http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/11/17/foes-russia-anti-gay-law/3618657/
Do you think that western companies and major stakeholders should protest the olympics taking place in Russia? Why or why not? Remember to build and do additional research for an A
I believe that western companies and stakeholders should not protest the Olympics due to the lack of gay rights. These companies and stakeholders may voice their displeasure with the situation, but I think it is much too far to boycott the Olympics. With further research, I found that the Olympics have only been cancelled for World Wars. While I believe the lack of gay rights is an important issue, I don’t believe it is important enough to potentially cancel the Olympics. With the lack of companies and stakeholders, there would be very little funding for the Olympics. That means the Olympics would potentially be cancelled. I don’t believe that the Olympics should be a place for people to attack political beliefs. While we might not agree with their beliefs, I think we should leave this disagreement for a different time. There is a better place and time to attack Russia on this situation. The Olympics have such rich history and tradition that it would be extremely unfortunate to jeopardize them because of this disagreement. The Olympics are not something that should be messed with to try to prove a point.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Alex, but for distinct reasons. I believe if the businesses do try to harass the Russian government based on the anti-gay laws, they could be hurt economically in Russia. Although I do not have any negative attitude toward gay or lesbian people, I do not believe it is anyone’s place to tell the Russian government what to do except for the citizens of Russia itself. The country chose its laws and thereby acknowledges its ability to be independent. Imagine if the situation was reversed, that gays and lesbians were allowed in Olympics held in the United States, but companies opted out of it simply because other people believed that allowing same-sex marriage or love is improper or incorrect. It is not logical to try and impose outside ideas onto a country anyway. It could hurt relations between Russia and even other countries. According to CBS News (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57576249/), only 53% of Americans support same-sex marriage anyway. Why should a country that is not even completely sure about the issue be expected to support such a gigantic movement, especially on its own? I am not sure I understand the ideology behind the attempts to stop the Olympics. There may be no viable problem with homosexuality, but if everybody in the world always agreed then there would never be more than one perspective. Also, if so many other attempts failed, what ambition is required to believe you can prevent the largest physical events in the whole world?
ReplyDelete-Andrew Winter
I do not believe that western companies and major stakeholders should protest the Olympics for the reason that holding these “protest events” would just be a huge dent in the protester wallet. The Olympics are a huge part of our history. It is a time where the entire world comes together in one place to compete and celebrate our accomplishments. Protestors would just put a damper on everyone’s day. This is not near any reason to “cancel” this amazing historical event. Alex could not have said it better as he quotes, “The Olympics have such rich history and tradition that it would be extremely unfortunate to jeopardize them because of this disagreement.” Why should we argue gay and lesbian rights at a celebratory time in our lives - save the discussion for another time. I don’t believe this topic should be pushed aside forever, I do think that at a more appropriate time should our countries come to discuss their regulations on gay marriage. International Business Times writes, “Russia will promote social inclusion without discrimination of any kind.” (http://www.ibtimes.com/russia-moves-against-anti-gay-discrimination-2014-sochi-winter-olympics-1405888) Even though Russia attempts to compromise with the gay and lesbian Olympic athletes, these Olympic athletes will more than likely feel targeted. It’s just like saying, “You can sit at our lunch table, but you’re not allowed to talk.” You’re allowed to be here but you can’t fully engage yourself.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you Kelly. I think that this topic shouldn't be pushed aside forever, although showing extreme gay pride support would make a statement at the Olympics, it is not an appropriate time. Disturbing peace between athletes, coaches, speakers, game watchers, officials, and countries is not good.
DeleteAlthough, boycotting the Olympics for gay rights would be a major event in history, I do not think it would be a wise decision. The Olympics are a very important part of history that everyone around the world participates in and enjoys. Boycotting the Olympics could potentially cause havoc between countries beliefs and laws. I do not think the United States should just sit back and do nothing on the other hand. Advertisements are a huge part of the Olympics and large companies like Visa, McDonald's, and Coca Cola could find small ways to incorporate gay rights without shoving it down people's throats. Not only that, but if we over publicize this event this will violate Russian laws and cause fees upon these major companies in the United States. More importantly than major fees to these companies, this is putting peoples lives in danger. According to PolicyMic, these gay right protests have made gay people targets for violent attacks (http://www.policymic.com/articles/58649/russia-s-anti-gay-law-spelled-out-in-plain-english0). Knowing this, I think we should find another way to show our gay pride support that won't make them subject to such abuse.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that it is a good decision to boycott the Olympics for several reasons. Although I am a very strong supporter of gay rights, we must take other factors into consideration. Most importantly, as Alex stated, without the funding from companies and stakeholders, there is a very good chance that the Olympics could potentially be cancelled. The Olympics being cancelled affects everyone. According to a TIME Magazine article called 'How is the Olympic Host City Chosen?', the host city is announced 8 years in advance. Russia has been preparing for these games for a whole 8 years. More importantly, athletes have been preparing. Some athletes train their entire lives just for a shot at even participating in the Olympics, much less winning a medal. It would be entirely unfair to punish these athletes because of political protest. Another factor to take into consideration is that we can't forget that we chose Russia as the city to host. The International Olympic Committee votes on the city, which I also learned from the TIME Magazine article. Russia has never been a country that has supported gay rights, so we can't exactly say we were blind sided by this. Although civil rights are an extremely important current issue, we can't throw away the Olympics. If these protests continue, there is a very good chance the games will be cancelled and that is not the solution to the problem at hand.
ReplyDeletehttp://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1927402,00.html
-Anna Smith
I don't believe the Russian "non-traditional propaganda law" is a good reason to boycott or cancel the Olympics. While the law is offensive to many and opposes free speech, the Russian's position on non-traditional lifestyles in their country was well understood when they were selected to host the Olympics. Participants of every country, race, religion, gender preference, etc should be given the opportunity to compete without prejudice (and they are). The Olympics in Russia will allow for anyone to show their pride (whether gay, lesbian, bisexual, straight, etc.) by winning in their chosen event. Many in the world will know, regardless of the ban on propaganda in Russia.
ReplyDeleteI believe that if I was the owner of a major stakeholder in the Olympics, I would not protest the Olympics due to their laws against gay rights. As stated many times in other comments, I agree that gays and lesbians should be treated equally, and that that is how it should be in America. I don't, however, believe that American opinions should affect the laws of Russia. If this is the Russian law, than that is how it is in Russia, and it will be like that until the government of Russia changes the law. The laws in Russia should be affected by the people of Russia, but not the people of America. During the Track and Field World Championships this summer, which were held in Moscow, Russia, two Swedish athletes attempted to make a statement by painting their nails the color of the rainbow. This was a small statement, but did not go unnoticed by those who were following this event. This caused a response from a female Russian pole-vaulter, Yelena Isinbayeva, who is considered by many to be the best of all time. She responded by saying: "It's disrespectful to our country, disrespectful to our citizens because we are Russians. Maybe we are different than European people and people from different lands. We have our law which everyone has to respect. When we go to different countries, we try to follow their rules. We are not trying to set our rules over there. We are just trying to be respectful. (deadspin)" I feel that this quote really connects to the point that Andrew made about how Americans would feel if other countries came to the Olympics in America and tried arguing that we should not allow gay rights in our country. We should treat Russia with the same respect and not penalize them for the laws of their country.
ReplyDelete(http://deadspin.com/the-olympic-protests-against-russias-anti-gay-laws-hav-1149306900)
I personally find Russia's actions towards homosexuals to be terrible and unfair. I believe that everyone should have equal human rights, and this ban on same-sex propaganda is not right. However, I do not imagine the Olympics would be canceled over this. As Alex said the only time the Olympics had been cancelled was during times of war. I do not believe that American's would support the decision to boycott the Olympics, and from the article and outside reasearch I question how much the Human Rights campaign have managed to do in Russia. The article says, ""These boycotts and protests have not made any gains for the Russian LGBT community and won't in the future," said Nikolai Alexeyev, a pioneer of Russia's gay-pride movement. "I believe that a lot of people in the West have been doing PR for themselves using Russian issues."
ReplyDeleteHe suggested that Western governments ban entry to any Russian politician involved in passing the anti-gay law." As Alexeyev says in this, the campaigns have had little effect, and a in order to have a real affect, the U.S. government should take a political stand in protest. This will not happen the way The U.S. is today. I discovered from outside research that there are currently 16 out of the 50 states that allow gay marriage. There are political leaders in our government that do not support gay rights, and there are many people in this country that have anti-gay attitudes. I think these campaign organizations need to focus on making a large change in our own country before they focus on another country. Also I think with the mindsets of many Americans, a boycott of the Olympics would be very controversial. I was interested to find a statement on the matter from President Obama. I was wondering what his standpoint would be on the matter of a Boycott of the Olympics. Also, I am not sure that the Russian people support gay rights, in the article "Russia’s “Anti-Gay” Law Reveals US Media Misinformation and Hyperbole" from the PanAm Post, it states, "This law received 436-0 support in the Russian Duma and reportedly has an 88 percent approval rating among the public, according to the Russian Public Opinion Research Center." This pole in Russia may be skewed by the government, however I do think that this result says something about the Russian people, who are not ready to take a human rights stand. Although I strongly disagree with the law in Russia, and i fully support gay-rights, I believe that boycotting the Olympics would lead to larger problems between relations with the U.S. and Russia.
I do not believe that major businesses like McDonald's and Coca Cola should protest the Olympics because of the lac of gay rights and tolerance. The Olympics are a part of human tradition and history, and have been played every 4 years ever since Ancient Greece played the games in honor of the gods. Just because it's illegal to be gay and lesbian in Russia, it doesn't mean that we, as people, should cancel the Olympic Games. "There's no room for discrimination under the Golden Arches," states McDonald's. "We support the IOC's belief that sport is a human right and the Olympic Games should be open to all, free of discrimination." McDonalds states a great point. The homosexual populous shouldn't be discriminated from participating in the Olympic Games or attending them. Homosexual shouldn't be discriminated because of the stereotype they behold. Wade Davis, a former American Football player who played for the Tennessee Titans, Seattle Seahawks, and Washington Red Skins had won the ninth World Bowl Championship. Wade Davis was one of the many homosexual athletes in the world to accomplish something big. Just because someone is gay it doesn't mean that they aren't as good as someone who is straight. Take Neil Patrick Harris for example. Neil is a homosexual actor who plays the character Barney Stinson in the TV show, How I Met Your Mother. Neil's character is a straight male who very sexually involved with women. Neil plays the role of Barney flawlessly, if he hadn't come out and told everyone that he was gay, he could pass off as being a straight male from how well he can play being straight. This goes to show that gay and lesbian people shouldn't be discriminated based off of stereotypes, and in some occasions they may be better at something things than those of the straight populous.
ReplyDelete-Keeley Beamer
I completely agree all the replies to this article - western companies certainly should not boycott the Olympics. As Lauren argued, I too agree that boycotting the Olympics would be counterproductive. Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights is correct in saying that there is “…necessity of taking a long view, and not be distracted by the lack of a quick fix”. Impulsive decisions to boycott the Olympics would accomplish little, and could very easily backfire. Throughout history, boycotts involving issues in other countries have surmounted to a whole lot of nothing. As stated by Joe Schlesinger, a journalist for CBC news, “Countries have boycotted the games for all sorts of reasons. But what is probably most remarkable is the futility of these boycotts”. He goes on to give examples of many unproductive boycotts against foreign issues. In 1980, the Moscow Olympics were boycotted because of the Soviet invasion of Afganistan. This only resulted in Russia protesting the 1984 Olympics in LA and the glory of winning the Olympics being stripped away from those who did not boycott. The Soviet Union did eventually withdraw from Afganistan, but not because of the boycott. It was because the U.S. had been spending billion to arm the Afghan mujahedin (Schlesinger). Clearly, finding a long -term solution, such as the one demonstrated by the U.S., is significantly more productive the boycotting the Olympic Games. The Games were set up to peacefully unite conflicting nations, and they should continue to do so. No, western nations certainly should not remain silent about the terrible discrimination occurring in Russia, but if change is to happen, a well-thought out, long-term plan-of-action needs to be set in place - not a boycott that could only do more harm than good.
ReplyDeleteWoops forgot the website... http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/don-t-boycott-russia-s-olympics-joe-schlesinger-1.1401839
DeleteI believe that the western companies and major stakeholders should not protest the Olympics taking place in Russia due to gay rights. I agree with the people who have previously posted in that gay rights are a very important issue, and everyone should be treated equally. As Alex and Lauren stated, the only time the Olympics have been canceled was during times of war and although this is a serious issue I don't see them canceling it. It is a hard question to answer because if the United States did boycott the Olympics it would make our stance very clear and would definitely cause talk throughout other countries. However, people have worked extremely hard to get to the Olympics and I can see where these people would be very against the idea of canceling the Olympics. I also agree with Alex when he stated that the Olympics do not seem like an ideal time to be arguing over political beliefs. I also agree with Kelly when she said that this topic should not be put aside forever and after the Olympics, our country should re-approach the issue with other countries. The way Russia is discriminating against these people, in my opinion, is absolutely horrific, yet, I don't see the people in charge making any changes on account of the United States, or us leaving solely for this reason. In doing outside research, I found that the law in Russia for foreign citizens using propaganda to expose the topic of gay rights to younger citizens has a very extreme punishment. “Foreign citizens or stateless persons engaging in propaganda are subject to a fine of 4,000 to 5,000 rubles, or they can be deported from the Russian Federation and/or serve 15 days in jail. If a foreigner uses the media or the internet to engage in propaganda, the fines increase to 50,000-100,000 rubles or a 15-day detention with subsequent deportation from Russia.” This is why, although I believe discrimination is a horrible thing, and the United States should supports equal rights, the Olympics is not the place to be arguing about it and that going into another country we do not have the right to go against their laws.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.policymic.com/articles/58649/russia-s-anti-gay-law-spelled-out-in-plain-english
Shelby Desmarais
Words are just words; if you do not take action then your words mean nothing. All throughout school you’re taught that being a bystander of bullying is just as bad as the actual bully. Coca-Cola, Panasonic, Visa, the stockholders, they are all just bystanders. By not protesting Russia and the “Anti-Gay Games” they are just as bad as the discriminative Russian government. The companies and stockholders should withdraw their support of the Olympic games until change happens. Most of the companies expressed that they do not condone or tolerate discrimination of any kind, well that’s great that you guys don’t like. How about instead of worrying about how much money you are going to make you do something that matters; donating to the Human rights groups, send direct messages to the Russian government. "You can't support gays and lesbians in one country, then stay silent on the issues in the places where gays and lesbians need vocal, powerful allies the most," said Andre Banks. Banks is 100% right with her statement, what if instead of not allowing gays there were slaves? Would this still be happening? Kelly and Alex both talked about preserving the history of the Olympic Games and how “just put a damper on everyone’s day.” Well that’s oh so very sad that some peoples days will be dampened because they didn't get to watch a sports game, there are more prevalent and important issues than that. People are being denied the right to love who they love, and you are worried about dampening people’s day? Maybe the Olympic Games are postponed, or worst comes to worst they are cancelled. Well that’s not a loss it’s a victory, its a punch in the face to all the discriminative governments and countries. We will not tolerate discrimination and human rights violations, people’s rights are much more important than a few games that have been happening for the last 120 years. Just because you might have to sacrifice some of your precious enjoyment of the Olympic Games doesn’t mean we give up or take the easy way out, Like Fred Sainz said “There’s no easy way”.
ReplyDeleteDon’t Give Up, stop the Anti-Gay Games!
-Alex Waldron
I agree that Western shareholders should not interfere with the Olympics in Russia. I feel Alex put it best about the Olympics not being the place to discuss politics. The Olympics is a celebration of humanity and is a time for all the countries to come together through competition. There will be no show of segregation against gays at the event, and there is no reason for it to be focused on at all as the Olympics has nothing to do with the legal system of any given country.
ReplyDeleteEven if we were to rise against Russian discrimination against homosexuals, it would ultimately have no positive repercussions. Russians are not a people who compromise in the face of adversity. Historically speaking, what with Stalin's Ukrainian genocide and the war against government-denouncing journalism, Russia is a place where any opposition is disposed of. They are a proud country, and will not take rejection lightly. Putin has already banned all protests at the Sochi Olympics. He wants to be in control, but the US, and all other foreign countries for that matter, are out of his jurisdiction. He is not a man to be tested.
The US would be going against its own principles in boycotting the Olympics on the grounds of moral disagreement, as America stands for freedom of opinion over all else. What message would it send about us if we were to reject an event literally in the spotlight of the whole world solely because we disagree?
The US is currently the most powerful country in the world, but we do not, nor have we ever had the power to dictate how another country is run. Relations with Russia will be muddled up, it will solve nothing and as with most boycotts in recent history, it will punish the wrong people. The athletes who have trained, the coaches who have trained them, those who have put their money and time into the games will all suffer for our show of moral supremacy. No good can come of a boycott, no matter how morally right it may be.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/news/20130808/u-s-olympic-boycott-sochi/
Should an event as large and significant as the Winter Olympics be hosted by a country that is known for their severe discrimination against those who are gay? Although there are anti-gay activists groups throughout the world, Russia has recently received criticism internationally for their laws that ban the distribution of “propaganda or non-traditional sexual relations to minors. As written about within the Washington Post article, “Russia anti-gay law casts a shadow over Sochi’s 2014 Olympics” by Kathy Lally, a 17-year-old discussed his life as a guy resident of Sochi Russia. The boy had to drop out of school at the beginning of the year due to someone hacking his social media account. The boy’s life was filled with terror and he was constantly taunted. He recalled kids walking to his classroom door saying, “Can we see the gay guy?” He visited the school psychologist and she simply asked him if it was possible for him to change his sexual outlook. I do not feel that a country who has publicly made it clear that they do not support gays should be allowed to host such an event. With such a mentality, it is only fair to assume that there are many citizens who strongly agree with their government. And what would happen if these individuals targeted specific gay athletes in the upcoming Olympics ? Western companies and major stakeholders need to think of the risks that the athletes will be taking when they compete, and they should support their bravery by protesting.
ReplyDeletehttp://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-09-29/world/42510859_1_sochi-russia-anti-gay-law-olympic-boycott
-Erin Woods
The controversial topic of the conflicts between LGBTs and the Russian government is something that I feel fairly conflicted with. I completely agree with Alex when he said “The Olympics have such rich history and tradition that it would be extremely unfortunate to jeopardize them because of this disagreement.”, like Kelly stated previously. I also agree with what Lauren said about how I don’t agree with the Russian standpoint on gay marriage, but boycotting the Olympics isn’t the right way to go about it. On the other side of the spectrum, I feel like Alex presents a good point and relating this to bullying. Erin also brings up a good point about how the Olympics are held in a country with poor civil rights. I think that the one thing that people are forgetting is that the support most of us show for homosexuals is not a popular opinion worldwide. The Olympics are a worldwide event and the cancellation of the Olympics won’t just effect Russia and the US, but athletes around the world who have trained their entire lives for this and might not get a chance to go. Causing the games to be cancelled over these civil rights disputes may only fuel the fire of hatrid towards the LGBT community. People could blame them for the cancellation of the games and use that as an excuse to act violent. The Olympics are a time for peace between all nations and for everyone to come together and rally around their country, not a political debate. I believe the best way to show our displeasure for Russia’s recent anti-gay law is to boycott events or brands just relate between the US and Russia. It is unfair to hinder the other countries based on our one opinion of Russia. I read an article recently about how Selena Gomez was unable to obtain a visa to travel into Russia, thus preventing her from going on tour there, due to her support of gay rights. To show our displeasure of Russia’s law, the LGBT activist groups should encourage stars to speak out against the law and refuse to travel there. This will hopefully create the displeasure these activists wanted within the country and cause a social change.
ReplyDeleteI believe that western companies such as McDonalds, Coca Cola and Visa and major stakeholders should not protest the Olympics taking place in Russia. I think that the whole idea behind Russia's discrimination against gay's is absolutely terrible. If people that have been practicing their whole life to be in the Olympics cannot be in it in the long run, then that is unfair. The Human Rights campaign should continue "urging the corporations to call for repeal of the Russian law". I agree with Alex when he says that it is too much to boycott the Olympics. Although there are disagreements, the Olympics is huge all over the world and boycotting it would affect a lot of people. In a Time Article called 'Gay Rights Group Protests Sochi Olympics, Russian Law at USOC in New York City' one female named Kelly Clark said something that I believe is really true, and I agree with her. She wrote "I hope moving forward that that is what we take away from these Olympics, that it remains something that unites us, not something that divides us.” The Olympics creates unity and the Russian law is causing a little bit of separation in the world. I have the same opinion with Lauren, Alex and Shelby when she stated that the Olympics was cancelled during war but is not being cancelled for this gay-rights issue.Hopefully the Olympics will still continue and not be boycotted, and create a social change.
ReplyDelete(Article I researched below) http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/10/29/gay-rights-group-protests-sochi-olympics-russian-law-at-usoc-event-in-new-york-city/#ixzz2lPz8j0kp
-Jolynn Catanuso
I am a strong believer in gay rights and the freedom for one to love whoever they choose. I think that the Russian view on gays is awful and unreasonable, but I do not believe that the western companies and major stakeholders should protest the Olympics in Russia due to gay rights. I completely agree with Eli on the fact that gays and lesbians should be treated equally. But it is not our place to force our beliefs onto Russia who may think otherwise. If the law in Russia doesn’t allow gays, it is up to their people and government to make change, not ours. Boycotting the Olympics for gay rights would be a huge event in history affecting many. As Anna found in outside research, we chose Russia as the city host, who has never allowed gay rights. The choice of Russia being the host, was voted by the International Olympic Committee. If this would be such a problem, we should not have chosen Russia. Boycott would affect many, and I feel there is a more appropriate time for protest. We may not be in agreement on the laws, but we need to respect their laws, just as we would expect from them while in our country. Civil rights is a very important, but taking away the Olympics because of an issue pertaining to the laws of Russia, doesn’t seem fair to all other nations and athletes who come to participate in this world wide event. The Olympics are meant to bring everyone together, not create this divide. -Callie Anderson
ReplyDeleteI believe that the western companies that are sponsoring this year's olympics should certainly show their displeasure with Russia's values, but boycotting the Games in its entirety would be too much. The Olympic Winter Games are a place to celebrate all of our world's best athletes, not to be in a constant of waiting for another protest or riot to break out. Despite the popularity this event has acquired, it seems that the group of people who are in charge of choosing the location of the Olympics have solidified their decision. As the popular late night comedian Stephan Colbert mentioned in his latest Sport Report, "Russia’s Olympics are endangered by homosexuals who insist on existing during them". Russia's attempt to squash the gay community under their steel toed-boot heels in time for the games will find a lot of resistance, but hopefully not enough to shut the whole event down, one that has been going on once every 4 years since its pause during World War II, and resume in 1948. This issue is one to be handled with consideration and care, through the sponsor's support and harmless protests outside the games' perimeter. If not handled this way, it could create, like Jolynn mentioned, a social change, potentially altering the future of the Winter Olympic Games.
ReplyDelete-Sydney Bertrand
http://americablog.com/2013/11/russias-olympics-endangered-homosexuals-insist-existing-colbert.html
Western Companies have the right to protest the Olympics in Russia. If anyone, Western Companies would have to stand up for theirs beliefs in any hope of finding human rights for everyone. Because the Olympics are a Worldwide event, it’s only fair that the country holding the event not discriminate against Gays because other countries see them as equals, as they should. Some may not think such an issue as such a large issue or significant enough to protest, as I respectfully disagree with Alex’s view on the issue, no matter what, anyone has the right to protest. The Olympics are not going to get cancelled, but maybe the Western companies can influence the Russians view of Gay rights. If no one stands up for what they believe in, nothing will happen. “You can’t support gays and lesbians in one country, then stay silent on the issues in the places where gays and lesbians need vocal, powerful allies the most” said by Andre Banks. Not just to earn acceptance for the people in your own country that are merely participating in the Olympics, but think about the gays who live in Russia everyday where being gay is “not allowed.” I was reading through other articles to better understand what being gay in Russia was like. I can came across one boys story where he was treated unbelievably, “At school I was assaulted on daily basis. Many students I knew stopped coming to school after being violently attacked several times a day.” Western Companies have a right to protest the Olympics, because people, like this young boy, are treated like dirt.
ReplyDelete