass via athletics not protest. See 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany. People remember Jessi Owens for what he did not what he didn’t do.
Matt Leib said,
April 17, 2008 @ 11:17 pm
That said, I see no problem having the Games in Iran at some point. I mean boo-hoo they aren’t democratic, but they are still athletes and love sport. Democracy does not come naturally. Sport does. And it unites people a helluva lot more.
An excerpt:
“England’s Manchester United holds sway over some fifty million football fans worldwide and is one of the fourth richest teams in the world. The New York Yankees can boast twenty-six World Championships to their name and have covered by the media enough to make a President feel neglected. Most would agree that these teams are among the heavyweights in world sport today. They take in the most revenue, generate the highest television ratings, and are involved in the two of sport’s greatest rivalries with Liverpool FC and the Boston Red Sox, respectively. But aside from a pub brawl or a traffic jam on the Cross Bronx Expressway, neither Man U nor the Yankees demonstrates any power to affect lasting sociopolitical change among their fan bases. For all their supposed clout, neither franchise is in the process of challenging an entire country’s social order (football hooligans need not apply), and neither franchise can claim that it is almost entirely responsible for the revolutionary reconstruction of urban culture in their respective countries.
The team that is affecting the aforementioned changes is Iran’s national football team. With improvement in recent years and a large base of young fans, the squad has quickly and not so quietly positioned itself as a major catalyst of social and political reform in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Their middling record in international play might not suggest it to a casual football fan, but a win is not just another win in Iran.
The team’s success can be seen as revolutionary. Beginning in 1998, it has united the youth of Iran and galvanized awareness of many social issues. Football, it seems, has grown into the ballast around which forty million or so young Iranians gravitate. In theory, if not already in reality, the Iran national football team has developed into the most powerful and influential group of athletes in the world – its fan base tens of millions strong, intensely dedicated, and concentrated mostly within the country’s borders. But even before the recent success of the national team, football and the political landscape in Iran have always been closely knit.
…
Filmmaker Mazair Bahari comments, “I think in a country where the government has tried – although it has failed – to control every aspect of people’s lives for years, everything becomes politicized; even sports. At the same time, in the absence of political parties and places where young people can express their opinions, football becomes a political forum.” Iran has yet to play past the first round in the World Cup. But when the national team reaches that higher level of competition, expect more than riots. One kick could set off another revolution. Win or lose, the youth of Iran have football on their side, and with that they cannot be held out of play.
Shit-faced said,
April 20, 2008 @ 2:20 am
Bashing on China seems to be the typical American way of coping with things. Made in China, dangerous toys, they’re killing our economy, Communism, constantly frowned upon without much knowledge of what ACTUALLY happens in China…
Having visited Beijing twice I am aware of the efforts the city is undertaking to prepare for the Olympics. Plans to reduce their pollution, having only even numbered cars on the street and turning off factories; building new buildings/airports/amazing athletic facilities; teaching taxi drivers how to speak English: this is China’s chance to embrace the Western world…if jackasses like you let them.
Human rights abuse is an extremely serious issue and should not be taken lightly, don’t get me wrong. But..Guantanamo Bay? I don’t see anyone clamoring for the United States to be penalized. Land of the free, home of the brave…it can’t be true!
So look within our own borders before we criticize others and make snide remarks about Iran. Give Beijing a chance to show the world that China isn’t the big bad wolf its always made out to be. The Olympics could be a great success, just give them a chance to prosper. Fucking with the Olympic torch is compromising all that the Olympics stand for. Congratulations Athens/London/Paris/SanFran protesters. You’ve raised awareness about something we all know. Now let the games go on.
Kevin said,
April 20, 2008 @ 5:15 pm
I’m glad Beijing is taking strides to make the Olympics less polluted, but the point is a country with a human rights record as China has does not deserve to host the Summer Olympics. Yes, America isn’t perfect, but far less people I think would be protesting Olympics in the States than there are those now protesting China. There is a clear reason for all the protests.
And as stated, I agree that it’s not fair to mess with the torch and hurt the athletes, so I’m glad you agree with me on that.