Monday, June 02, 2008

The People's Republic of China

apparently doesn't really care about the "People" part of the title.

In fact, you can make the case that they'd rather have visitors to the Olympics act like china dolls than people.

Read the rules for the conduct of people visiting the PRC for the Olympic Games, and then decide for yourself.

And therein lies a funk in tautologies. Should the wars -- intellectual or otherwise -- stop so that the games can be played without politics. Or, should the international public stand up to the PRC and not let it put on a show the way Hitler's Germany did in Munich in 1936 (which still makes me wonder why the IOC and its authoritarian, bigoted and insensitive chairman let the games go so quickly back to Germany in 1972). But, then again, is the PRC analogous precisely to Germany in 1936? Do the protestors think that they'll be permitting history to repeat itself if the games can take place in Beijing unimpeded?

What will the media -- print and visual -- be permitted to cover? What should we really believe?

From the looks of it, these games aren't about the proleteriat, but those in the PRC who are determined to hold onto their power at all costs. After all, to borrow a line from an earlier version of Andre Agassi, "Image is everything."

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