If there's a favorite sport I have it would be the Summer and Winter Olympics. I probably enjoy it just as much as the other half enjoys every other sport on the face of this earth.
But lately I've been feeling reluctant to watch any of the events this year, especially the opening ceremony on August 8th. Something I use to look forward to watching. Boycotting the Olympics has nothing to do with it. If anyone feels compelled to do so...more power to them.
I grapple at the thought of wanting to watch our American athletes as well as other countries compete in this worldwide sportsfest. I find the abuse by the Chinese government and their treatment of their citizens very disturbing. Their treatment and conditions of construction workers who erect these elaborate Olympic sites. And the citizens who are evicted from their homes, to be torn down to make way for the Olympics. Not to mention torment throughout the generations.
But lately I've been feeling reluctant to watch any of the events this year, especially the opening ceremony on August 8th. Something I use to look forward to watching. Boycotting the Olympics has nothing to do with it. If anyone feels compelled to do so...more power to them.
I grapple at the thought of wanting to watch our American athletes as well as other countries compete in this worldwide sportsfest. I find the abuse by the Chinese government and their treatment of their citizens very disturbing. Their treatment and conditions of construction workers who erect these elaborate Olympic sites. And the citizens who are evicted from their homes, to be torn down to make way for the Olympics. Not to mention torment throughout the generations.
The Chinese security is cracking down on their nightlife and being dubbed the 2008 Olympics as the "no-fun" games by some.
Michael Payne is the International Olympic Committee’s head of marketing for the two decades to 2004.
“The biggest challenge they have to face now is ensuring that the security doesn’t suffocate the festival,” Mr Payne said. “The Olympics are only special if there is a festival outside the venues.”
...Tom Pattinson, editor of English language entertainment listings magazine Time Out Beijing, said the prospects for Games-time nightlife looked “very dull”.
...“All those athletes who want to let their hair down and get drunk for the first time in four years are going to have a hard time doing it,” he said.
Oh and according to the Ministry of Culture, the Chinese will not allow any entertainers who they feel will be a threat to their nation's sovereignty.
They also call for barring performers who promote ethnic hatred or "advocate obscenity or feudalism and superstition."
Well....there goes any metal group, folk, rock n' roll, hip-hop, rap or just about any group on the Western Continent. Perhaps the Los Angeles Philharmonic might do.
But in the same breath, I do love our American athletes and the Olympic events. I'm going to miss 41 yr old Dara Torres and Michael Phelps. I'll miss watching the track and field event. Or rowing. Beach volleyball, diving or gymnastics. Heck, I would even watch synchronized swimming just to get a good chuckle.
And that's my dilemma. I love the Olympic games and the pomp and circumstance of winning Gold. I just don't know if I would feel comfortable knowing what the Chinese citizens are going through behind closed doors.
Oh well. GO USA!
.
No comments:
Post a Comment