The Olympic torch was extinguished several times due to protests as the torch relay passed through Paris. While I’m sure that many share the view that mixing up sports and politics is a bad thing, I think that this just is just more proof that everything involving human beings and their relationships IS politics. There’s no escaping the fact that many around the world believe that the Chinese government’s record on human rights is bad and that China should have a more open government, hence the protests. At the same time, the Olympic games is going to bring prestige to the Chinese no matter what happens, which includes political gain for the government as well. It works both ways. No matter whether it is science, art, or sports, all is politics.
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