The announcement of the merger of sorts between LIV Golf and the PGA drew another round of condemnations of the Saudi-backed tour this week, this time both for LIV golfers and the PGA that decided to, well, do business with the Saudis.
Our State Department, despite the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s acknowledged human rights abuses (see below) and deadly palace intrigues, publicly declares: “The United States and Saudi Arabia enjoy a strong economic relationship”–one LIV golfers apparently wanted, too–and that “Saudi Arabia plays an important role in working toward a peaceful and prosperous future for the region and is a strong partner in security and counterterrorism efforts and in military, diplomatic, and financial cooperation.”
In other words, hold your nose and extend your hand–preferably to one that has a lot of money in it. Saudi Arabia is an ally with which the U.S. works economically and otherwise, particularly since it is a huge producer of the oil that we remain stubbornly wedded to.
Realpolitik dictates that we sometimes deal with countries whose policies we abhor.
There is, for example, the large company that says this online in an effort to attract workers to jobs in the country: “Saudi Arabia has a lower cost of living than many other Middle Eastern destinations, and most expats enjoy a luxurious lifestyle. It has strict laws against alcohol and is devoid of bars and clubs, but the country is far from boring. Every October, the capital kicks off the Riyadh Season, a five month long arts and culture festival encompassing everything from live concerts to food and sports. Saudis enjoy a slow pace of life and enjoy shopping and eating out, park picnics, and desert vacations.”
That would be Amazon, owner of The Washington Post, whose columnist was murdered and dismembered by Saudi government agents rather than allowed to enjoy the slow pace of life, shopping and eating out.
The State Department certainly concedes, and decries, the human rights situation in the country, including credible reports of the following: “executions for nonviolent offenses; forced disappearances; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment of prisoners and detainees by government agents; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; political prisoners or detainees; harassment and intimidation against Saudi dissidents living abroad; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; collective punishment of family members for offenses allegedly committed by an individual; serious abuses in a conflict, including civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure as a result of airstrikes in Yemen; serious restrictions on free expression and media, including unjustified arrests or prosecutions against journalists and others, and censorship; serious restrictions on internet freedom; substantial interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, including overly restrictive laws on the organization, funding, or operation of nongovernmental organizations and civil society organizations; severe restrictions of religious freedom; restrictions on freedom of movement; inability of citizens to choose their government peacefully through free and fair elections; serious and unreasonable restrictions on political participation; serious government restrictions on domestic and international human rights organizations; lack of investigation of and accountability for gender-based violence, including but not limited to domestic and intimate partner violence; criminalization of consensual same-sex sexual activity; and restrictions on workers’ freedom of association, the role of trade unions, and labor committees.”
Other that that, how was the play Mrs. Lincoln?
So, both the U.S. and Amazon do business with the regime despite that parade of horribles.
Enter golf greats Greg Norman and Phil Mickelson, who wanted also to do business with the Saudis, in part to create a competitive golf tour and prompt the PGA to do more for players and, of course, in part because of all the money they can make from the Saudis.
Why are golfers somehow blood-money-grubbing pariahs sans moral compasses for doing business with the Saudis, a recognized ally and trading partner and a country with which many U.S. companies do business according to the Saudi Arabia Trade and Business Directory.
At least Mickelson had the guts to call out the regime as “scary motherf—ers with a “horrible record on human rights,” rather than hosts to festivals and a laid back lifestyle– a regime he hoped to use to get the PGA to change, which appears to have worked given the ensuing changes to that tour–boosted prize money, some tournaments with no cuts so that players at the bottom still get money for showing up, and more. That came after a number of the PGA’s big name players followed Mickelson to the Saudi tour.
If we are going to decide that we shouldn’t do business with “scary motherf——” regimes, there are quite a few others on that list, and we need to start treating companies–and countries–who do business with them as blood-money-sucking pariahs as well.
Born to Write 
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