In case you haven’t noticed, this year’s running of the Olympic torch around the world has been somewhat problematic. By the way, if you haven’t noticed, you might want to get out from under that rock every now and then.
For my own part, I’m fine with seeing the torch hounded and the Chinese secret police escort hassled. There have been complaints and outcry from various groups complaining about not honoring “Olympic values” and the principles behind the Olympics.
So, I’d like to know — What are these supposed values?
I know, athletes from around the world get together to compete. So, should we now view the World Cup of Soccer as a sacred event?
Let’s be honest. The Olympics is a business. There is a whole lot of money to be made by the sponsors, the host city, and the various businesses thereof. As such, it deserves scrutiny.
I realize, of course, that the International Olympic Committee casts itself as something much more — and more important — than a mere business. I’m sure that the NFL would love to present itself as some kind of human-betterment enterprise, if it would make it easier to ignore wrongdoing. I guess Michael Vick should have thought of that … “I think all of you guys are just trying to hurt NFL values.”
China is a nation that uses slave labor. Prisoners are forced to do manufacturing work to help keep costs down. Supposedly, our trade relationship with them is going to help democratize the nation. How’s it working?
Ask a Tibetan monk.
A few little notes … It was the Nazis who concocted the modern torch run in order to help bring attention to them. Using the Olympics in order to showcase their National Socialist superiority in 1936, this was anything but just about sports.
It isn’t just the pro-Tibetans who are trying to use the Olympics for political purposes. China wants the IOC to participate in prohibiting any pro-Tibetan comments, of any kind, from the Olympics. Apparently, it’s perfectly in line with the spirit of the Olympics to strip athletes of medals for wearing “Free Tibet” t-shirts.
I want to know … what are the Olympic values? Is it celebration of sport, regardless of the suffering that it enables in others’ lives? If it’s just that, then I don’t think that Olympic values deserve to be celebrated. If it has something to do with international cooperation, then great. I don’t think that the TIbetans are feeling a lot of the blessings of this cooperation.
That brings us back to the one real Olympic value — the money. The IOC doesn’t want to lose a bundle on its bad investment in Beijing. The Chinese government doesn’t want to lose the money that it will make from successful games in Beijing.
The IOC has now put itself in the position of trying to figure out what it will and won’t consider propaganda in terms of its discipline, and how that compares to what the Chinese regime considers propaganda. China wants to be able to expel athletes from displaying Tibetan flags, even in their own rooms. To those of us in the free world, that kind of thing doesn’t feel right.
If “Free Tibet” t-shirts are a problem, is it okay for the Chinese to say that Tibet is part of China? I rather think that China isn’t going to call that propaganda.
The IOC has made an astonishingly stupid blunder, and clearly has no idea how to salvage its image. Falling back on undefined “Olympic values” that apparently call for turning a blind eye toward human suffering in favor of not interrupting the gold medal competition in ping-pong shows that there is no moral virtue here, it’s business convenience.
If you’d like to see someone who really does display some Olympic values … please meet Masahisa Tsujitani.
For 40 years, including 4 Olympics contests, he’s made the 16-pound iron shots used by athletes. He refuses to make them for these games. He’s passing up on a lot of money, and a lot of prestige. If someone seizes this opportunity in 2008, it’s possible that no one will call him for 2012. Or he might retire (being 74 now) and have missed his last opportunity to see his shots used in the Olympics.
But he chose the better thing — to use whatever power he has to make a statement.
British PM Gordon Brown is refusing to attend the opening ceremonies. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is still considering it.
Of course, our President George Bush is promising to mention the need to consider improving human rights while he’s there. That is, I suppose, unless he thinks it will threaten Wal Mart’s trade arrangements.
The US has cast its lot with China and seems to think that we can dance with the devil and not smell of sulphur. Do we really want to join the list of enablers, pretending that all is well in China while Tibetans are killed and political prisoners manufacture cheap shoes for us?
April 12, 2008 at 1:39 pm
We worry about islamic terrorists destroying and taking over our country, and yet the chinese are doing it one cheap toy at a time. It’s very unsettling.
You are so right about the money being the big factor being considered by the IOC (that’s why Utah brought in Romney). Why the IOC ever selected China in the first place, I have no idea (unless of course money had something to do with it).
President Bush shouldn’t go. We shouldn’t go. We should stand for human rights over the right of “sport”. We also need to figure out a way to break this hold China has on us, because that needs to be more important than Walmart’s bottom-line.
April 12, 2008 at 5:07 pm
China went straight from a communist state to a fascist one.
The problem with China is that they own so much US debt they can bully our politicians. That debt is only increasing every day we have a federal deficit.
We won’t be free to stand up to China until we balance our budget. If we stood up to China right now, they would sink our economy and destroy the US dollar.
April 12, 2008 at 5:09 pm
You may not have opportunity to go to China, so you decide to support those attacks on torch relays. You think China deserves it.
When it comes to the War in Iraq, what do you think about? Millions of Iraqis were killed in the war which is led by U.S. and U.K., what action do you think is appropriate for the next time when London Olympic torch relay is coming?
April 12, 2008 at 5:17 pm
@ factand truth…trust me there will be any number of people protesting London. China deserves any and all criticism it gets as does any nation on the globe. It’s the price you pay for sitting at the big kids table.
@ Econ what there’s a difference ?
April 12, 2008 at 5:49 pm
OneMom/EconGrad – Absolutely. As EconGradStudent says, China is able to bully us because we’re foolish enough to spend money we don’t have, but that which they lend to us.
Mike Huckabee talked about us paying for both sides of the war on terror, and he’s right. We also do it with China. We buy cheap substandard goods from them, then borrow the money back. A trade deficit and a budget deficit, both benefiting the world’s largest totalitarian power.
Fact&Truth – First … millions? Iraqbodycount.org lists the high end of civilian deaths at about 90,304. Now, I find that deplorable … I’m not happy about the situation. But that’s less than 10 percent of 1 million, and a very far cry from “millions.”
As to whether there should be protests about the London torch … I have this belief in free speech. I think that if people have something to say, they should be able to say it. That’s one of the differences between the US and China.
In2thefray is right, as well. China has complained about the European Parliament hurting the emotions of the Chinese people … I think, “You’re a big country, get over it” works as a response. Actually, I think you’ve inspired a post …
April 12, 2008 at 8:07 pm
[...] What Are Olympic Values, Anyway? [...]
April 13, 2008 at 7:44 am
I personally believe President Bush should stay away from the Olympics, just to make a statement. As for Wal-Mart, don’t even get me started. I have seen how they do business, how they treat their employees and vendors, and believe me, the only thing on their mind is their bottom dollar, nothing else. Wal-Mart may be the only place to shop for needed items, some of the time, but that company has not necessarily been good for our country.
April 13, 2008 at 12:01 pm
We should boycott this olympics I dont think our atheletes will be safe over there.
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April 15, 2008 at 6:47 am
@wickle: compare those 90 thousand to to the few thousands killed in Tibet over the past same years that Irak has been going on. You’ll find a less than 10% there too.
Back to the point, I’m not in favor of what China is doing either. i do however think there are better ways to protest. Think Gandhi, think peaceful protest. Not showing up is partly non-involvment not to mention failing to promote the other olympic values besides human rights (I’ll get back to that in a sec).
Instead, wearing protest stripes and ribbons that will be seen by the 4 billion expected viewers might just make a lot of people find out about the problem.
You asked for olympic values… well what they say they are is found in the first articles of the olympic charter. Sadly, they are only words there and the IOC doesn’t seem to want to support them with action.
Action is left to the good-will of the athlets and personalities who are invited there and so are the consequences. I just hope many of them will find those consequences worth risking, whether it’s boycotting or other ways of protest.
September 9, 2008 at 5:53 am
@Hanen and Onemom:You have your ideas about this…The Chinese, too have their ideas. There should be no question about the safety of the atheletes.If China won the bid, they won. That’s past. We should focus on more important things such as the Games itself. Any injuries towards the atheletes is against the olympic spirit. If a country threatens the safety of the atheletes, it will not injure the atheletes as much as themselves.Money does play a part. So does Pride. And if, if they just use their money to guarantee them a place in the world, then their Pride, and therefore Pleasure in their achievements are tainted. They will feel it when it happens. However, I trust the judges and the rest of the commitee to make a fair judgement. You are only worrying about your national pride. The atheletes face no danger. Only the medals they hold. Boycotting the Olympics, which is a national pride to the Chinese, for your own fears of losing and therefore equally stupid reasons is just as bad. Atheletes should be able to hold their heads high, do their best and just let fly with their various talents with good sportsman-like conduct. That is what everyone of them ought to do, and the one who doesn’t may win through unfair methods, but everyone will know that that person is not a winner, only a liar, a cheat and a loser.
June 26, 2009 at 11:04 pm
Boycotting is a method of the powerless. It says “my only power over you is to hold out”. All you people who are saying these things are on the bottom of the chain. You really don’t know how the world works at all. You are pissed off about the political issues so you try to squirm and yell and voice your protest. Pathetic. We did the right thing. We went into China and we took home a lot of medals. We showed our power instead of demonstrating our helplessness. As for the values of the Olympics they are:
1. Excellence
2. Friendship
3. Respect
I don’t see how that has anything with human rights. The idea of the Olympics is to meet as people, as individuals who have something in common, despite not having a common nation, and to relate to one each other on an individual level. The nations are just supposed to watch those individuals represent their teams. The idea behind that propaganda rule is that there isn’t supposed to be a hidden statement in the games. With all the international things that are corrupted by power, we are trying to keep the games somewhat devoid of that. Way to try to ruin it. And yes there are many people and groups that sponsor the Olympics but it doesn’t make them a ton of money. In fact it costs half a billion dollars just to get to the stages of being a legitimate bid contender, not to mention if you actually win the bid. It is very expensive and a lot of work on everyone’s part. These businesses aren’t banking on it, they are supporting it. And yes, some of that money comes from the low wages they are paying their employees. But I make nothing for training and so do many other athletes. You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about on this issue so it’s better to keep your mouth shut.
June 26, 2009 at 11:37 pm
Well, Mike, hi!
I didn’t really expect traffic on this post at this point, but … okay. Since you’ve told me to shut up, I’ll talk about it again.
You said:
“1. Excellence
2. Friendship
3. Respect
I don’t see how that has anything with human rights.”
If you don’t see the connection between human rights and respect, then it’s going to be very difficult to have a rational conversation.
The Olympics is a business. However, the host nations often use it for propaganda. China did just that. The IOC was all too happy to play along, because (like most businesses doing business in China) they don’t care about people as long as their money keeps rolling in.
July 1, 2009 at 3:16 am
Ironic that the host nations have only been Mexico once, China once, Russia once, and South Korea once (Summer and Winter)
7 in the US
2 in Canada
2 in Australia
4 in Japan
26 in Europe, All on them located north and west of Athens Greece.
Hmmm… why is there a disparity in wealth? All the slave labor in China favors the rich. The rich nations. We have been hording power and money, and now you are going to accuse China of slave labor. The U.S. and the rich nations in Europe are responsible for a good portion of it, all of which we try to reassure ourselves that we don’t do because we protect our own citizens. Here’s some news: there isn’t enough human rights to go around for everyone in the world. Africa, South America, Almost all of Asia and the middle east, Huge portions of Russia, all these countries have never seen an Olympics. You are saying that the host cities are the ones trying to make money off of it. Guess what, we are those host cities most of the time. And do you know where the next Olympics is: Toronto, followed by London. (an imperialist nation during a good part of this first century, they are responsible for a lot of poverty in Africa, but we tend to forget it because “oh my god, that was so long ago, we can’t be held responsible for that” yet we are still reaping the benefits that came from it, ones that will take a long time for any of these nations to overcome.) Maybe you should be protesting the Olympics in these nations. Maybe you should be boycotting the money you have in your bank. Boycott all the advantages you have received from living in your country.
You should know these things. Unless you are from South America or Africa, perhaps parts of India or the old soviet bloc, then abide by “let he without sin cast the first stone”. I doubt you are.
And maybe I justify what happens at the Olympics because I know that there are people that care about the Olympics. Those people are coaches and athletes. They are the guys that have worked so hard to get there. You think the IOC or the USOC (or any sponsor) has worked hard for little to nothing to go to the Olympics. No they haven’t. But I do every day. Respect that. Respect that our country boycotts the Olympics, it effects my human rights. I work hard for four years, dedicate my life to something, choose to live somewhere that I don’t really want to live but has the best training for me. I break my body down and grow old doing it, and then I find out there is no pay day. No moment of glory. I learn the hard way that hard work doesn’t pay off when someone with more power than me decides it shouldn’t, like Jimmy Carter. Like the worker in his sweatshop, my dreams are crushed. I can stand backbreaking labor. I can stand making no money. I can stand being hungrier than is reasonable. But I can’t stand hopelessness.
It’s a sad situation for the workers. I was there in china. They have ghetto’s that smell like shit. Actually like shit. I realized that the food I was eating was giving me gas and it smelled like the ghetto. Then I realized the Sewers just drop straight down, they don’t clear anything out. Just like the ghetto people don’t really work, they just sit outside and play cards all day. The first shop I walked in turned out to be a sex shop. It ain’t pretty. But it’s life.
Like I said, there isn’t enough human rights to go around in this day and age. When push comes to shove, I believe you’ll realize you are happier having your own than fighting for everyone’s.
July 1, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Wow … If you think I’m going to defend the corporate greed that makes it possible for us to facilitate these kind of abuses, you’re going to lose.
Mostly, I agree with this comment you just made … except for the sacredness of the Olympics. It’s very simple: People are more important than games, profits, or anything else.
There is no limited supply of rights … that’s absurd. What there is is a shortage of people willing to do anything about it.
July 3, 2009 at 1:51 am
As long as people favor their own ways of life of other peoples’, there are a limited supply of rights. Can you show me an examples in history where everyone (even everyone in just one culture) has had full human rights. (and the amount of wealth that it seems you are assuming come with human rights, wealth enough to not go hungry and live in safe, healthy conditions) You are proposing we go beyond the experiences of history, but I don’t think it’s just history that has shown this. I believe it is human nature.
People are more important than the games… I’m a person and intend to take part in the games. It means a lot to me. Which people? and what about these people is? Is there hungry more important? Is their health more important? Or are their hopes and dreams for themselves and the world more important? What about the people that have given up? What about people that are happy even with simple hard lives, satisfied with the structure and routine and community that they have? That’s the point I was making. The saying alone needs to be more in depth to have meaning. And that depth that you dig into will always be in question unless you can look into the hearts and minds of every individual and somehow make a collective decision for us all. What if the Olympics gives even the humblest person in Jamaica hope? Jamaica’s Usain Bolt made his country proud. A country impoverished due primarily to the actions of the United States. The people were able to feel a sense of worth because of one Jamaican. They had something to be proud of, something that made them feel in some small way superior to a great country. Is that something you can really take away from them? And China, they did amazing at the Olympics. Their people, despite their poverty, have a sense of hard work and identity in life. They have meaning and community. How do you measure all these things? Can you compare what you value in life to what other people value in life?
I didn’t expect you to defend corporate greed. I expected you to defend yourself. The fact that you have tens to hundreds of times what anyone in these countries has. Yes it may be due to the corporations that abuse them, something that you protest. And the leaders of these corporations may have hundreds of thousands of times the wealth of these people. But the fact is simple, you do benefit from their lack of human rights. And if you didn’t, you might be a little more selfish and competitive.