Friday, August 15, 2008

Olympic Boycott

The US boycotted Moscow 1980 (due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan for those of you too young to remember), and the Soviet Union boycotted Los Angeles 1984 to return the favor.

This year, I'm conducting my own personal boycott of Beijing 2008, because I simply don't give a damn about it.

OK, its more than that. I'm more than disinterested - I'm overtly hostile to the whole idea of athletics as an expression of nationalism. Personally, I don't care if the US, China or Zimbabwe win gold medal for creative and artistic tumbling, lifting heavy objects or water sports. And as a member of an increasingly obese society, I'd prefer that people engaged in athletic pursuits as a personal activity rather as passive observers.

Then, there's the whole matter of commercialism. How much is this all costing? How much is being spent on telecommunications, merchandise, advertising, sponsorships, etc, etc? Couldn't we find a better way to spend our money that one more form of entertainment?

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