Damn right. I frequently say that people invoking âGodwinâs Lawâ will one day give rise to another murderous fascist government. We are so sure that nothing happening today is comparable to or on the way to becoming Nazi Germany. So glad that someone like Stephen Fry, who seems to actually be able to get away with the comparison, is raising the issue.
Using Godwinâs Law to end a discussion really only applies when a direct comparison to Hitler or the Holocaust is inappropriate instead of the entire point of the conversation at hand.
Iâm so glad this comparison is getting traction. Iâve been saying it for some time. I understand why people keep focusing on the safety of the athletes, but even if the Olympics go off without a hitch that still leaves 4 million to 14 million LGBT Russian citizens after the games are over that are in great danger of being beaten and killed. We would be wise to remember the 1936 Berlin Olympics were followed by the 1938 Krystallnacht. Then there is the real question of athlete safety. We have numerous examples of video showing police and military officials beating LGBT citizens over the last few months, and these are the same police and military that are going to be primarily responsible for protecting the athletes. The IOC clearly doesnât care about endorsing repressive regimes or policies, but do they not see that they are putting athletes in a situation that stands to be much more dangerous than Munich in 1972?
Isnât the IOC irresistibly attracted by the seductive scent of evil and money (with musky undertones of ruthless state force)? Their behavior to date certainly doesnât suggest an organization with a better nature to appeal toâŚ
This puts President Obama over a barrel. Boycott because gay-bashing? But that ignores the festering evil that is Snowden. Boycott because Snowden? But then people might think Obama isnât really a progressive Democrat. Decisions, decisions!
A problem that the internet has already solved:
Boycott because reasons.
nope NOPE NOPE
NO TOOTHBRUSH MOUSTACHE
DOESNâT COUNT
Does anyone even really watch the Olympics anymore? Between the massive time differences, the contrived âpersonal interestâ stories, the edited and distilled competitions, I just donât get why there is so much hoopla about it.
Iâm all for pushing the IOC to move it, but my concern would be Russia would FREAK OUT. Seriously, wars have been started over less.
We could just boycott watching it, pressure the corporate sponsors and hope for the best.
Why has Russia become so freaky in the last couple of years? Putin? I just donât understand it.
I have long accepted that the IOC is a criminal cartel of migrating parasites, sucking blood and spreading corruption wherever they set foot. But unless people actively boycott the games and in particular the gamesâ sponsors in substantive numbers as consumers, not a damn thing will change about this.
Suppose everyone in agreement with Mr. Fry wrote a personal letter to McDonaldâs, Coca-Cola, Samsung et al., informing them we will avoid their products as a result of their decision to support an event legitimizing a proto-fascist government?
MissRepresentationâs â#NotBuyingItâ Twitter hashtag has done wonders for moving retailers to get rid of sexist products. Maybe something similar for the Olympic sponsors?
Maybe Iâve missed something. Isnât it totally legal to shoot these bigots on sight?
Iâm not advocating violence, god-knows all these LGBT people need is to turn the other cheek a little further but Iâm sure I heard it mentioned that you are allowed to collect a purse of âno more than the scalps of 20 small or 15 large-bodied, violent homophobesâ.
They are officially considered a type of fish, so donât count them as meat if you are on that kind of a diet.
So many sauces and cooking techniques. Youâll never get bored!
I wish I could remember the source of the quote that Iâm about to paraphrase badly.
The rallying cry âNever Againâ has been gradually defined down to mean
Never again, will we tolerate a holocaust
⌠by the Nazi party
⌠against the Jews
⌠in the 1930s/1940s
Russia today is not Germany in 1936, just as Anthrax is not Malaria. For one thing, though their terrorism is encouraged by the state, these homophobe terrorists are not organized, uniformed paramilitaries⌠this is âcentrist extremismâ⌠I donât know where that comes from, the church? The military service? An authoritarian state, or a weak state that just does not bother to protect minorities? I have no clue.
Also, http://farm.vtc.vn/media/vtcnews/2011/08/16/Putin_5.jpg
I would boycott the Russian Olympics over the homophobia, if I wasnât already boycotting the Olympics in general based on just hating them for many years. But to those for whom this is the deciding factor, I support and salute you!
The UK has been murdering foreigners in racist wars of aggression for the last 10 years, but Stephen Fry has the high road because the Russians are homophobes? Spare me. I say contributing to wars of conquest which kill millions is much more Nazi-like.
Depends on whoâs broadcasting it. NBCâs coverage has always been shitty. In Canada itâs back on CBC again. At least they tend to show events live throughout the day and then do highlights in the evening (depending on time zone differences).
Youâve never heard of compartmentalization?
The anti-semites and fascists of Nazi Germany werenât always âorganized, uniformed paramilitariesâ either. They turned into them pretty quickly though once the state failed to do anything about the angry unruly mobs they started out as. Thatâs the thing. If these kinds of attacks are not stopped, they will become more frequent and better organized. Russia is one step away from having state-sponsored brute squads that will punish anyone even suspected of being homosexual.
Iâm starting to think the people there like being slaves to demagogues and orthodox dogmas. From Ivan the Terrible to Stalin to Putin. I sometimes wonder if Russians fear themselves more than anything else.
I doubt it will happenâŚitâs to soon to change. However the IOC listens to one thing. MONEY.
A boycott, or pressure on the corporate sponsors would be more effective for pressing the IOC to choose better locations for their games.
As in that the host country should follow the HR policies of sponsors or no sponsorship for you as it would indirectly violate the sponsorâs policies.
SoâŚget the sponsors to pull outâas theyâre probably violating their own HR policies on discrimination; which would be in their contracts (if it was well written).
