Boycotting 2008 Olympics

Cosmo

crittables wrote:

if there is a way to help the people of darfur and NOT hurt the american people i'm going to argue for it. and i think boycotting the games would do that.

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How? How does that help Darfur? Our government withholding our athletes from competition because of a political problem... how does that help the situation in Darfur?
It doesn't. Those people need relief. Relief in the form of aid. Food, medicine and protection. If China doesn't want to help... we should get the other nations of the world that do care to pitch in.
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And remember the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles? The Soviet Union boycotted us because we boycotted their Olympics in 1980 over their invasion of Afghanistan. From our stand point... did it ruin our games? NO. all it meant was more Medals for US. The citizens of the U.S. got a boost (and completely disregarded the fact that our greatest competition was not there) because we won all of the medals. it didn't tarnish us one bit.
I'm sure the Chinese will play it the same way and in their eyes... our not being there will not be missed by them.
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I'm all in favor of keeping the Olympics SPORT... not politics.

crittables

polaris wrote:

you don't understand china ...

tienammen square was probably the worst PR situation in history and they still haven't changed ... china cannot and will not be pushed around - why do you think the rhetoric from the US has stopped with regards to taiwan?? ...

i guess i don't understand china then...

Cosmo

Bottom line... China is still China.. the Communist RED China of the past. We are feeding this giant in the name of 'Lower Prices, Always'.
China was oppressive and remains oppressive. Them getting richer is not going to make them any less oppressive.

polaris

crittables wrote:

i am not saying i'm not willing stop buying chinese goods, i can afford to shop where i want. i'm just saying there is no way we're going to get enough other people to do the same to where it actually hurts the chinese.

ahhh ... but isn't this the dilemma that faces us all with regards to all change? ... a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step ... yes, i see the irony ...

TheVoiceInside

This is all just a ploy so that the US doesnt have to go thru the humiliation of seeing the dream team loose, again.

redrock

crittables wrote:

if that is enough leverage to make the chinese act in darfur, then great we should give that a try. besides, do you really think you can get enough americans to boycott chinese goods to make an impact? doubtful. people love cheap shit.

The US boycotting the olympics in China will not make the chinese act upon anything. EVERYONE boycotting the games may humiliate them and deprive them of revenue during the games... now, will that happen? No.

Maybe you can't get enough americans to boycott chinese goods because they are cheap and cheerful and one likes a good bargain (even if you know about China's record), but...... nothing stops the government establishing a trade embargo, if they feel so strongly about China's action. I doubt that will ever happen either.

If a country wants to force another into action or 'teach them a lesson', it needs to be consistent. You can't boycott games because that is an easy option with little consequence (after all, it's only a handful of people and their medals/records) and not look at other ways to put pressure because these would have major impact on the boycotting country (ie economic measures).

stuckinline

crittables wrote:

i am not saying i'm not willing stop buying chinese goods, i can afford to shop where i want. i'm just saying there is no way we're going to get enough other people to do the same to where it actually hurts the chinese.

in theory i agree not enough people would boycott chinese goods, but i have made a personal decision to not buy chinese goods.

polaris

this is beyond the fact NBC isn't going to let it happen ...