This Isn't Just an Olympics Controversy

When it was decided that this week we would be writing about the controversy surrounding the Sochi Olympics, one of my initial thoughts was hesitation.  I definitely won’t be the first to post this week, I thought.  I’ll let someone else go first to test the waters.  This is a serious topic and I don’t want to throw my opinion out there without some indication of what direction the other posts are going to go in. 

But wait.  Isn’t that part of the problem? 

When was the last time a human rights issue was resolved by people who didn’t speak their minds and let it be known that they believed in what was right?  I’m not sure of the exact statistics, but my rough estimate would be NEVER.  Problems don’t go away just because we’re afraid to talk about them.  It’s hard to think that one person voicing their opinion makes any difference (because it probably doesn’t), but one voice turns into two and two turn into many. 

But I digress.

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Feel free to skip to the next set of asterisks if you are already educated about the situation in Russia.

Let us begin with some informative facts about Russia’s anti “gay propaganda” laws (so that you can’t say you “don’t know enough about it to comment”):

LAWS & REGULATIONS

• Russian officials rejected the application for an LGBT Pride House in the Olympic village
• At a federal level, Russia has banned “gay propaganda”, specifically targeted at minors (this can include, and is not limited to: kissing a person of the same sex in public, displaying a rainbow flag, publicly acknowledging a non-heterosexual identity)
• Same-sex marriages and civil unions are not allowed in Russia
• Pride celebrations are not allowed in Moscow (the capital city) for the next 100 years
• Gay or pro-gay foreigners can be detained for up to two weeks before being made to leave Russia
• Same-sex couples cannot adopt children in Russia
• Single persons from any country which recognizes same-sex marriage cannot adopt Russian children 

• Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993
• Transsexual people have been able to legally change their gender in Russia since 1997
• Homosexuality was declassified as a mental illness in Russia in 1999
• Since 2008, men who have had sex with men can legally donate blood in Russia
• Openly gay individuals may serve in the Russian military (but are strongly advised to hide their sexuality)

KIDNAPPINGS & ABUSE

• Neo-Nazi hate groups, as well as individual citizens, frequently take advantage of the vagueness surrounding the definition of “gay propaganda” as a justification of their actions
• These hate groups are known for luring gay individuals (primarily young men) from online to meet, where they are abducted by as many as a dozen men, they have been known to:
• Beat them
• Strip them naked
• Tie them up or otherwise restrain them
• Shave their heads
• Paint rainbows, and Stars of David for Jewish individuals, on their bodies
• Force them to drink urine
• “Interrogate” them about their “crimes”
• These kidnappings are often filmed and subsequently posted online (If you see any such videos, please think before sharing them via social media or other means.  It’s important to raise awareness, but if the victims’ faces are not obscured, you’re contributing to the problem.)
• Almost 1500 such incidents have taken place in the last 18 months
• Russia’s government has not investigated these hate crimes, despite video and photographic evidence and the perpetrators openly admitting to them
• Russia’s government is now defending such hate groups, denying these kidnappings ever happened (despite evidence to the contrary)

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Okay.  So does this mean that we should boycott the Olympics?  (It wouldn’t be the first time.)  Although, I am no fan of the Olympics even in a good year, I do recognize the time and dedication put in by athletes all over the world as they train for what can be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  It’s wouldn’t be fair to our athletes not to give them a chance to compete on the international stage.  But is an athlete’s chance at Olympic victory more important than a Russian’s personal safety and freedom of expression?  Definitely NOT. 

Why are the Olympics being held in Sochi?  Why weren’t the Olympics moved to another city?  (Again, it wouldn’t be the first time.)  By keeping the games in Sochi, the International Olympic Committee is choosing to support a city with blatant disregard for human rights.  And human rights aside for a moment, it’s not exactly as though Sochi was prepared to host the Olympics anyway (as any Google search of ‘sochi hotels’ can verify).  It seems to me that a boycott of the Sochi Olympics is ABSOLUTELY something that should have happened in the months leading up to the games, but because the IOC decided to keep the Olympics where they are, it appears as though a lot of people have taken an apathetic view: I can’t do anything about it now, so I might as well support my nation’s athletes.  I get that, I do.  Our athletes have worked hard for this, and their achievements are a source of national pride.  However, athletes, fans, journalists, and other people from all over the world are in Sochi right now spending their money there and boosting the Russian economy.  (And don’t even get me started on Olympic sponsors.)  Would you really want to give your money to a government that looks the other way at abuse and human rights violations?

What REALLY annoys me though is how many people view this is a problem surrounding the Olympics - period, done, end of story.  That’s not the case.  This is still going to be an issue.  Both the IOC and FIFA (in regards to the 2018 World Cup to be held in Russia) investigated how the new Russian laws would be enforced during their events.  But these are laws that will be still be enforced long after the international community has cleared out of Sochi.  The Olympics are shedding light on the issue, and raising global awareness, but I’m afraid that once the games are over, that the light will quickly fade.  WE CAN’T SWEEP THIS UNDER THE RUG.

Jazmin

AN INTERESTING TIDBIT I COULDN’T FIND ROOM FOR

The American Kennel Club wrote to the organizers of the 2016 World Dog Show to move the event out of Russia, arguing, "our dogs love us unconditionally” and "dogs do not discriminate", stating "AKC cannot and will not support participation in the 2016 World Dog Show if it is held in Russia".