EDITORIAL
Protesting the Olympics
by David Ward
The summer of 2008 will provide the world with another look into the special of athletic prowess and agility in the Beijing Olympic Games.
In recent weeks, many have watched the tour of the official Olympic torch make its way through Europe and the United States, yet the road has not been as smoothly paved.
Many across the globe have taken advantage of the press garnered by China's hosting of the games to protest what many see as gross human rights violations against the people of Tibet and the Dalai Lama exile.
According to the web site savetibet.org, in 1949 the Chinese Communist state and the People's Liberation Army entered Tibetan land and have increased their militaristic and economic pressures for their own benefit.
These pressures have lead the leader of the Buddhist religion, His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, into exile. Buddhism remains the leading religion for Tibetans, yet have faced severe subjugation by the Chinese government to reject their deeply traditional religious ceremonies.
While there have been several attempts at revolution and hundreds of protests since the Chinese have garnered a close-fisted control of the state, the Tibetan people still remain in peril of losing their culture to the ways of economic and political prosperity.
Coupling this with the widespread belief that Chinese officials kidnapped the Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, at the age of 6.
The duties of the Panchen Lama are to search the globe for the next incarnation of the Dalai Lama. He will be hard pressed to do so under Chinese arrest. The Chinese government attests that the Panchen Lama is save and with his family, but will not release his location.
These issues briefly touch upon the topic of the cause for outrage among many who have been following the plight of the Tibetan people and why these protests of the Chinese-hosted Olympics.
Where the problem lies is in a bandwagon approach that many have taken towards the Olympics this year and the subsequent protests.
From persons whom I have interacted with I have found two problems with their form of protest in which they are taking to provide support for Tibet. One is they are choosing not to watch the Olympics; and the second is they lack a true grasp of the situation in which they are protesting.
While not watching the Olympics may be looked upon by social circles an individual interacts with and may provide a sense of accomplishment, it only will add to lower viewer ship numbers which have been steadily dropping since the 1992 games in France.
If not watching the Olympics is a new form of protest, then I have been protesting the Olympics sporadically since I was 8 years old.
Similar protests have evolved in an age where information availability has increased in our technological age, bringing about "Buy Nothing Day," occurring in 2007 and "Don't Buy Gas" chain letters.
The advertising dollars spent on the event may see a spike, but the Olympics will still be watched all over the world, and a drop in ratings for a guest event in China will not persuade government officials to change their policies towards the Tibetan people.
Second, many people who have spoken out in dissent over the issue do not truly grasp the situation and have a group think mentality and wish to be involved.
Getting Richard Gere to speak out against the atrocities is good publicity for the Save Tibet cause, but he is also well informed on the situation and getting celebrities to back humanistic causes has never been to hard a feet.
But if your average man about town decides it is their obligation to protest something they feel no true remorse for, they serve as empty petitioners for a cause they know little about.
If you do wish to learn more about the situation, the web site mentioned above is a great starting point for research and provides external links to other information concerning the Tibetan people.
Take note of what you decide to stand behind, not being able to hold your ground in a heated debate may prove that the inner activist is more willing to watch the games rather than express true empathy.