Russian President Vladimir Putin may be a diplomatic genius, but his ability to institute popular domestic policies has been tarnished in recent months.
According to the BBC, Putin recently stressed that gay athletes will be welcome in the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
“We will do everything to make sure that athletes, fans and guests feel comfortable at the Olympic Games regardless of their ethnicity, race or sexual orientation,” Putin said, according to the BBC. “I would like to underline that.”
According to the BBC, Russia’s anti-gay law makes it illegal for Russians to promote “non-traditional sexual relations” to minors. Fines for private individuals who disobey the law are approximately $155 per offense.
According to The Guardian, the anti-gay law also prohibits the distribution of material discussing gay rights.
Although the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in the U.S. believe that Putin should repeal the anti-gay law to promote full equality in Russia, calling on him to repeal it for the sake of the upcoming Olympic Games is foolish.
To act like the Olympic Games has been a unifying force is completely unreasonable. Marred by controversy, murder and hurt feelings, the upcoming Olympic Games should not force Putin into a diplomatic corner.
Upon examination, one can easily see that controversy has erupted at nearly every set of Olympic Games since 1908.
The first major controversy occurred in 1936 when Berlin was the host. Led by the Führer and Chancellor of Germany Adolf Hitler, the Games were plagued by blatant racism on behalf of the German Nazis.
According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Jewish athletes were forbidden to participate on the German Olympic team.
Why didn’t the U.S. and Western nations boycott the 1936 Games in protest of Hitler’s policies?
The blatant racist situation in 1936 seems much worse than the anti-gay situation that could be in 2014.
Perhaps the most infamous Olympic incident occurred in 1972, when 11 Jewish athletes were murdered by Palestinian terrorists in Munich.
Known as the Munich Massacre, the murder of 11 innocent athletes forever cast a dark shadow on the Olympic Games.
Since the Munich Massacre, the Olympics have been disgraced by countries boycotting the games. In 1980, 65 countries chose not to participate in the Olympics because of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
As one can see, the Olympics have done little to unify the world and make it a better place.
Therefore, calling on Putin to change a domestic policy because of the sanctity of the Olympics is absolutely ridiculous.
Although Russia’s anti-gay law may be unpopular among U.S. activists for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, Russia should not be pressured into accommodating to Western standards.
According to the BBC, nearly 50 percent of all Russians believe that gays and lesbians “should not enjoy the same rights as other citizens.”
With a nation that is split down the middle on the issue of gay rights, Putin would face steep criticism if he repealed the anti-gay law.
Let Russia do what it wants. We’ve got enough to worry about here in the U.S.
Shane Newell is a junior journalism major and the opinions editor at the Daily 49er.
