Enough with the Sochi Boycott Crap

[haruhiko]

(I posted this recently elsewhere and I'm bringing it here.)It really frustrates me that liberals outside Russia are still debating the merits of an Olympics boycott when LGBT activists/people in Russia have said that THEY DON’T WANT A BOYCOTT (or, if they do, what they want is want a POLITICAL boycott of Putin by world leaders at the Games but not

Comments

[doe_witch]

Amen. I mean, I fully admit that I'm always in an awkward position re: the Olympics because goddamn if I don't love watching at least half of all Olympic sports- I need to figure out how I can watch and morally support the athletes without effectively paying money to NBC whenever there is a fucked up location chosen for the Olympics to happen that year. (Which seems to be... constantly?) But like, if there were a properly coordinated boycott from the US team, or being impressed upon the US team, I would honor that boycott however I could, including if that meant not watching anything. Unless... you know... it would be STUPID to hold a boycott, which is what's going on re: Sochi. Since queer/trans people in Russia don't want a boycott, it's only logical to honor that- and honestly I think it's way better to be having publicly queer athletes/delegates participate in the events, so that they are visible and not silenced. (See also: why I hate Day of Silence.) I'm so down with this Billie Jean King, Brian Boitano, etc. stuff going on

[haruhiko]

I haven't had a "plumbed in" TV for gosh, six years so I'm effectively in a default boycott because I watch everything via livestreaming or Youtube vids after the fact. XD HOWEVER I totally feel you re. the Lolympics, particularly for the Summer Games as there's a lot of sports I love watching. Tennis, gymnastics, swimming, diving, etc. I all love. Winter games are easier for me to boycott mainly because I am really just there for the figure skating and I haven't been as interested without Alexei Yagudin and Michelle Kwan, omfg how I miss them so. Y_Y There seriously is hard to find a not-fucked-up location for the games, like Rio in 2016 is a relatively okay choice I suppose because despite some of the horrific income inequality/racism/etc. happening there, there is also a big leftist swelling (as it were) going on down there and steps being taken to address it. But anyway yeah the BJK/Boitano/etc. delegation is the perfect response imo