There are celebrities that often speak out on all sorts of causes and catastrophes for nothing more than simple attention. Then of course there are others that believe in the cause and have a stake in following through with it. Because of this, in this case, I am inclined to believe and fully support the work Stephen Fry and company are doing in regards to the Sochi 2014 boycott. This boycott could send a strong message to the Russians, that this behavior will no longer be overlooked and will hit them in each country's most painful spot; their checkbooks. Russia holds a huge financial stock in making this Olympics profitable for the Russian government, the lack of funding from other countries, as well as lack of viewers would be quite painful to an already struggling economy. A complete withdrawal of the Olympics from Russia (there are at least a dozen other countries that could support the games) would be the ultimate sentence and the strongest most potent message to the Russians: The world will no longer stay silent and allow you to continue your campaign of hatred.
What Mr. Putin is doing in Russia to repress the LGBT community in his country, or rather not doing as the case may be, is repulsive. These individuals are living in secret, in fear they will be persecuted or even harmed or killed for being who they were born to be. And their persecution by homophobic citizens as well as the government, is being left to continue unchecked. The Olympics has always been a time for unity and a chance for all different cultures to come together as one. If everyone isn't included in that sentiment, then what exactly is the point?
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