Fr. Vazken is a regular writer/contributor for In Theory found in the Religion section of the Glendale News Press. This weeks question was about the China Olympic Games: China’s Communist rulers strictly suppressed religion for three decades after coming to power in 1949. The following 30 years have seen a flourishing of many forms of religion, but the government continues to maintain tight controls, fearful of the potential challenge to its rule from any kind of large organization. Given these tight controls over religious expression, would you have granted China the opportunity to host the Olympic Games? Fr. Vazken's response: My opposition to China hosting the games would be for even deeper reasons than their censorship of religion. China’s policies toward Tibet and its funding of genocide in Darfur would have been the critical factors for my opposition to their hospitality. That is, if I were against China hosting the Olympics. But I’m not.
A few years ago I heard a talk show host complaining about a group of protesters who were blocking the freeway at rush hour. He complained, “This is the worst time of the day. Why don’t they go away and come back at 2 a.m. when there’s no one on the roads?” It was obvious that he missed the point of organized protest.
The protest became effective because it was at rush hour and because people were inconvenienced. It made people stop and notice. That’s why the Civil Rights Movement targeted segregated lunch counters rather than picnic tables in the park. That’s why Greenpeace targets fishing vessels in the Arctic rather than jet skis on the lake.
The power of protest is one of the cornerstones of democracy. It brings attention to injustice, inequity and danger caused by a seemingly invincible power.
For the last week, Gabriel Stauring with iACT and Mia Farrow from the Darfur Olympics have been broadcasting from Darfur, as a voice of protest throughout the world. I have been encouraged by the response. Today, from the president down, people are discussing China’s policies.
At the very least, people are recognizing the problem. I don’t think the protests would have been as effective if the Olympics were not in China. And so, for this reason alone, the location was ideal.
FR. VAZKEN MOVSESIAN
In His Shoes Mission
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