Nothing is a major issue until George Takei starts talking about it.
The out actor and gay rights advocate’s razor-sharp with and comedic take on some pretty major LGBT issues has made him somewhat of a pop culture icon these days. He stopped by “The Agenda” on SiriusXM Progress this week to share his thoughts on IOC President Jacques Rogge.
“Rogge is a weak and spineless person,” Takei told host Ari Rabin-Havt. Rogge has come under fire recently for failing to ensure the safety of LGBT athletes at the 2014 Games in Sochi.
“He says he’s talked to the Russian government,” he continued, “and they won’t relent, so he’s thrown up his hands.” Takei is asking people to sign a Change.org petition to urge the IOC to move the 2014 Olympics out of Russia. If they can’t be moved, he suggests disqualifying Russian athletes for breaching the Olympic Charter.
You can listen to the full interview here.
hyhybt
The law is not the athletes’ doing.
erasure25
@hyhybt: No, but the Olympic Charter is relevant to all athletes.
Tackle
I disagree with disqualifinying all Russin athletes based on the sins of their country. If this step is taken, to be consistent and fair, one can also say that athletes from Certain Middle Eastern Islamic countries, and certain African countries should also be banned. (Thank god) I don’t see this happening.
Larkin
I grow weary of cries to ‘move the olympics’. It’s far too late to even consider such a thing. The cost is prohibitive and travel plans have been made.
DarkZephyr
@Larkin: And through all of this, THAT is what you are “weary” of? For me its the homophobic laws against LGBT people in Russia.
tdx3fan
@DarkZephyr: Russian people should be the ones dealing with Russian laws. I, and the majority of the nation, are absolutely disgusted, at this point, of the huburis of the United States. We, as a nation, have been at war for 10+ years because we feel we have the right to dictate how a sovereign nation treats its citizens. The way that Russia treats its gays is disgusting, and I am all for a public boycott of any Russian products… granted we should also boycott any product from the Middle East, China, most of Asia, most of Africa, most of Central and South America, most red states, and especially Texas for pretty much the same reason. So in short, do not consume any goods, and most definitely, never drive anywhere.I kind of feel the fact that most of us grew up hating Russia makes it easier to attack Russia today. That being said, I do not support federal sanctions against Russia by any agency, including the Olympic committee. In fact, this entire world would probably be a lot better off if we allowed citizens of sovereign nations to solve their own problems.
Ottoman
The IOC has kept countries out of the Olympics because of their politics and discrimination- South Africa is the most obvious example. The only difference is the the Olympics are in the offending country this time. Moving the games or disqualifying the Russian athletes would be in line with their past actions.
hyhybt
@Ottoman: Could you, or anyone really, PLEASE explain why you keep speaking of moving the Olympics when it is a sheer and obvious impossibility? It takes YEARS to prepare to host the Olympics. It CANNOT be done on only a few months’ notice. There is no rational way anyone could think it possible to do at this late date, so why do people keep speaking otherwise?
Ottoman
@hyhybt: So if it turned out Russia was directly linked to the suspected chemical attack in Syria, the Olympics wouldn’t think twice about reusing a past venue or pushing the date back a year? They moved the entire Winter Olympics up two years just so they could stay relevant every two years instead of 4. It can be done. personally, I’d be for keeping the Olympics in Russia and banning the Russian athletes, just like they banned the South African ones for their country’s policies.
hyhybt
@Ottoman: I don’t know about rescheduling; that would certainly make a mess for everyone involved, including particularly the athletes themselves, but it might be workable. But why would you think reusing a past venue would be doable on only a few months’ notice? All right, I’ve only got the one example of Atlanta, and winter may well be a bit different… but there was a lot of purpose-built construction and renovation done specifically to host the games, much of which was undone or converted to other purposes immediately afterwards. (For example, a large chunk of Olympic Stadium was demolished to convert the rest into Turner Field, as intended in the design.) Even a year later, much less four or eight, they couldn’t have hosted again without almost starting over, only with experience.
It would be a tight squeeze at this point to set up a 2016 Winter Games; if they absolutely *couldn’t* be held in Russia the thing to do would be to cancel entirely and wait for 2018.
1EqualityUSA
Boycott.