Don't Boycott the Beijing 2008 Games

Right now in Tibet there's major unrest as people in Tibet are trying to give China a black eye as we close in on the 2008 Olympic games, to be held in Beijing in August. Right now Steven Spielberg and other celebs are demanding boycotts, as are human rights and environmentalist groups.

Right now I wonder if they all remain oblivious to the hypocrisy. Has there ever been one piece of merchandise from a Spielberg movie that wasn't made in China, or one of it's provinces like Hong Kong? I doubt it. Look around you, people. How much of what's in your household is made in China? "well duh a lot" I am sure is the answer. Now the sticky question: how much of it was made by American firms and other western firms? Well?

The west caused China's problems. The west wants suppressed human rights so workers can be worked cheap. The west wants no environmental protections in China so they could pollute as much as possible, for which they can't do in their own countries. The west financially supports everything that is wrong with China, and it is you the customers who are at fault. You wanted to save a buck, so you just had to shop at Wal-Mart, the largest importer from China. You the customers are at fault. You wanted cheap, and western firms delivered. You stuck your head in the sand for the consequences of your buying decisions, and blame someone else. You don't care where what you want is from as long as you can get it in your price range. You can e-mail me all the patriotic BS all you want, but it's completely true that China's problems are your fault for wanting everything cheap.

If firms stop producing in China, they'll simply go somewhere else to exploit the workers and trash the environment. You will keep buying, too. You can weep for the environment while holding up a protest sign written on cardboard that's made from a tree destroyed just so you could have cardboard to make protest signs with. You can write hate mail on a computer that's made in China for nothing. You can call your senator and demand change on your Chinese-made phone. Doesn't matter. Anything you do will make you look like a hypocrite who's part of the problem.

Don't take it out on the athletes. They worked hard for many years to become Olympic-grade athletes, and you want to take it away from them because you're too addicted to Wal-Mart and can't come to terms with the repercussions for your actions? Not very mature or rational. If you want China's problems to end, you have to be willing to pay more for all the junk you buy.