Boycott the Olympics

Earlier this week, a possible boycott of the 2008 summer games opening ceremonies had been discussed due to the current situation in Tibet. See:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080320/ap_on_re_as/china_tibet

The citizens of Tibet are using this time to draw attention to their cause in the lead up to the summer games. Public relations is all about timing. The Olympics will bring thousands of reporters to China and Tibet is hoping for a little attention. But is boycotting the opening ceremonies the right move? I believe it is. First off, why in the world would the Olympics be awarded to China? Of all the beautiful countries in the world, all the historic cities, the committee picked Beijing, China.

There are so many other cities and countries that could benefit from the Olympics being held there. All the hotels, restaurants, everything. The Olympics bring in revenue, a large sum of revenue. All this revenue will be soon going to China. The irony is that, in turn, China will be using this on their increasing military budget.

Think how much a developing nation could benefit from the games. Giving the distinction of hosting the Olympics to China equates to Iran receiving the honor or North Korea or Cuba. China has been known to jail for political opposition, engage in Human Rights violations, and censor the media. This is not an open society and should not have been allowed to host the games.

The Olympics are the biggest stage in the World. China will use this opportunity to use the Olympics as a giant public relations event. They will try to show how great they are while rounding up reformers and hiding the bad. I urge more countries to come together and boycott the opening ceremonies. This non-violent protest will show China that their harsh rule will not be tolerated by nations around the world.