Unhelpful

the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2008 Summer Olympics to Beijing.

US officials reacted with what can only be described as elation.

The Olympic Movement was created with specific goals in mind, and follows certain ideals: sportsmanship, camaraderie, and peace.

Where was the sportsmanship in persecuting people for their religion? Will Falung Gong practitioners be allowed to compete? Probably not, because most have either fled their country or been forced into a completely underground existence. Hell, how about Christians? China’s had a history of persecuting them, too.

Will camaraderie be extended to participants from Taiwan, or will they have to sit this one out for fear that they might be arrested for their political views? They would, after all, be Chinese citizens in China, according to Beijing’s paranoid dictate.

Will peace be the order of the day as festive banners, parades, and international athletes and spectators enjoy the sights and sounds of Beijing? Will anyone even stop to reflect when they travel over the very spot that a man stood unarmed in front of a line of tanks? Will they consider the irony of the so-called democratic nations’ unwillingness to support protesters who lined those very same streets bearing signs that read “Give me liberty, or give me death!” and “Democracy now!”?

And what will be the response of the US government? By that, I don’t mean those puppets in Washington DC, I refer to the people who pull the strings: business interests. The response will be the same response it’s been since the 1970s. They’ll talk about positive steps toward so-called ‘democracy’ in China with no sense of shame for their continual attempts to subvert democracy in the US. They’ll accuse anyone who questions the wisdom of letting China host the Olympics as being a member of the political fringe.

And they’ll talk about the Chinese market. The same Chinese market that they’ve been talking about for 30 years. This will be the ultimate direction of any discussion about China because quite frankly, anyone who tells you business interests have any use for a human rights discussion that impedes the flow of money is engaging in class warfare. Money is morality to them, and anyone who doesn’t agree is discarded as some sort of crazy-assed idealist.

So how do we get the IOC and the Chinese Olympic officials to embrace the realpolitik of modern Western thinking? Ditch the Olympic Torch relay race, and replace it with children of Falung Gong practitioners running as they burn alive. Lead the Opening Ceremonies parade with a phalanx of tanks covered with advertising logos from the hundreds of American companies who fled to China because of pesky work saftey, minimum wage and child labor regulations. Shoot anyone who comes in last in any event. Shoot anyone who doesn’t show proper respect to the tyranny of the Chinese government. Hell, shoot anyone who doesn’t clap loud enough. Let the streets run with blood - again. Hold a few hostages and then when you release them, send their countrys’ governments a bill for a million dollars. And whatever you do, don’t allow anyone to use this event as a platform to discuss human rights…

…because these days, human rights are only for the people who can afford them. And bichon frise.

Congratulations, Beijing!

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