Russia is currently pursuing a policy that, the United States feels, is dangerous on the world stage. The recent government crackdown on not only individuals who are gay but people who are pro-gay or, they feel, advancing the cause in any way is, in my opinion, horrific.
But, amidst the early seeds of discussion for boycotting the games, my voice does not matter on this world stage. After all this is an international event, and the world is not as shocked as rhetoric in the United States (and Britain with Stephen Fry's letter to David Cameron and the IOC) has been.
In a recent Pew poll among 39 countries, results showed that in only about a half a dozen countries do more than three-quarters of the population respond in the affirmative to the question "Should society accept homosexuality?" The United States is not one of them. In much of Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East, the responses were clearly in opposition to socially acceptable homosexuality. Though Europe largely supported homosexuality, 74% of Russian respondents answered in opposition.
A boycott of the Olympics would leave little impact. I see two plausible scenarios. The first is that only a few nations boycott (several European nations and maybe the United States, though this seems very fringe) and the impact is barely felt on the games which go on as planned in Sochi, even with a major sporting nation like the USA out of competition (and this failure does not even take into account hundreds of athletes and their crushed dreams). The second major option is the IOC moving the games to another location.
It is here that I point you to the Pew poll. Such a step would show overwhelming attachment to the sentiments of Western Europe and North America. In an effort to unify the world during a few weeks every four years, this would be a false step on the part of IOC since it would just highlight what can be seen as a "Western agenda" to those that disagree with homosexuality and do not see this as a human rights issue.
Instead, what I see as not only the least controversial but also most effective option for criticizing the games and advancing homosexuality as a human rights issue is attending the games in full swing, with nations and athletes bringing with them, unabashedly, whatever viewpoints Russia is domestically cracking down on.
A Russian official has hinted that during the games, though the law will remain in effect, competing athletes will not be affected. While this may not be the last we hear about this, I think nations and athletes that have an issue with the games should follow in the steps of Nick Symmonds who yesterday dedicated his silver medal to his LGBTQ friends. He chose to not wear a rainbow pin for fear of being placed in jail, but his voice on this issue still rang clear.
Any steps taken by nations in this event should play out on the level of the athletes. Pressure on the left to address this issue should manifest itself not through a governmental stance on this issue, but through athletes expressing their views. On this international stage in a foreign country, we should not parade in hoping to change laws, since this in itself is an act that may appear to infringe on sovereignty. In a country like Russia in which a large swath of the population supports these steps, we cannot come in and criticize the laws and brazenly defy them.
Instead, the focus should be on tearing down the stigmas associated with homosexuality that allowed this bill to pass and allowed the nation to stand by and watch it happen. Nick Symmonds, in addressing his win to LGBTQ members, is showing to Russia and the world watching that LGBTQ people are not criminals and that any relationships they have should be respected as human rights for they are equally dignified as all people are.
We cannot criticize Russia's law as a human rights violation when domestically they are punishing what they believe to be criminal acts in the manner one treats criminals. Simply put, visitors should respect the culture of a nation, and this culture appears to support this law. Change needs to come from the nation itself and what the world can do at the games is facilitate this change by speaking out to the world and the Russian public about the humanity Russia fails to acknowledge in the LGBT community. Though "gay propaganda" covers a wide swath of actions, actions as simple as dedicating medals to LGBT members or mentioning that you yourself are LGBT are small, unoffensive (the IOC has said they will enforce anti-"gay propaganda" laws), and, we hope, will be well-received by the watching public with no ramifications for the athlete.
There is no greater stage than the Olympics and non-political, compassionate comments about LGBT issues as human rights issues can and will be heard around the world.
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