The modern Olympics are usually a time for celebration (or at least they should be). The Olympics not only symbolize human excellence, their motto, “Faster, Higher, Stronger!” suggests that the games encompass the human spirit and de facto, human rights. But in the past few decades this world wide sporting event has been more about money and has lost its main purpose to bring people together through sport.
There are several examples throughout the history of the modern Olympics that highlight the loss of their mission but since I do not have enough time for due diligence, I will concentrate on the 2008 Beijing Olympics (summer) and the upcoming 2014 Olympics (winter) to be held in Sochi Russia.
China does not have a stellar record for human rights. Most of us have seen the video or iconic photo of the student protestor standing up to a tank in Tiananmen Square (1989). You can see clearly from that one scene that their government is more about sacrificing a few for the good of the many. Whether that is ethical or not is a whole other issue but on the world stage, it is considered to be highly unethical. That theme was present for the construction and during the Beijing Summer Olympics. From allegedly shutting down factories and forcing people out of work to make sure the air was breathable, to detaining people who legally applied for protesting permits (allegedly) to name a few. However, though these (and probably other) incidents were clear violations of human rights, as far as I know, no one was beaten or killed because they were born a certain way. I am well aware of China’s past (and present) actions towards Tibet etc. but those actions were not random acts of violence however questionable.
Leading up to the 2008 Olympics there were calls to boycott the games but without any new or fresh stories pertaining human rights violations, those voices were not supported by the world population. So basically the IOC (International Olympic Committee) systematically tossed out what it stood for and opened their coffers.
Now, leading up to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi Russia, there have been many documented and ongoing human rights violations against the LGBTQ community (as reported by The Huffington Post). These violations are not only committed by lynch mobs in the streets who kidnap, torture and forcibly “out” their victim on YouTube, these violations are also being committed by the government and police officers (allegedly). All this is happening while the world sits back and watches – just like they did in 1936 leading up to the Olympics in Germany. Did we not learn our lesson then? Are the lives of LGBTQ persons not as important as others? I would bet my hat that if this was happening to Jewish Russians more people would be outraged. Barack Obama and the Prime Minister of the UK (whoever he is….. I am joking) David Cameron, would not have dismissed a call to boycott the Olympics so hastily.
So what do we have to do to make them take notice or actually do something about it. We need to hit them where it hurts….money – sponsorship. There are many companies that we deal with on a daily basis that are sponsoring the Winter Olympics in Sochi. We need to let them know that their participation in these hate-filled games will not go unnoticed by their customers. We have the power!
I have already written many of them explaining my concerns and how I feel about their support for next year’s Olympics and if you are concerned you should too. What is most effective is using simple language that does not attack or threaten. Emails like that are usually tossed out and not taken seriously. Just introduce yourself, say your piece and then politely conclude the email.
I am going to list some of the main companies that you can write to:
Coca-Cola http://www.cocacola.ca/contactust.html
GE http://www.ge.com/ca/en/contact/index.html
Omega https://ccm.omegawatches.com/en/
Proctor & Gamble http://www.pg.com/en_US/contact_us/index.shtml
Samsung
McDonalds
VISA [email protected]
Kellogg’s http://www.kelloggs.ca/en_CA/contact-us.html
Nike http://help-all.nike.com/app/answers/detail/article/contact/lang_local/en_ca/a_id/2352
Canadian Olympic Committee http://olympic.ca/contact-us-2/
The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Game official site: http://www.sochi2014.com/en/
The opinions in this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the LGBTQ Youth Centre or its’ board members.