In 2014 as the Winter Olympics were approaching, Vladimir Putin made homosexuality criminal in any form. Even thinking about it could get you in trouble. Anything deemed "gay," was all of a sudden bad. For a millisecond, our government pondered if the USA should boycott the Olympics or still go? Of course, you know that we went, but I honestly thought that was a misstep. A missed opportunity. Now, I know that the athletes have worked their whole lives to get to the Olympics, but somethings have to be more important. Human rights would be on the top of the list, but it wasn't. I presume NBC honchos got to the President and said we had to go. The International Olympic committee I'm sure pressed hard to keep everything intact, but at what cost? Seems to me, that one decision, our becoming complicit with Russia on anti gay rights, emboldened Putin. From my core, I am sure President Putin felt he got one over on the USA. He got what he wanted. We rolled over for the sake of peer pressure? Capitalisim pressure? Not really sure why.
Our turning a cheek to Putin was a big mistake. Right after the 2014 Olympics, Putin started his drumbeat and march to take back Crimea and the Ukraine. Our government seemingly did nothing. We took "the high road." Putin is a bully. President Obama is not. We know that clearly. Obama is very measured in his words and statements. Quiet, controlled, and thoughtful. Putin just keeps pushing and pushing. Longing from his core for the old days of the KGB and the Cold War. Wanting to be relevant again.
Putin has insinuated himself into so many conflicts on the other side of where the US sits, that he is definitely not our ally. Why do we keep trying to pretend that he is. His encounters and meetings with President Obama couldn't be chillier, even Netanyahu's meetings share more warmth and that's not saying much. So the two Presidents this week had what many thought was a very positive and productive meeting. The White House seemed to believe that there were understandings made clear between the two nations. That lasted maybe the plane ride back to Moscow. We then come to find that Russia is not trying to take out ISIS in Syria, as we thought, but bolstering the Assad regime. WTF???!!! They bombed locations in Syria that not only took out possible rebel fighters and slapped our President in the face.
Remember when we turned the other cheek? I think that was a big error. I really thought it then, but with every step Putin continues to make, we are getting smacked around. I am sorry to any and all Olympic athletes that get caught in the middle of political fighting, but that, too, has got to be the risk taken. We have to look at the greater good and for any future International/Global events dig a little deeper, think a little harder. A Frankenstein was created and we are still paying for that everyday.
Okay, people, this is my opinion and only my opinion. If I got things wrong, you can let me know because I am not an international affairs expert, just an armchair quarterback. I have felt this since the first anti-gay law went into effect in Russia and more for every other Putin aggression since 2014.
Sidebars: I have been trying to figure out why Brian Williams, trusted newsman, who was caught in lies as the NBC Nightly News anchor, was given a second chance, but Dr. Nancy Snyderman, medical expert for NBC News and the Today Show, got completely obliterated. Doesn't seem right. They both made terrible mistakes: one gets a chance to regain the public's trust and the other went into the witness protection program. Hmmmmmm. -- Watched Law and Order: SVU last night and hated it. I got so mad and almost turned it off, but couldn't believe that the writers and producers would let it end the way it was going. May go down in my annals as the most abhorrent episode in all these years. The Blacklist starts its new season tonight. I'm very uncertain if they can keep it going. Homeland begins again Sunday on Showtime. -- The New York Yankees are really making us sweat it out. One more win, that's all to get in the playoffs. The SF Giants are out, so sad, but we did have an unexpectedly good run. The New York Mets will play the LA Dodgers in the first round of playoffs. Hoping that the Mets get the home field advantage. -- We are once again being threatened by a hurricane. Will it hit or won't it? No one knows. They just keep creating anxiety. Preparedness is good, fear is bad. -- On that, I bid adieu until next time.
Please re-post, re-tweet, or forward to a friend.
@DianaPodolsky
No comments:
Post a Comment