Though the 1980 Summer Olympics carried on as usual, the athletes of the United States were across an ocean, watching it on TV. Now over 30 years later, the Russian government has only expanded its record of human rights abuses, the idea of U.S. boycotting the 2014 games was foolish, and by sending our athletes to the events in Sochi, we have not aided the Putin administration, but rather strengthened the ties of the international community and carried on a tradition of athletic cooperation.
While the sports news has been dedicated to the Olympics, the lack of bluster has allowed news sources to concentrate on more serious issues and protests, instead of a hollow U.S. boycott that would likely have accomplished nothing. In 1980, the U.S. boycotted the Olympics and stood by as more than 30 world records were set. The lack of American participation had little to no effect on the Soviet Union and only served to isolate the U.S.
If we had attempted to boycott the games this year, the end result would have been similar to 1980 — this time with little or no support from other countries. In 1980, 65 countries, including the U.S., turned down their invitations to the games and opted for non-participation. Those 64 other countries are unlikely to repeat their past mistake.
Harvey Fierstein of The New York Times writing about Russian anti-gay laws, remarked, “I point with dread to the Holocaust and world war. There is a price for tolerating intolerance.” His argument isn’t logical. Boycotting the Olympics has never changed laws in the host country. It has never led to a change in government. A boycott serves no purpose, and to have boycotted the games would have been a mistake.
Instead, high-level politicians from both the U.S. and Europe have chosen not to attend the Olympics. The Olympics are not a venue for state-wide politicking. They never have been, and they likely never will be. Instead, the U.S. has used them to highlight the differences between America and Russia, to make small yet clear and forceful snubs against Russia and to make our position on their policies clear. As the world watched Sochi, the extent of Russian human rights abuses became all the more clear. When the whole world is watching a nation for two weeks straight, the light tends to touch on most everything. Russia has repeatedly demonstrated they are unwilling to change policy in face of international disagreement.
The idea that Russia would repeal a law or change anything in the law because of a boycott is ludicrous. But the United States has still sent a clear message, and the failings of the Russian government have been put on display for the world to see. This is possibly the best way to protest at the Olympics.
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