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One Ramirez Tells It All About the CCP Olympics
As Columbo from the old TV series might have put it: “Oh, just one more thing before I go … about those Uighurs being held in concentration camps … just one little quick question if you don’t mind…”
Published in General
Yup. What’s that old saying? “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Here it’s one drawing being worth two words that should be shouted to the world: What happened to “NEVER AGAIN”???
I thought that we conservatives didn’t like the politicization of sports.
Maybe I need a refresher course.
Yes! Michael Ramirez often says with one picture what most columnists and politicians cannot say in many pages.
If exercising my First Amendment right to comment on what I understand, from what I judge to be at least credible sources, to be the herding of an entire group of “citizens” into concentration camps because of their religious beliefs — with photographic evidence of the herding taking place on trains at stations looking horribly like those from which millions headed to Auschwitz and Birkenau et. al — then you can hang whatever label you choose to on it. However, I do not view it as “politicization of sports” to comment on the spectacle going on in China right now, sponsored by some of the most ruthless and heartless people on the planet, with able assists along the way by some of our “leaders” such as Pelosi telling the athletes to “stay in line.”
By the way, when you find that refresher course, would you please be so kind as to send me a link as I am always interested in adding to my admittedly insufficient fund of knowledge, and I express my appreciation in advance for your courtesies in this regard.
Jim.
Ramirez is the best!
Luckily, I got to chat with him and get a picture of us together, and he also drew me a cartoon . . .
Right. It’s all about the First Amendment now? I’m exercising my First Amendment rights, too, by pointing out the hypocrisy of arguing that sports should not be politicized over causes with which we disagree, while politicizing sports otherwise. In fairness, Jim, I don’t know if you’ve personally opposed the politicization of sports — for example, the NFL “taking a knee” nonsense. Conservatives generally, however, seem to have opposed such actions. At least, that’s my impression.
So you are politicizing sports, by associating the Olympics with whatever is going on with the Uyghurs. What is your point otherwise? You weren’t commenting about the Uyghurs before the Olympics started, as far as I recall.
I also don’t understand why people are so concerned about protecting a bunch of Jihadis. It looks to me like one group of people that I’m not fond of (the ChiComs) beating up another group of people that I’m not fond of (the Uyghurs). Is this supposed to spoil my enjoyment of the figure skating, if I get around to watching?
And before making Holocaust references, please let me know how many Uyghurs have been massacred.
I thought you were leaving. Yet, here you are with the same old, same old nasty racial/religious generalizations. Spare us, please. Many of us wished you well when you announced you were leaving. Now I wish you’d just stick by your plan. Or was that announcement a feint to see how many of us could be manipulated into saying kind things to you? “Jerk” is the first description that comes to mind of someone who would do such a thing to people of generally good will.
What is wrong with you?
Seek help.
I thought the politicization of sports was when athletes use their privileged positions in the spotlight to spread their personal opinions on matters other than sports. All Jim George is doing is making comments on a totalitarian regime who happen to be hosting the Olympics this year. His comments were not about sports but about China. The Ramirez cartoon is exactly what political cartoons do. They satirize political events, whether sports is involved or stained blue dresses or flavors of ice cream cones.
This is the kind of post that makes me wish you meant it when you said you were leaving.
Just a refresher. We boycotted the Soviet union iirc for political reasons. At the time, conservatives said that international or geopolitical relations take precedence over sports. But more importantly, we went up against Hitler’s aryan athletes and our runner of color beat their aryan best. This was not politicization, nor was it studious avoidance of politicization. It was life and facts, and yes, it happened to be an international political black eye of one nation and creed over another.
I don’t get anyone who says that sports either should or shouldn’t be politicized, because it takes place in a political environment. Even the teams are based not on age, disability, “gender” status, IQ, or skin color, but on nationality. You can’t get more geo-political than that.
Yes it’s real.
I certainly don’t have a refresher course and in my mind, there isn’t a simple either/or answer. Do I want to watch China in their shining moment when they clearly have no intent to budging on any human rights abuse? On the other hand, this is the one shot for many athletes who was at the ice rink from dawn to dusk working towards this moment. Do I ignore their moment?
For me, I watched for two days (recorded so I can skip the commercials, opening ceremony, and mindless chit-chat and see the sports) and then decided to stop recording and delete the remainders. To me it was less a political statement (though I suppose everything is political) than simply losing interest as I would with a friend who continually lies to me. To me it is akin to not letting the Academy awards vomit their baloney into my living room.
I think one of my exceptions with what happens in American sports is not statements of injustice that everyone agrees is unjust (such as forced abortion or forcing a tennis player to recant her sexual abuse allegation or using Uighurs hair to make products for the government) but it is the propaganda of a perceived solution. Racism is wrong, we all agree and if and when it does exist, people of any decent moral character takes a stand against it.
But putting “Black Lives Matter” on everyone’s jersey is rather a propaganda for a movement that really doesn’t make life better for Black people. I believe that black lives do indeed matter because black people are created in the image of God, but I see little value in how BLM goes about it. The “take a knee to join my cause or you’re a racist” feel is not a unifying stand against an agreed-upon injustice based upon an independent, established moral standard. Rather it is a divisive statement that says “agree with my cause or you are a white privilege oppressor” confrontation.
So that is why I turn that off, too.
This conservative doesn’t like CHINA’S politicization of sports.