Despite the name of their signature illustration being the Google Doodle [doodle like a Doodle] and their logo traditionally being rendered in all the colours of the rainbow, Google today have stepped into the furore surrounding Russia’s draconian anti-LGBT propaganda laws with a Sochi-themed Doodle quoting a section of the Olympic Charter espousing the “human right” to practice sport “without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit”. It’s also screening on Russian Google.
The accompanying click-through links to search results for the Olympic Charter, after which the sporting illustrations are removed and all that remains is a logo resembling a Pride Flag. The quoted section of the Charter reads thusly:
“The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.“
In literally nailing their colours to the masthead, Google – an otherwise faceless, anonymous but nonetheless helpful and ubiquitous entity – have nailed the consensus of the international community, as indicated by UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon who this morning condemned attacks on the Russian LGBT community in an address to the IOC:
“Many professional athletes, gay and straight, are speaking out against prejudice. We must all raise our voices against attacks on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex people. We must oppose the arrests, imprisonments and discriminatory restrictions they face… Hatred of any kind must have no place in the 21st century.”
For more international players stepping up and serving it back to Russia, do yourself a favour and watch this video Canada released earlier today.
via The Guardian
