Olympics - to watch or not?

       

The Olympics start tomorrow, and I'm weirdly anxious about whether to "support" by watching or not.

The opening ceremony and most of the coverage is a mind-numbingly boring network spinfest, IMHO. But the actual sports moments are moving, exciting and real.

China is a repressive state who blatantly stomps on human rights. (But so do we, frankly. Gitmo, anyone?) The crackdown in Tibet is getting more vicious by the day, they have ruined their environment and continue to do so despite their supposed reforms, they have made a sham of free trade, and they have not only ignored the Darfur conflict, they're supplying arms to support it.

But what does that have to do with us turning on the TV for some sports entertainment?

My watching or not will have zero impact on China or the networks, who've already gotten their advertising dollars for these games. Since I'm not a Nielsen household, my actions won't even affect future ratings. So what's the point? Taking a moral (but meaningless) stand? Better to stop buying Chinese-made merchandise; nearly impossible but somewhat economically relevant.

Is it better to support and pressure change from within, which our govt is supposedly doing?  A convenient excuse for knuckling under China's economic clout.

Henry loves the whole shebang, as most kids do. To him it's an innocent, entertaining, exciting time. Do I bring up the confusing political issues or let him watch happily?

How are you approaching the games? Supporting, boycotting, don't care? I'd love to hear your thoughts.