The anti-Cuban bias of U.S. mainstream media has been documented throughout this website’s pages. Posted. We publish this related letter to the Boston Globe by July 26th member Calla Walsh to demonstrate our concerns and encourage their further expression. For other examples see the page on “July26.org Member Letters to the Boston Globe and Elsewhere.”
American hypocrisy is glaring
Published in Opinion, p.8 in the print edition and online with the above photo from a previous Marathon by Allison Dinner/NYT and quote: “Runners from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to compete in the Boston Marathon, the race organizers said on Wednesday, April 6.” Text edited out in red.
The letter drew 39 comments. Note, too, the March Globe article on the attention Calla’s social media comments were receiving at www.bostonglobe.com/2022/03/22/metro/cambridge-high-schoolers-homework-assignment-list-positive-effects-imperialism-goes-viral/ —
When I saw that the Boston Athletic Association is banning Russian athletes from the Boston Marathon as punishment for “the invasion [of Ukraine] and subsequent atrocities wrought by Russian armed forces” (”BAA: Russia, Belarus runners out,” Sports, April 7), my first thought was: Does this mean that all American athletes are also banned from the marathon for the hundreds of invasions, war crimes, and atrocities committed by the United States throughout its existence?
Or does the B.A.A. not value the lives of Iraqis, Afghans, Palestinians, Yeminis, and other recent victims of U.S.-led or funded atrocities as much as they value Ukrainian lives? There is a racist double-standard when it comes to which groups the West sees as worthy victims, and it has been evident across the Western media, with networks like the BBC broadcasting remarks such as, “It’s very emotional for me because I see European people with blue eyes and blonde hair being killed.”
Banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from the marathon does nothing to support Ukrainians, promote diplomacy, or move the world toward peace. It only promotes Cold War xenophobia, manufactures consent for military escalation with Russia, and exposes the hypocrisy of the American war machine.
Calla Walsh
Cambridge
july26.org 