A boycott is laughable
Boycotts might not always accomplish tangible results, but their impact can be highly educational. How many people have the time to worry about state-sponsored violence and censorship in China when they are struggling to keep their jobs, fill the gas tank and keep their houses out of foreclosure?
That said, the idea of a boycott of the Olympics by the United States is laughable. The U.S. hardly has the moral high ground at the moment. When our own government is torturing people, ignoring the Geneva Convention, spying on its own people in the name of security (an excuse you just know that Chinese officials use frequently to explain their atrocities) we've got a lot of nerve judging another country. We may not have sunk to lows of China -- yet -- but the country is hardly a shining model at the moment.
Plus, imagine the psychic blow to the already ailing American economy with no big sports extravaganza.
Boycot the Games in China? When this idea came from? There is nothing in the paper, nothing on the radio and nothing on TV. Perhaps my wife and I are asleep and we don't know what is hsppening around in the world.
You are absolutely correct. And there is this other pesky little issue. How much do we owe Uncle China these days?