(the dalai lama held a press conference, today, sunday, in dharamsala, india, to discuss the recent tibetan protests in lhasa and subsequent injuries and deaths resulting from the chinese government crackdown.)
i am not an intelligent woman.
and no, this isn't a case of self-deprecation or my masochistic nature talking, either.
i am not an intelligent woman.
so, will someone please be kind enough to explain to me just exactly WHY we're having the olympics in china?
i don't get it. i mean, the chinese government is one of the most violent and oppressive regimes the world has ever known. right? or am i confusing them with my native costa rica. you know, they both start with "c".
china's communist government stands against EVERYTHING that the olympics are supposed to represent, so why they fuck are we even there? why were they even allowed to throw their name into the hat?
for the last god-only-knows how long, the chinese have had the dubious distinction of being one of the top 10 human rights violators on america's report on human rights. this year, they were taken off the list despite the fact that their record remains "poor", which is legalese for still really fucking atrocious.
and THIS is who we want hosting the olympics?
wow.
as i was listening to NPR this past week, i heard some morons talking about how china was "not as bad" as some other countries; that the former soviet union, for example, hosted the olympics once too . . .
are you shitting me? "not as bad" . . . "the ussr did it too" . . . where did they find their arguments? hmm? "convenient arguments weekly"?
i feel like i am in the fucking twilight zone.
when did it become ok to sell our souls for so little? at least dr. faustus got power and knowledge for his. but what did we get in exchange? cheaper toys? lead poisoning?
this is the same type of shit that went down with saudi arabia just late last year, when they were going to execute a woman who'd been raped and the international community said nothing . . . though everyone did stir up quite a ruckus when that one british teacher in sudan was going to receive 40 lashings for allowing her kids to name a teddy "muhammad".
and why say nothing about saudi arabia?
oil.
i'd really hate to speculate as to the real reason that america dropped china from this year's top 10 list . . .
we cannot have our proverbial cake and eat it too, people. how can we chastise some countries for egregious human rights violations and then, in essence, condone others . . . nay, REWARD them?!?!
on friday, his holiness, the dalai lama issued this statement:
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"I am deeply concerned over the situation that has been developing in Tibet following peaceful protests in many parts of Tibet, including Lhasa, in recent days. These protests are a manifestation of the deep-rooted resentment of the Tibetan people under the present governance.
As I have always said, unity and stability under brute force is at best a temporary solution. It is unrealistic to expect unity and stability under such a rule and would therefore not be conducive to finding a peaceful and lasting solution.
I therefore appeal to the Chinese leadership to stop using force and address the long-simmering resentment of the Tibetan people through dialogue with the Tibetan people. I also urge my fellow Tibetans not to resort to violence."
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according to the new york times, protesters were not as peaceful as the dalai lama's statement might suggest, but not everyone has the patience of an enlightened being like the dalai lama.
i don't, at all, agree with violent protest. but, what are we to expect from years and years and years of oppression? what did the chinese government think was going to happen?
the situation in tibet is akin to a pressure cooker and the violence seen this past week is a way of releasing some of the tension there. alas, i'm afraid that the lid has yet to come off . . .
i, for one, will not be tuning in to this year's olympic games.
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