[image deleted]
Today, I am annoyed by all the talk of how awful it is that protesters are “ruining” the Olympics with all their stunts aimed at disrupting the Grand Olympic Torch Parade (or whatever they call it) and calling attention to oppression and human rights abuses in China, particularly (in light of recent events) in Tibet.
Oh, yes, of course we live in a democratic society and have freedom of speech – of course you have the right to protest… but must you spoil our torch ceremony? must you sour the Olympics for the thousands, nay millions, of complacent sports fans around the world who just want to watch some running and jumping and stuff? must you undermine, like, the whole Olympic movement by these divisive protests? what would happen if we protested every time the Olympic Games were to be held in a country accused of human rights abuses? every country in the world commits human rights abuses! can’t we all just get along?
Demonstrations and protests and strikes are just fine and dandy, they are a fundamental right in any democratic society, our values of freedom are what make Britain Great…
But only as long as they can easily and safely be ignored, only as long as they don’t cause any annoyance or inconvenience to those who don’t share your concerns, only as long as they are meaningless, pointless and ineffective. Heaven help you if you actually have any impact.
In other words – protesting is only OK if you don’t upset anybody.
In other words – mixing sport and politics is only OK if the host nation does it.
In other words – human rights abuses happen everywhere so just STFU about it, OK?
But it’s not just about whether these protesters have a point or not. I am just incoherent with exasperation at the selfish, short-sighted whingers who complain not particularly that the protesters are wrong in their aims, but that they shouldn’t be protesting at all. No matter how worthy their cause, it cannot justify ruining a (frankly, dumb) torch ceremony. What?!
In any case, personally, if I had the choice between cancelling the whole Olympic Games (never mind just the torch waving preliminaries) forever or stopping human rights abuses in China forever, I think it would be a no-brainer. I would make the trade, and then start to look round for a sporting jamboree that I could cancel to stop FGM.
With China, it’s not just about Tibet: it’s about forced abortion and sterilisation, it’s about massive public corruption, it’s about systemic injustice and lack of access to justice, it’s about censorship and fear and oppression, it’s about the death penalty practised both secretly and on a scale unknown in any other country in the world.
It’s not just about Tibet. But even if it were – large-scale human rights abuses? or a couple of weeks of sport? What level of disconnect does it take for a person to criticise those who protest the fact that China has been given, and is using, a huge PR opportunity whilst at the same time sticking two fingers up at the whole “Olympic values” movement of harmony between peoples? Must we promote harmony by ignoring China’s state-sponsored wrongdoing? Turn a blind eye and everyone will be happy? But isn’t that the whole point? Turn a blind eye to the abuses and the abuses will continue, they will escalate. Turning a blind eye, pretending everything is fine, letting China have its glorious Olympics – it may make us feel less uncomfortable, help us to avoid thinking about where we are and why – but that is, as sure as eggs are eggs, not what the Olympics is, or should be, all about.
And if we are still in Iraq in four years’ time – or still in Afghanistan – or mixed up in some fresh war – we can expect more of the same for London 2012. I hope.
8 April 2008 at 7:32 am
Do you know what also pisses me off about people who complain about protests or boycotts and say ‘they don’t work and just spoil things for other people’? It’s that they JUST DON’T GET THE POINT!!! Ok, so sometimes they don’t work…but are you now as unaware about the issues being protested/boycotted about as you were beforehand? For every one person who complains about it, there’s be one other person – maybe more – who will go and read up more about it and be made more aware of the issues. The more awareness there is, the more chance there is of getting stuff done.
Ok, sometimes they do spoil people’s fun but…why should the people who have strong feelings about an issue be made to accept it happening ‘in their name’? boycotters and protesters are saying out loud ‘I will not be a part of this because I completely and utterly disagree with it. I will not let my money fund unethical practices around the world and I will not sit back and pretend that the UK (or whatever country) is happy with having strong associations with countries that seriously abuse it’s citizens. NOT IN MY NAME!’.
So sorry if it spoils your fun…maybe you need to question where that fun is coming from and who is getting abused in the process because it’s happening in your name if you’re taking a part in it!
8 April 2008 at 7:33 am
ps. Will we see you on Wednesday at Tuffley? I hope so 🙂
8 April 2008 at 9:37 pm
Hey Clare you sound as grrr about this as me!
PS We won’t be there tomorrow as we’re off for a few days in Brighton. 🙂
9 April 2008 at 10:24 am
Great post, totally agree. For a country that spouts a lot of rhetoric about ‘freedom of speech’ and ‘democracy’ we don’t seem to tolerate in practice, especially when it disrupts big, shiny, events like the Olympics.