It's good and right to ask the President of the United States not to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing - but what if we all told the Chinese government that we won't be watching?
We have watched the violence in Darfur for so long, we have asked, we have protested, we have pleaded - only to notice that the Chinese government didn't use its significant influence in Khartoum to end the atrocities.
Will you send President Hu of China a letter to let him know that you won't be watching?
Will you tell NBC that you won't be watching?
NBC has paid a lot of money for the exclusive broadcasting rights for the United States - you have the power to turn off your TV on the day of the opening ceremony. Use the time to be with friends, pray for peace, or play with your kids.
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Thomas, this is such a simple but new and amazing way of protesting.
ReplyDeleteIt’s really sad to think that the Chinese and Western governments may decide to actually do something about Darfur not because they think what’s happening there is wrong, but because not doing anything will hurt their economies and businesses.
SAVO HELETA
Author of "Not My Turn to Die:
Memoirs of a Broken Childhood in Bosnia"
http://savoheleta.livejournal.com
I think your idea is good, but perhaps aimed in the wrong direction. Not watching the Olympics is not going to get the right message accross. Protesting in this way sends a message to the athletes from around the world that recognition of their accomplishments is no longer importaint. Perhaps the protest would be better directed to the Olympic comission to relocate the events. The athletes who have trained their entire lives for this event deserve our respect and attention.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI'm not asking anyone not to watch the games. Will you skip the Opening Ceremony and thus signal to the Chinese government your respect for and attention to human rights and lives?
I will NOT watch
ReplyDeleteI apologize for misinterpriting the idea. I will skip the opening. Another form of protest that may serve well is a buycot. I doubt we could convince our government to embargo trade, but that dosen't mean we have to buy their products. They may not understand or care if we tune out the ceramony, but the language of profit loss they understand very well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your suggestion and plan to follow it. Thank you for addressing this issue and for your social consciousness.
ReplyDeleteThe Tarpley household will be skipping the opening ceremony, and I will be writing NBC and President Hu. My level of frustration about Darfur is so high.
ReplyDeletehi Pastor Kleinert, my little sister Amanda pointed me to your blog. I live in Beijing and my apartment overlooks the venue for the Olympics opening ceremony so there's no way I'll miss the event, at least the fireworks are going to be impossible to overlook. I totally agree with you about the atrocities in Darfur and am not surprised that many people are trying to use the Olympics to put pressure on the Chinese government to do something about it. But what do you think about keeping politics out of the Olympics - letting it be about athletic performance, fair play and sportsmanship?
ReplyDeletePeace,
Melanie
Dear Melanie,
ReplyDeleteThe Olympic games lost their political innocence a long time ago. I'm a German native, and you and I know that the Berlin games in 1936 couldn't be just about athletic achievement, sportsmanship, or fair play. Whether we like it or not, hosting the games, at least since the arrival of television (if not before) has been strongly influenced by political considerations. To me, the question now is how we deal with the political character of this international event.