Boycott?

Every time I turn on the news now it seems that there is another story about the Olympics and protests along the Olympic torch run. Protests along the torch's path have occurred in several countries. With the latest turmoil in Tibet the human rights violations in China have come to the forefront. Now, more and more people are calling for a boycott of the Olympics being held in Beijing this summer.

I can understand both sides of the argument. Those who want to boycott the games cite China human rights violations in Tibet, sell of weapons in Sudan, buying oil from Sudan and backing of oppressive military forces in Burma. A boycott would send a strong message to China. But would it really work in the long run to force China to change? Probably not. We would be embarrassing a nation of a billion people and shame would not likely force the government to change. Plus we would be punishing our own athletes who have been working their whole lives to get to this point. Perhaps the American administration has taken the right stance by trying to use diplomacy to settle this issue.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/131751
http://www.newsweek.com/id/131761