The 2008 Olympics are about to start, and there has been a lot of fuss from human rights groups about the world supporting the Chinese government financially and in every other respect, considering their shady human rights history, including the occupation of Tibet. They’ve even gone as far as to criticize the athletes who are participating in the games for not boycotting.

I’m really not sure how I feel about this, but I do think there a couple important things to consider:

1. There are plenty of other governments who participate in the Olympics, and who the U.S.calls “friends” with the same human rights track record.
2. Olympic athletes are non-professionals who have dedicated their lives to representing our country in these events. They have no control over the location of the games, and asking them to throw away years of hard work because of a decision they have no control over seems kind of unreasonable.

Don’t get me wrong, I think the Chinese government needs to get its act together…but I just don’t think boycotting the Olympics is the way to get it done. Considering how little is done to address the issue seriously any other time, a boycott of the Olympic Games seems almost hypocritical.

Tags: China, Human Rights, Olympics

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