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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Arena Boycott the 2014 Sochi (Winter) Games?

Discussion in 'Community' started by DarthTunick , Aug 6, 2013.

  1. DarthTunick

    DarthTunick SFTC VII + Deadpool BOFF star 10 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Nov 26, 2000
    http://www.ibtimes.com/george-takei-move-2014-winter-olympics-out-russia-1374805]George[/url] Takei: Move the 2014 Winter Games out of Sochi

    For you Olympic aficionados out there (and some others I'd imagine :p ), you know that we're coming up on the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, to be contested in Sochi, Russia. If you haven't been following/paying attention to international news, http://www.policymic.com/articles/48411/russia-anti-gay-bill-russia-passes-radical-family-values-bill-while-president-announces-divorce-on-tv]Russia[/url] has passed some rather radical anti-gay legislation, with said legislation http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2013/08/01/russia-will-enforce-anti-gay-law-during-olympics/2608425/]going[/url] to be enforced during the Olympics. Very disturbing/sickening to hear about. Although there's no way I see the U.S. boycotting these Games, it would be great if they did... perhaps another country will, who knows. What say you?
     
  2. Grand Admiral Strife

    Grand Admiral Strife RSA Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 21, 2001
    They should be boycotted; it's a basic human rights issue. Of course, if the US boycotts, its because our oh so awesome Congress and White House are 'punishing' Russia for the Snowden stuff. Because priorities :p
     
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  3. Darth_Omega

    Darth_Omega Force Ghost star 6

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    May 19, 2002
    Boycotting the Olympics is so 1980s.
     
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  4. tom

    tom Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Mar 14, 2004
    i don't know. when i think of those american ice dancing teams, and the drama and intrigue of their daily practice routines, it makes me sad. if we boycott the olympics it will make me even sadder.
     
  5. Coruscant

    Coruscant Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Feb 15, 2004
    No. Ask any Olympic or Olympic contending athlete from the late 70s and early 80s about the 1980 boycott and they'll always say the same thing: it was a mistake and the source of heartache that is still keenly felt to this day.

    Russia is not about to make an international Olympic crisis by mistreating gay athletes at the Games. They're guests, first and foremost. The host country will be smart enough to treat them as such. Besides, how can we deprive ourselves of some of our gay athletes having a defiant Owens-and-Hitler moment with Putin?
     
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  6. DarthTunick

    DarthTunick SFTC VII + Deadpool BOFF star 10 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Nov 26, 2000

    That would certainly be a highlight of the Games, and I can understand how the athlete's from that era (late 70's-early 80's) felt about the '80 USA Summer Games boycott (and the subsequent USSR (and some of their allies I believe) for the '84 Summer Games), but I still philosophically understand why it had to happen, or why it could happen again.
     
  7. Darth Guy

    Darth Guy Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2002
    Yes. We should also boycott Rio for their human rights violations.

    Oh wait, they're just against the poor. Never mind!
     
  8. Obi Anne

    Obi Anne Celebration Mistress of Ceremonies star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 1998
    There are many things that are wrong about the Sochi games, just look at how they are treating the people who's been evicted for the new arenas, and the issue with destroying a lot of nature for once again new arenas. One should know Sochi has had to build up everything for the games. I don't see a boycott happening though, what I would hope for though is that individual people make a stand about their beliefs, whether it's gay rights or other basic human rights that are severely lacking in Russia. Of course then they will probably be disqualified, since the IOC is supposed to be non-political, and of course giving games to non-democratic states is totally non-political[face_pig]. I don't have much faith in the IOC doing anything but making sure it gets as much money as possible, and in comparison with its own profit human rights comes pretty low on its agenda.
     
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  9. Juliet316

    Juliet316 Chosen One star 10

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    Apr 27, 2005
    They may also very well get jailed by Russia because they've already said they will enforce their anti - gay laws on both tourists and atheletes during the games. No exceptions.

     
  10. VadersLaMent

    VadersLaMent Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 3, 2002
    There are many Olympic athletes who have been dedicating their lives to training. What are they do to? No endorsements, no scholarships if they boycott. The answer is an international warning that Russia will enforce no such thing. If they persist then take the games somewhere else even if they have to be delayed.
     
  11. Darth Guy

    Darth Guy Chosen One star 10

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    Aug 16, 2002
    I say we boycott U.S. sports for letting U.S.-based hate groups use American money to encourage imprisonment and execution of LGBT in countries such as Belize and Uganda.
     
  12. DantheJedi

    DantheJedi Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 23, 2009
    [​IMG]

    (it's about athletes who trained their butts off for the 1980 Olympic games.)
     
  13. Ramza

    Ramza Administrator Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 13, 2008
    This is what we who follow politics tend to refer to as a "blatant lie." They're saying that to appeal to the very large base of homophobic Russians, but they're not actually stupid enough to enforce it and kick off an international incident during the Olympics. They just... aren't.
     
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  14. Darth Guy

    Darth Guy Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2002
    Many organizations in the U.S. urged a boycott of the 1936 Olympics. The chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee railed about a Jewish-Communist conspiracy to keep the U.S. out of the games. However, despite Nazi racial ideology, Jesse Owens always remarked that his experience at the Berlin Games was that he was treated better there (and by Germans) than he was at home. [face_flag]
     
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  15. TahiriVeilaSolo69

    TahiriVeilaSolo69 Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 27, 2002
    If they do boycott the Olympics, it won't be about human rights violations. It will strictly be about Snowden. That being said, I don't care either way as long as I get hockey in some way, shape or form.
     
  16. Juliet316

    Juliet316 Chosen One star 10

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    Apr 27, 2005
  17. DarthTunick

    DarthTunick SFTC VII + Deadpool BOFF star 10 VIP - Game Host

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    Nov 26, 2000


    I do very much like & respect how the NHL takes a break during their season every 4 years in order for their athletes to compete in the Winter Games. If only MLB had done the same, then I would have cared to watch baseball in Summer Games/would have taken umbrage when they were taken out of the Games.
     
  18. Ender Sai

    Ender Sai Chosen One star 10

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    Feb 18, 2001
    Ok so what are you actually doing about the situation to remedy it?
     
  19. Darth Guy

    Darth Guy Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Aug 16, 2002
    I'm boycotting Brazilian waxes.

    As I alluded to in the homosexuality thread now banished to the depths of hell a.k.a. the Senate, this boycott that will never happen would be

    1) Hypocritical. Most countries, including the United States where activists like Mr. Takei live, have discriminatory laws against LGBT and allow discrimination elsewhere such as the workplace. Many countries, especially in the Muslim world and sub-Saharan Africa, are much harsher than Russia. Qatar, for example, has hefty prison sentences for homosexual acts on the books and it will host a much bigger sporting event than the Winter Olympics, the World Cup, in 2022

    2) Narrowly focused. The Russian Federation is a cesspit of human rights violations against political dissidents, ethnic minorities, and others. Again, not exactly unique in the world, but why do we care only about LGBT rights? (Rhetorical question.)

    3) Ineffective. Nothing sways conservative Russians like Westerners loudly complaining at them. There's also Dan Savage's Russian-made vodka boycott, which is okay symbolically I guess 'cause we can't boycott the Russian exports to the West that actually matter economically.

    4) More harmful than helpful. It would give Putin support, shore up more anti-Western resentment, and most of all harm the athletes so the IOC et al. can score meaningless cheap political points.

    5) Russophobic. How dare I suggest that we're picking on Russia in particular because for centuries we have hypocritically viewed them as culturally backward barbarians? Gasp.
     
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  20. s65horsey

    s65horsey Otter-loving Former EUC Mod star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 24, 2006
    I think it should be left up to the athletes. The are the ones who have dedicated their lives to training and some of the events have such a short window for being on top of world that it would be a shame to not be able to see perhaps the greatest ever in ______ event because the US decides to boycott. Let the athletes decide. There's nothing to say you can't go hug your coach (or family and friends) after you win. There is no reason ANY athlete needs to make out after a victory and maybe I have a bad memory but I don't recall seeing anything other than hugs and cheek kisses anyways while watching the Olympics.

    Do I like this law? No.
    Do I think people should take their money elsewhere instead of traveling there? Yes.
    Do I think we should punish athletes who have worked their entire lives for this one shot to make a statement? No.
     
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  21. wild_karrde

    wild_karrde Jedi Grand Master star 7

    Registered:
    Oct 8, 1999
    Read Stephen Fry's open letter to the IOC.

    Anyone who says it will hurt the athletes more to boycott need to watch the news. Pretty sure the people being beaten & arrested just for being themselves are being hurt more. Human rights are more important than finding out who the best luger is.

    I, for one, will be boycotting them.
     
  22. DarthTunick

    DarthTunick SFTC VII + Deadpool BOFF star 10 VIP - Game Host

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    Nov 26, 2000
  23. darthtenbiscuits

    darthtenbiscuits Jedi Grand Master star 7

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    Sep 7, 2001
    It would be difficult for me to boycott something I wasn't going to watch anyway.
     
  24. Kyle Katarn

    Kyle Katarn Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 10, 1998
    We survived China hosting the Olympics, I'm sure we'll be fine with Russia.

    Has there ever been an Olympic host nation which hasn't pissed off somebody at some point in time?
     
  25. Barriss_Coffee

    Barriss_Coffee Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2003
    I say no boycott. Instead, everyone visiting should crossdress.