What's your take on a potential boycot of the Sochi Olympics in Russia re: gay rights?

[chimpymustgo]

15. John Carlos: "if you stay home, your message stays home with you." No boycott.

From the link:

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Few remember today that there was an organized call to boycott the 1968 Games by African American athletes and their supporters. When the boycott fell apart, Lew Alcindor (Kareem!) boycotted the Games anyway. Tommie Smith and John Carlos took their protest to the medal stand. Whose political statement do we remember today?

I called John Carlos to get his thoughts on the boycott vs. protest debate.

"The bottom line is, if you stay home, your message stays home with you," he said. "If you stand for justice and equality, you have an obligation to find the biggest possible megaphone to let your feelings be known. Don't let your message be buried and don't bury yourself. To be heard is to be greater than a boycott. Had we stayed home, we'd never have been heard from again."

I pointed out to Dr. Carlos that he may be correct, but that this requires someone actually having the courage in Sochi to stand up and pay the price. You could lose your medal, get kicked out of Olympic Village, and after the spasm of media praise, find yourself a pariah in the long years ahead. He said to me, "Yes, it takes courage, but if you have a conviction that what you are doing is right, then you're going to make the right move. Someone has to sacrifice if we are going to move forward. You might be forgiven in your lifetime; you might not. But if you're in the right, your sacrifice will be appreciated."

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