Cav's Place

So far I didn’t comment about this (there was one post, but it concerned a very specific issue), but with the opening day of the Olympic Games quickly approaching and even more things happening, I have to say something. I have a bad feeling about this, it feels like a second Berlin 1936 in the making and I don’t like the implications of that at all.

To get one thing out of the way, I don’t support a boycott in the sense of not sending teams there. That would accomplish far less than being there and actually doing something about the issue, even if that means taking risks. After all, if you get disqualified for saying or doing something it would be the same as not participating in the first place, but at least the message would be louder and clearer. On the other hand, while I didn’t fully make up my mind when it comes to high officials boycotting the opening ceremony, I think I’m mostly in favor of that.
What I’m saying is that participants who care for this world to go in any direction other than downwards, or simply support human rights, should go there and make use any and all available opportunities to make a stand. I know any sort of statements have been forbidden, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make one anyway if you’re willing to suffer the consequences. If enough do so then the consequences might not be that bad after all, plus that there might be ways to make a stand without them being able to come up with a solid case against you. It’s strange how this decision to ban all statements came supposedly as a measure to avoid mixing politics with sports when it’s been taken for purely political reasons, isn’t it?

The most obvious concern when it comes to China is Tibet. I have said before that I think there’s something sacred about that place, something that should be preserved and treasured, as much as I usually hate tradition. So I do support the Free Tibet movement, especially since we’re talking about a relatively recent military occupation. I still don’t quite understand how you can attack Tibet in the first place, it’s like storming a village church with a full SWAT team during a sermon!
Though it’s not something I think about often since I have other priorities when it comes to activism of any kind, when you hear about violence in a place like that or patriotism tests, something inside you stirs into motion. Or at least something inside me does… I don’t know how much of it is a genuine desire to help, how much is anger at what’s being done there (including less visible abuses or how the situation affects others who have nothing to do with it) and how much is fear that it’d be done to the rest of the world as well soon enough, unless we stop it now.

But it doesn’t stop there. China has a poor environmental record and insists on making it worse, doesn’t care about freedom of information or expression (their methods of Internet censorship being absolutely frightening, for me at least) and the concept of human rights in general doesn’t have much meaning there either. None of that is a surprise for a Communist state, but what worries me is that the other countries are too worried about their own interests (and even their own security) to treat China like they treat the other Communist states left in the world.
There was a time when I thought China was somewhat different from the other Communist countries. I was little and had to base my judgment on the information I had at the time, which for some reason was along those lines. Then I got older, learned more and realized it’s not different at all, just bigger and stronger and therefore able to scare the rest of the world into not doing anything about it. Russia and China (and occasionally the United States, but their approach is different): The bullies of the modern world at the highest level. How long will we keep putting up with it?
Yes, I’m talking about doing something about a country that represents 1.3 billion people who have been “bred” to function like clockwork and be loyal to the death (thankfully it doesn’t work on all, but unfortunately it works on enough of them) and an economy the world needs like air, but I’m sure there are ways. Might not be pretty for a little while, but good things often require sacrifices.

As for the Olympic Games, part of me wants to think those who awarded this honor to Beijing have simply been naive enough to think it would change things for the better, but the more rational part (and I always listen to reason, except when it comes to love) says they did it to ensure China of their esteem, exchanging continued economic benefits for the Western world for turning a blind eye towards their domestic abuses. That’s something that makes China different from the other world bullies, they seem mostly content with abusing their own instead of trying to control everyone else as well, but that only seems to make the rest invite them to have some influence over them.
Either way, it seems the Olympics are being used as a means to settle some other old scores (I think “went answered” should be “went unanswered” there) and not as an opportunity to improve their record. Of course, they try to make things appear better, but most of that is propaganda and most of the rest are only localized and temporary measures that are mainly for the benefit of the visitors, an elaborate play if you will. I keep saying that whenever you make the mistake of thinking people are not that bad they strive to prove you wrong, don’t I?
I guess I just have to hope it won’t really be a second Berlin 1936, referring to how it’ll end up being used by the host country’s government and what will happen shortly afterwards… That will at least give us time to worry about the other things after the Olympics are over.

Of course there are far, far more things I could have mentioned, but I think this is quite enough, plus that anybody who’s in any way interested likely already knows what I’m talking about and the rest won’t care either way, as it is with everything. I wonder if this site will end up being censored in China after this post though, would be interesting to know.