My opinion: no.
For once, I actually agree with the current president on something. This doesn’t mean that I’m going to give up my opposition to everything else (terrible environmental policy, Iraq war… the list goes on)
There are many policies (i.e. handling of Tibet, Darfur) of the Chinese government that I disagree with, but we do have to realize that there have been improvements. The main issue though, is the way activists are protesting this. Being interested in social/environmental activism and change myself, I would never discourage speaking out for those who have little to no voice, and for a better future.
But why boycott an event that celebrates global unity? As one of my friends said, “The Olympics are about bringing people together, so we shouldn’t tear them apart.” This is an event that the people of China (and Chinese Americans like myself) and not just the government, have anticipated eagerly, filling them with pride for their increasingly powerful country. Plus there’s that issue of foreign relations. Our current approval rating is unbelievably low, but do we really want to strain them further? At least strain them differently.
On a completely different note, I’m reading Cradle to Cradle right now, and it’s a really great book. I’ll post a review when I’m done, or when I’m not studying for my AP Euro test. It renewed my interest in bioplastics, and I hope I’ll get a bit of research in on that topic.
