Special thanks to Hey338Too for bringing this to my attention. I have to admit that I don't watch much television during the semester, but Keith on Sochi is just too good to pass up without putting this into context and reveling in Keith doing what Keith does best. Keith puts it into context too. It's certainly about LGBT rights and the Russian laws. But it's also about greed and -- especially -- fear.
Follow me below the challah we'll use to break our Yom Kippur fast for more.
It's worth watching again even if you HAVE seen it.
Pretty much everybody has this, seeing that it's now four days old, but in this 9:14 commentary, Olbermann covers EVERYTHING. It seems that the head of the Sochi Olympics, Dmitry Chernyshenko, went before the assembled members of the International Olympic Committee in Buenos Aires on Monday to ask for help in stopping this notion that Russia's, as Keith said, "medieval" anti-gay laws are reason for anyone to boycott the Games. Thank you, boxturtlebulletin.com, for providing a link to this AP story that details how Russia and the IOC are essentially in each other's pockets on this issue and for characterizing this as Russia's
inability to cope with free debate.
.
Keith, of course, characterized this dialogue using the headline John Aravosis used while discussing this (and BOY, hasn't AmericaBlog done a terrific job covering this issue)
”Sochi Olympics to IOC: Make the mean gays stop!”
Yes, the IOC's president, Jacques Rogge, had this to say about the Games:
“The constitution of the Russian federations allows for homosexuality,” he said. “And we have received strong reassurances that this law will not affect participants in the Sochi Games.”
And that's what the AP story is all about
: protests, and Rule 50, and Putin ASSURING everyone that the games will take place in an environment that makes believes the laws about gay propaganda don't exist.
But Keith doesn't stop there. Apparently, the Olympic marketing commission chairman ,Gerhard Heiberg, has heard rumbling from sponsors. From espn.com, (same AP story) here's the money quote Keith used:
I think this could ruin a lot for all of us. We have to be prepared.
Again from Jim Burroway, here's more from Heiberg:
"Lately there has been a lot of discussion, especially in Western Europe and in the United States, and I’m being pushed by several of the sponsors asking what will happen with this new law in Russian in connection with the gay community,” he said. “We are not to try to change anything over the laws in Russia. We will of course accept this as internal Russian decision. But what will the consequences be? - snip - “We have to be prepared,” he said. “We can see many ways this could happen. I heard a lot from the sponsors, especially the American sponsors, what they are afraid of could happen.”
American sponsors. They're AFRAID over at the IOC!! This is about CASH. Ruin, sponsors and consequences. Or, as Keith put it so succinctly:
American sponsors afraid. Consequences? RUIN.
That would make a great tweet! Not a boycott of the actual games. Maybe American advertisers will stay away from the BROADCASTS. maybe NBC's ratings will tank. THAT'S the problem.
Then Keith discusses the laws, which I've covered here and here (with the help of other Kossacks). He references Dave Zirin at Grantland to point out that Pope Francis I could be arrested for his statements about homosexuality under these laws. Because he's back on a sports network, he can go into depth about the boycott -- roughly Harvey Fierstein yes, Robbie Rogers, no. Both sides refer to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin for support -- Jesse Owens positive, Marty Glickman, not. Keith ASTUTELY reminds us that any mention of the 1936 Olympics in the context of the 2014 Olympics, with the specter of Nazism, terrifies the money interests, and when the money is terrified, it will do what we, the opponents of the Russian laws, want it to do. This is where he goes after Putin - even the threat of a boycott has him spinning and making statements like these:
They say that Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a homosexual. Truth be told, we don't love him because of that, but he was a great musician, and we all love his music. So what?" Putin told the Associated Press in a wide-ranging interview that touched upon the likes of Syria, the fate of Edward Snowden, and the country's anti-gay laws. "I assure you that I work with these people. I sometimes award them with state prizes or decorations for their achievements in various fields. We have absolutely normal relations, and I don't see anything out of the ordinary here.
So Keith thinks we have Russia where we want them on these laws, because he thinks the increased pressure for a boycott that will cost the Sochi Olympics money might result in even more something. Remember, Russia is ALSO hosting the 2018 World Cup, and that will get an even greater part of the world involved in agitation against these laws, if, indeed, they're still on the books.
We missed you, Keith. Welcome back to the airwaves!
Update, 9:55 AM: Off to the library now, and I should be back in about an hour. I'm so glad to be writing about these issues again!