Blind Prophecy

While I’m waiting for my laundry to get clean, I thought I’d share a thought that’s been rumbling around in my head for a few days.

I’m going to miss the Olympics.

I mean that in the sense that I’m going to be genuinely disappointed that I’m not watching them when I clearly have both the time and the ability to tune in to the only sporting event that really interests me much.

When I was in grade school, I had dreams of growing up to be an Olympic diver. I even wrote a story about it. Too bad I never mastered basic swimming techniques and got fat in junior high. I can stay afloat and I’m not going to drown if thrown into a lake, but I’m far from fish-like.

I’ve been watching the excitement build over the last several days as athletes in often-ignored sports finally become recognized names for a few weeks, but I’ve been feeling more and more certain that I had to stand by my principles and personally boycott the Olympics. Several reasons, of course.

First off, I’m unconvinced by the recent dog-and-pony show out of China that any significant progress has really been made in ending human rights abuses. Unlike many of the websites I looked to for research, this isn’t fueled by anti-Communist paranoia, I don’t object to Communism as a form of government in and of itself. But I’m concerned about this authoritarian form of government. Amnesty International has a pretty good grasp on the issues here.

Second, China’s record on queer issues is pretty two-faced. Although they have decriminalized sodomy and opinion polls are showing a greater cultural acceptance of LGBT people, the authoritarian government still acts out in remarkably heterosexist ways. In ramping up the Olympics, for example, gay social and cruising spots have been hit by increased raids and crackdowns.

Third, the reappearance of gender testing at this year’s Olympics is pretty disturbing. Despite a history of errors in testing (largely because of previously undiagnosed intersex conditions) and the criticism of experts, this practice which seemed on it’s way out the door with the Olympics in Sydney has shown its ugly head once again.

I’ve always tried to be consistent in my politics and personal life, and I feel it would be hypocritical of me to engage in Olympic fever this time around. I could try and rationalize it away with “I’m only supporting the US athletes” or something like that, but I’d see through my rationalizations and know I’m really cheating myself.

So wave a flag in support of your country for me. I won’t be watching. Not even those hunky divers… or the swimmers… or men’s gymnastics… or beach volleyball… or wrestling… ::sob::

Filed under: news, politics by Jere Keys