Does it mean anything to boycott the Olympics?

As in, to refuse to watch it?

The Olympics go on, whether we watch or not. The sponsors run their ads, the athletes compete, etc. If you already pay for your cable, watching or not won't make much of a difference. Is it purely a matter of personal principle?

I'm torn. I admire the athletes and am pleased that they get to realize their dreams, although I fear for their health (the outdoor events like running, etc, especially). At the same time, if I watch it, I somewhat feel as if I'm endorsing the f'd up Chinese government. Hmmm.

What do you think?

:hi:

My kids are and I took alot of crap from them and my wife but I will not watch them for a second.

The Olympics, at a viewer's level, are only as political as one chooses to make them.

The reality is more about individuals striving for excellence than it is about policy decisions.

Delete The Union Label from your messages. I've watched US Union jobs destroyed by predatory Chinese practices for 40 years. Why don't YOU donate to every Union Member who has lost their jobs?
Tienanmen Square, North Korea, Tibet, Taiwan? Tortured, jailed journalists and Democratic activists? Do you enjoy that?

I see that MercutioATC has actually edited his/her own words, from a previous post. He essentially told us to get over it and send money to Tibet causes if we were so guilt ridden.
Changing a post is a despicable cop-out and I'm stunned that DU allows it. The honorable thing to do, would've been to post a new message clarifying your statements. How many of his/her thousands of other posts were edited after the fact??
I thought this was going to be a great place to be. Now I think it's just phoney.

i do feel a bit torn though.

:hi:

hopefully the ratings will be low and then after its over report that ratings were low so the world knows it..

other than that tho, it has no impact cept personal gratification

And write a letter on behalf of Save Darfur to the Chinese Embassy.

Send a solar cooker to a woman in a camp in darfur.

Give to Unicef.

Here's an interesting piece:
http://blogfordarfur.org/2008/08/06/joey-cheek-denied-entry-to-china/

And you can always cheer on Lopez Lomongo:
http://blogfordarfur.org/2008/08/05/lopez-lomong-of-team-darfur-named-augusts-darfur-hero/

I hope Lopez flips the Chinese officials the bird! :rofl:

I'd say something profound about the concept that China should NOT be hosting the Olympics because of human rights violations and especially their role in Darfur but hell, who am I to judge? I mean I live in a country where we are also committing the same human rights violations AND we have a nasty role in what is happening in Iraq.

But every year I turn into NBC to watch the Olympics and end up seeing nothing but the sports NBC says I'm to enjoy the most and told the Atheletes I'm to cheer on. So I've just found myself watching the Olympics less and less each year and this comes from a girl who still has her scrapbook of Eric Heiden's 5 gold medals (I had such a crush on him!) and use to love watching the Olympics every 4 years.

Some will claim that if you watch you contribute to the "big ratings" NBC banks on to recoup the $900 million they spent on the rights...as well as to justify high advertising rates from its sponsors. But most of this is money already under the table and the bridge. The only thing poor ratings will do is force NBC to give a few bucks back and give these sponsors "make goods" or even more spots.

And truth is, if you're not an Arbitron home, NBC really won't know if you're watching or not...so, don't feel guilty to watch.

That said, if you want to take action...note the advertisers on the broadcast and stay away from their products...or send them a letter or whatever you feel will best express your position. It's the Nikes and Coke and big advertisers that throw the massive money not only at NBC, but also at the IOC and the Chinese government.

Cheers...