As someone who was in some part in favor of some level of boycott before the Olympics, I came away with a hopeful feeling after watching them. The hope being that what the world saw was a country with over a billion people who are being controlled by a few very paranoid and very corrupt people. That the vast majority of Chinese are just people who want to live happy lives just as you and I do but can't because their dominating government remains assbackwards and closed minded. I hope that the revelation of the government's sloppy and pathetic deceptions show them to be not a country to be feared, but a ruling class out of touch with reality to be ridiculed. I saw faces of average Chinese citizens that want to be part of the world community but have no idea how to do so and need a lot of help to get there.
Changing gears:
Tae Kwon Do competitor from Cuba kicks referee in the face for disqualifying him. Nice.
CP and I watched the gold medal boxing match between a Chinese and Irish boxer. The announcers showed complete disdain for the result (the Chinese boxer won), flat out accusing the judges of favoritism at best, perhaps even corruption. It ocurred to me how often I've seen that in boxing. Then it ocurred to me why. We're talking about a sport and sporting community populated by people who spend their lives punching each other in the face. No matter how many rules you create, how tightly you try to control things, that's not going to change. You're not going to get reason, sportsmanship, and fairness. You're going to get punched in the face.