Sadly, most of us get up every day thinking little of the freedom of choice, lifestyle and religion we enjoy in Canada, one of the most tolerant and multicultural countries in the world. It is a tragedy that few other nations enforce the level of tolerance that Canada stands by, and unfortunately there is little that we can do about it. In most cases, we can only hope that as the world becomes smaller and more modern that things will change for those citizens are less lucky then us. When I speak of these unlucky ones, I speak mainly of those that are born into a lifestyle that they cannot choose in countries that are not tolerant of said lifestyles. In Canada, I cannot conceive the difficulties somebody would face growing up gay, and this is in a nation where we are overwhelmingly approving of gay lifestyles. Imagine facing all of these difficulties while growing up in Russia, where it is illegal to publicly display homosexual activity. Fortunately for us, Canada has finally been given an opportunity where we can do more than hope that things get better.
I am endorsing that Canada should boycott the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The first argument against this would of course be, what possible difference could Canada, a relatively weak country militarily and not an economic power, make by abandoning a two week sporting event. It may be true that Canada does not have a strong military, or overwhelming economic influence, but if we are a world power in any way, it is in winter sports. A Winter Games without Canadian skiers, speed skaters, figure skaters, and most notably, hockey players, would not be a Winter Games at all. We are the reigning Gold Medal Champions of hockey and were number one at being number one last Games, there is no doubting that a Canadian boycott in Sochi would send a message, perhaps far greater then a boycott from any other nation.
Many others will argue that even if every nation were to boycott the Games, it would do little other than embarrass Russia for a couple months before they continue to discriminate gays, dissenters and other minorities. This may be true, but that hardly justifies providing two weeks of positive propaganda for the Putin regime that, after the Games, will be used to sweep negative practices under the carpet and away from public attention. If we go to the Games we send a message to the Russian people that discriminating gays is acceptable. If we don’t, we embarrass them and hopefully help them realize it is 2013, and banning homosexuality makes the entire nation seem medieval, cruel and petty. At the very least, we take a rare opportunity to stand by our beliefs beyond our own borders and show that Canada does not stand by intolerance and discrimination.
It is also worth stating that Canada is not a traditional enemy of Russia. An American boycott would be likely be portrayed by Russian leaders as further hypocrisy from a long time enemy with a superiority complex, a role Putin is giving America in the Syrian conflict. This adds value to a specifically Canadian boycott, especially if Canada is first to do so. We could not be labelled simply as followers of America if we do it first, and Putin would not have the fallback criticism he uses for America. It would force him to either answer for his discriminatory policies, or try to label Canada in a demeaning way such that Russian citizens do not take our boycott seriously. This would likely be a difficult task.
Furthermore, a message needs to be sent to the International Olympic Committee that it is time to stop choosing host countries that go against the values of freedom that IOC bigwigs so often preach. After choosing China for the 2008 Summer Games, a nation rife with corruption and human rights issues, they continued down a path of questionable choices by selecting Sochi. It is time for the IOC to realize that by providing authoritarian nations with the Olympics, they are simply giving tyrants a plethora of glittering positive propaganda they can use to fool their citizens that they are running the country fairly and freely. If we were to boycott these games, it would also cause a moment of pause for IOC members before they select nations with questionable human rights watches to host such a grand spectacle.
The naysayers may be correct. A boycott could have minimal effect except for the downside of all of us sports hungry Canadians missing out on two weeks of winter sports domination. However, what many of us fail to realize is this could be a critical time to define the Canadian identity. We have a history of standing up for our own citizens and treating them fairly and without discrimination. Without a strong military or a huge economy, our sanctions or threats mean little. Yet, we have a golden opportunity to show the world what being Canadian is all about by boycotting these games. It is time for Canada to stand up for what we know is right, because we finally have a chance to be players on the global stage, in a different, more important sense of the word.
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