The Olympics are Political

What is it about worshipping Money that has lead us to this position? Since when have we been those who stand by and let crimes occur in fear of losing financial gain? In France, Ségolène Royal told the press that there was still time to reconsider a boycott, yet in Britain, the government was happier pleasing their pockets by making sure that innocent peaceful protesters were forced to remove t-shirts which said 'No torch in Tibet, China Stop the Killing and Talk to the Dalai Lama'. Peaceful protesters were forced behind metal barriers: pushed and shoved by police for no apparent reason. Brown has praised the police, stating that "This a democratic country, people in this country are free to express their opinions within the law". Is asking for China to agree to conform to international human rights now somehow against the law?

These protests should not be seen as violent actions to crush the Olympic spirit but the opposite. The Olympics were (re)founded on principles of global unity, sporting ethics and human rights. The fact that the International Olympic Committee has allowed for the Olympics in China to continue after the repressive actions taken by the Chinese government which have continued to defy the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a sign of the fallacy that is the Olympics and supposed ethical sport.

I fail to understand why Chinese individuals living in England and watching/reading about the atrocities in Tibet refuse to recognised the importance of Tibetan human rights (not even Tibetan independence). I understand the importance of celebrating nationalism, and I do not deny the Chinese the pride they felt as the torch filtered through the streets of London. What I condemn however, is that when Tibetans protested by China's betrayal of human rights, the Chinese flag wavers made it very clear that 'frankly Tibet, we don't give a damn'.

In a post-imperial world, how can we stand there and let minority groups continue to be oppressed in inhumane ways?