Russia vows not to discriminate during Sochi Olympics
Source: CBC/AP
The Russian government assured the International Olympic Committee on Thursday it will not discriminate against homosexuals during the Sochi Olympics, while defending the law against gay "propaganda" that has provoked an international backlash.
The IOC received a letter from Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak giving reassurances the host country will comply fully with the Olympic Charter's provision against discrimination of any kind.
"The Russian federation guarantees the fulfillment of its obligations before the International Olympic Committee in its entirety," Kozak said.
...
The letter still leaves open the question of what would happen to Olympic athletes or fans if they make statements or gestures that could be considered propaganda.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/story/2013/08/22/sp-ioc-olympics-russia-anti-gay-law.html
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That's what happened the last time the public had the chance to 'vent their feelings' about gay rights. Then there were videos of beating gays or those suspected to be gay by mobs, who lived there and were unable to get whisked away.
Are they going to require police protection to and from the events?
Will they require body guards to go out in public and do things that other athletes normally will?
Are they going to be kept at the Olympic housing and treated as 'separate but equal' there?
We can't change their law but the idea of the games as a way for nations to meet in peace and with respect and for the athletes to enjoy their time there, seems to be sadly missing from this particular venue for holding the 2013 games.
Maybe Washington, D.C. would be a good venue for the 2014 games, but it may not have enough room. I loved the 1984 games in Los Angeles, which Russia boycotted. It is not new, but it just seems that nothing is boycotted anymore:
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984. When Tehran, the only other interested city on the international level, declined to bid due to the concurrent Iranian political and social changes the IOC awarded Los Angeles the Games by default. This was the second occasion Los Angeles hosted the games; it previously hosted in 1932.
In response to the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, 14 Eastern Bloc countries including the Soviet Union, Cuba and East Germany (but not Romania) boycotted the Games. For differing reasons, Iran and Libya also boycotted. The USSR announced its intention not to participate on May 8, 1984, citing security concerns and "chauvinistic sentiments and an anti-Soviet hysteria being whipped up in the United States."[2] Despite the boycott, the Los Angeles Olympic Games attracted a then-record 140 participating nations, and 60 more than those attending the Moscow games four years earlier, which had experienced a far wider international boycott. However, the Los Angeles boycott influenced a large number of events that were normally dominated by the absent countries. Boycotting countries organized another large event in June–September 1984, called the Friendship Games; however, not even a single competition was held between July 28 and August 12. Representatives of the organizing countries, in particular the USSR, underlined it was "not held to replace the Olympics". Elite athletes from the U.S. and USSR would only compete against each other at the 1986 Goodwill Games in Moscow, organized in response to the boycotts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_1984_Olympics
http://www.olympic.org/los-angeles-1984-summer-olympics
On of the high points was when Lionel Richie sang, All Night Long:
If we can't get a bid to hold 2014 in D.C., let's see about L.A. Our joy and inclusiveness will ring around the world. JMHO.
