Should the 2014 Sochi Olympics be boycotted?

The recent infamous law signed by President Vladimir Putin in Russia has brought a lot of attention from the world's media lately. Of course, I am talking about the anti-gay law that has been the talk of the world's progressive thinkers. The law could not have come at a worse time, the upcoming 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics will forever be shadowed by the discriminatory law enacted in Russia. This has rattled nerves in the west, with some even encouraging Western liberal democracies to boycott said event, others prefer that the games move on, encouraging athletes however to don  pink ribbons as a show of defiance against the Russian government and as an act of solidarity with the LGBT community of Russia.

The law prohibits members of the LGBT community from publicly expressing their sexual orientation, punishes those who talk about LGBT issues to persons less than 18 years old and demonizes those who are LGBT by painting them as abomination and freaks of nature.

The law has no place in any modern, educated, progressive, rational and scientific milieu. It is an archaic, medieval, short-sighted and frankly, morose law that does not have any place in any modern society. While I agree that sports should transcend political and religious issues, I also believe that sports, as an endeavor of discipline, self-control, camaraderie and human self-expression, should not condone immoral, repressive and inhumane practices such as the anti-LGBT law recently enacted in Russia.

Therefore, progressive nations of the world, especially those nations who have recognized same-sex marriage, should not attend said olympics, for to do so would practically sanction the violence that the law inspires and effectively protects, but would also endanger the very ideals of open-mindedness and humanism that said countries have so enshrined in their acceptance of the right of same-sex couples to marry.

The Sochi Olympics should not be attended by nations who have been shining examples of secular humanist, rational and scientific progressivism. By refusing to attend the Sochi Olympics, they show to the world that they are really, really serious about the equality of all men and women and will  most likely be forever remembered for their principled stand against backward, medieval and insecure legislation that is best exemplified by the anti-LGBT Russian law.