Nancy Pelosi just gave an ominous warning to US athletes headed to Beijing to compete in the Olympics, telling them not to speak out about human rights abuses in China for their own safety:
Here’s what Pelosi told the Congressional Executive Commission:
“I would say to our athletes, you’re there to compete. Do not risk incurring the anger of the Chinese government because they are ruthless. I know there is a temptation on the part of some to speak out while they are there. I respect that, but I also worry about what the Chinese government might do to their reputations, to them families.”
I’m not going to bash Pelosi for wanting our Olympians to remain safe. But an ominous warning like this begs a huge question: What the hell are we doing sending our athletes to a country that might harm them for speaking out on human rights abuses???
Pelosi says the Chinese government is “ruthless” and that their families or reputations could be harmed. I’m not saying she’s wrong about this, but to hear a top leader in the US government feel the need to warn our athletes like this just makes one wonder whose cockamamie idea it was to have the Olympics in Communist China, especially after they just unleashed a deadly virus on the world two years ago.
Maybe we should be telling our athletes not to go instead of giving them ominous warnings and prepping them for an international incident.