Whats up with me?
To Boycott or not to Boycott......thoughts???
Tue, April 22, 2008 - 12:29 PM
Tue, April 22, 2008 - 12:29 PM -
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Tue, April 22, 2008 - 1:01 PM
I think it is ludicrous. We have closer issues to throw our attention at (war in Iraq, potential for war in Iran, oil trading at $118/barrel today, sub prime lenders paying themselves 8-digit bonuses, oil companies posting record profits, etc.). So what do we do? We throw our attention at bitching about a country that doesn’t give a flip about what we do or say and won’t change a fucking thing for protestors. Meanwhile we make sure to buy fresh batteries for our cell phones (made in China), buy cheap clothes at Mervyn’s and Kmart (made in China), sip lattes out of paper cups (made in China) and talk about how hip, aware and cool we are. The US exported 65.2 billion dollars worth of products to China in 2007. Okay, cool…that’s a lot of money. The US *imported* $321,500,000,000 worth of crap from China in 2007. That means we actually gave them 256.3 billion dollars more business than they gave us.
Between 2005 and 2007 there were increases in imports from China in most sectors, the following being the most obvious (percentages are the increases over the past two years): Electronics: 18.2% Toys and Games: 25.1% Apparel: 20.7% Iron and Steel: 12.6% Leather and Travel goods (a*hem, BURNERS): 5.8% The United States is China’s top trade partner with a 15% gain between 2006 and 2007. The next closest trade partner (Japan) did $66,000,000,000 less trade than we did. Just that deficit is in excess of our entire exportation to China in 2007. You want to boycott China? Stop buying their crap. They will notice within six months. They’re used to hearing us bitch; we’ve been bitching for years. They’ll even ask why we're not throwing so much of our money at them. Boycott companies that use materials made in China. But don’t boycott the athletes that have trained their entire lives for likely their one chance to compete in an Olympic event. That’s not boycotting China; that’s boycotting people that show character, dedication, commitment, drive, and competitive intuitions. |
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Tue, April 22, 2008 - 2:08 PM
Interesting. I'm wondering exactly what boycotting the Olympics would entail. I suppose it could involve:
* Refusing to attend; * Refusing to watch Olympic programming (and accompanying ads from sponsors) from overseas; * Refusing to buy products or services from sponsors of the Olympics, including Coca Cola, Johnson & Johnson, Kodak, McDonalds and Visa. In my opinion, refusing to attend the Beijing Olympics or purchase products or services from its sponsors could ALSO send the message that we do not support the Chinese government's human rights violations. To wit, it's an extension of what Pi advocates we do. I disagree that a boycott of the Olympics, on any level, would be analogous to a boycott of the participating atheletes. That's akin to the backlash against anti-war demonstrators, who are called "anti-patriotic" (joke) and also wrongly condemned for being "against the troops" fighting in the war. This year's atheletes didn't have a say in where the Olympics are being held, any more than US troops had a say in whether, and how long, to stay in Iraq. |
