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China Pall

Today I got an email from a grassroots political group who, I believe, got my email address when I signed a petition in Central Square three years ago. They send me a weekly summary of their leftist position on a current issue, followed by an impassioned plea for immediate action!!! I’m tired of clicking the checkbox to delete their missive every week, so I opened the email in search of “unsubscribe” instructions. The email explained their desire to orchestrate a wholesale boycott of the Beijing Olympics in protest of China’s human rights record, especially their treatment of the Tibetan monks. China… Olympics… Tibet… hot issues these days, I know, and the complexity prevents me from forming a truly educated opinion around the matter. But, when I break it down in my own head:

Was it a mistake to allow China to host the Olympics in the first place? Yes. Do the Olympics “legitimize” an oppressive Chinese government with an appalling human-rights record? Yes. Should America boycott the Olympics, the opening ceremony of the Olympics, and support the taunting of the torch relay team?

No. These actions would fail to fundamentally affect China or makes any headway for Tibetan freedom. At the very least, it makes China more headstrong. At the very worst, it calls America’s own human rights abuses into question. We execute mentally retarded people, we stick 1 percent of our adult population in prison, and we have committed an atrocity in our bungling the Iraq War. Yet if China talked of boycotting our Olympics, we would laugh our asses off.

You know what would really hurt China is if America stopped buying stuff that was “Made in China.” Where’s that boycott? Is it just easier to say “Oh, we’ll boycott the Olympics, but we’ll continue to support China by purchasing apparel, electronics, auto parts, toys, decorations, food, and the endless array of useless crap that they produce?” If someone could organize a realistic boycott of Chinese-made goods that would not preclude me from buying nearly every modern-day necessity… now that’s an e-newsletter I’d stay subscribed to.

Posted in In the News.

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