I have always enjoyed watching the Olympics. I don't have a TV so, this year I only get to watch segments of the Olympics on the Internet (which is fine, I don't particularly feel like spending my days watching TV). I get excited about popular sports like gymnastics and swimming just as much as the next person and wonder about the greater implications of all the money and energy that gets spent on these athletes and sports in general. I'm usually inspired by the hard work and dedication that all the athletes demonstrate at the Olymipcs and get excited with the competition.
There are a lot of conversations going on about the Olympics this year. Sitting on the metro I've overheard numbers of people asking "Did you see the opening ceremony? It was incredible!" and the other day I watched a woman going on a rant about boycotting the Olympics and Chinese products because of their human rights abuses. So confusing. The truth is that I have several Chinese friends who I love very much and going to China is on my list of things I would very much like to do. The controversy is real and has its validity but that does not mean that the Chinese people themselves ought to be demonized.
Now, this video is sort of random except that Joey Cheek came onto my radar screen about two years ago and I remember being really curious about his perspective on Darfur, China and other things. This is the story, I actually sent him an e-mail asking him some questions and believe it or not Joey wrote me back! We actually exchanged a few e-mails. It was really cool. So, I have to admit that I think Joey's a great guy and I was sad to hear that China didn't let him go see the Olympics this year. (If you are thinking about this stuff, maybe you should read this article at Orion Magazine.)
There are a lot of conversations going on about the Olympics this year. Sitting on the metro I've overheard numbers of people asking "Did you see the opening ceremony? It was incredible!" and the other day I watched a woman going on a rant about boycotting the Olympics and Chinese products because of their human rights abuses. So confusing. The truth is that I have several Chinese friends who I love very much and going to China is on my list of things I would very much like to do. The controversy is real and has its validity but that does not mean that the Chinese people themselves ought to be demonized.
Now, this video is sort of random except that Joey Cheek came onto my radar screen about two years ago and I remember being really curious about his perspective on Darfur, China and other things. This is the story, I actually sent him an e-mail asking him some questions and believe it or not Joey wrote me back! We actually exchanged a few e-mails. It was really cool. So, I have to admit that I think Joey's a great guy and I was sad to hear that China didn't let him go see the Olympics this year. (If you are thinking about this stuff, maybe you should read this article at Orion Magazine.)
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