LGBT News Brian Burke: "Russia should not be awarded another international competition"

Good! We need more famous people sounding off against these 'laws' that the Russian government has put into place.

 

I agree. They're not acting very humanely.

 

I agree. Boycott the Russians!!!

 

then why didn't we boycott eurovision azerbaijan 2012?

while i'm against russia's anti-gay laws (obviously), i think it's extreme to suggest they should never be allowed to host a major international event. there are so many more countries that persecute and discriminate against certain sects of society, um hello - syria is a bloody mess!

russia doesn't like to cooperate, we should force them too cooperate rather than exclude them like we've always done.

(if we are to boycott the games, then it should be a full boycott (unlikely), otherwise i think we should shove rainbows and love in their faces)) :newcolor:

 

If you read the article closely, Burke said they shouldn't be allowed to host international events as long as these kinds of laws are on the books. I'm sure he feels the same way about other countries whose laws fly in the face of basic human rights, and I can't imagine a country like Syria or Iran hosting a major international competition as long as they continue to oppress people. And Burke did say that athletes and representatives alike should show solidarity with Russia's LGBTQ community, so you at least agree on that.

I've personally made the decision to take a pass on the Olympics this year, which sucks because I'm a big fan of winter sports, especially hockey, but I feel that watching the events would, in a weird way, be condoning the laws.

 

I suspect that even if it's not done explicitly, going forward, any international sports bodies considering locations for competitions will be thinking twice about Russia. For that matter, I think that awards shows, trade conventions and businesses looking to invest will be doing the same.

 

they say this after every competition awarded to russia. That country has a long history of human rights violations.

 

I agree they should not in the future, but then areas in the US that also discriminate should not be able to either. Ultimately, it's only about a dozen sparsely populated countries that don't have oppressive laws toward lgbt.

 

I do not disagree. However, I think this time they may have gone too far. Countries and even regions within countries prosper or fail in large part based on how they treat minorities. It is no accident that some of the most expensive real estate in the US (and elsewhere) is located in cities that are "gay-friendly" or that some of the poorest countries in the world are those in which gays are persecuted and subject to discrimination (or worse).

 

Any nation that purports to believe in human rights should absolutely boycott these Olympic Games. I've been endorsing a boycott of all Olympic Sponsors, accompanied by an email or letter to inform them that until they convince the IOC to withdraw, they will lose business.
Nothing delivers a message like economic impact!

To see a list of their "Top Sponsors" go to:
Olympic Sponsorship - The Olympic Partner (TOP) Programme

---------- Post added 25th Aug 2013 at 10:29 PM ----------

From the IOC's Charter:
Fundamental Principles of Olympism:

6. Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.

How can the IOC continue to support bringing the Olympic Games to a country that actively and aggressively violates such a basic tenet?

 

I confess, I am a bit ambivalent about the idea of entire national teams boycotting the games. Like yourself, I am old enough to remember the rather weak impact boycotts had on the 1980 and 1984 games. However, I am an enthusiastic supporter of EVERY other measure being suggested. I particularly like the ideas of sponsors being shamed, ATTENDEES boycotting the games and of rainbow EVERYTHING being worn, carried and displayed by the athletes during the games. In my dreams, during the games, no camera shot will be possible without getting a rainbow in it somewhere; gay and straight alike will wear it with pride. However, I suspect that this issue simply doesn't resonate with many of the athletes and some probably AGREE with Russia's oppressive laws.

 

In some way though, it's punishing the civilians for the idiotic choices of the government, which seems highly unfair...

 

The overwhelming majority of Russians agree with the new laws (a Gallup poll said it was about 85%), and if asked to vote, I'm sure they'd choose even harsher ones. Even the death penalty for gays wouldn't surprise me coming from them. People like blaming the government for everything, but governments (save for those of totalitarian states) usually avoid doing stuff that could cause major backslash from the general population. In this case, the Russian government is giving Russians what they want. This law would've never passed had Russians not been such a homophobic people.

 

Here you go twink, I'll start you off with a camera shot of Rainbow Putin.



Just call me, "Dream-maker".