General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWe are 7 months away from having an Olympics in the closest thing to 1936 Berlin we can find
in 2014 Europe. Gays, even gay foreigners, face jail for any public support of, or display of, homosexuality. Gay citizens face vigilante action designed to terrify and humiliate them. Russia refuses to permit adoptions by not only gay couples, but by any single or couple from any country which permits gays to adopt. It is hard to call gays citizens of Russia in any meaningful way. It is likely too late to remove the Olympics from Russia though maybe Turin can step up to host the games and keep them in Europe. If not, we are stuck. The games won't be boycotted, but Russian government officials should be. Russia should become the new South Africa. No investment, no government dealings, and a travel warning to all US citizens. For the Olympics, we can hope a gay athlete somehow wins an event which would embarrass the homophobic Russians. Otherwise, I think gays are just going to have to do their best to ignore the Olympics.
GeorgeGist
(25,321 posts)then neither will I.
Eddie Haskell
(1,628 posts)Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)A last minute change of venue would be fantastic. Not very likely but NBC would love it if they could get out of this Russian corner they are in.
Their coverage, if Russian games go forward, will be unmerciful and shed constant light on the facts about Russia's treatment of gay people. Stopping the games is not possible and perhaps not advisable, but letting NBC know that you want to see truck loads of contextual reporting on the horrific state of human rights in Russia should become a daily activity.
RudynJack
(1,044 posts)I don't expect NBC to give more than a minute of coverage to the human rights situation in Russia. I expect the regular fluff pieces about what an interesting and unusual place Sochi is.
I wish the athletes would choose to boycott the ceremonies. Go there, play, get out.
dsc
(52,162 posts)though given their lack of coverage of Mitchum when he won the medal in Beijing. That said, I am sure they would love to see a move to Turin, which put on a great winter olympics in 2006.
CK_John
(10,005 posts)The games that compare to 1936 were the Beijing games, with propaganda right out of "triumph of the Will." Of course, Brazil will come close, as the rich in that country want so much to be first world, and are ready to pave over the favelas and anyone else to do it.
mitchtv
(17,718 posts)designed to humiliate the Russian Govt., and grab headlines invite Tilda.
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)Shattering, by his glorious triumphs, the notion of Aryan superiority. Let us hope that some openly gay athletes can likewise triumph in Moscow!
dsc
(52,162 posts)and sadly we have no one well placed to get a medal. I think our best hope would be for the hockey team to name a gay person as its manager.
Scurrilous
(38,687 posts)ThoughtCriminal
(14,047 posts)Utah.