Many compare the Beijing 2022 Games to those of Berlin in 1936. In the US, there were many voices demanding a boycott of the German games. If they had won, if the boycott forces had succeeded, it would have been a truly German dominated Olympics. The world would never have heard of Jesse Owens, and Metcalf and the black American track stars who defeated Europe's best. The crowds in the Olympic Stadium shouted Owens' name as a hero, to the chagrin of Nazi officials.
The Berlin games provided the locale for the greatest Olympic film, that of Leni Riefenstahl. Moreover, during the Games, many of the anti-Jewish signs were removed, so Jews could go to places that had become forbidden to them. Richard Plant noted some gay bars were allowed to reopen too. By attending, the Americans proved to be excellent athletes, and diminished the hopes of the Germans. And Berlin was a slightly freer place for a short time.
Had we boycotted Beijing in 2022, as we did Moscow in 1980 under Pres. Carter, the only ones to really lose would have been our own athletes.
I voted for Trump, and I am glad the US did not boycott the Beijing Olympics in 2022.
Hugh Murray
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