I don’t protest much. At least not in the active, paint a sign and march with it sort of way. But every once in awhile when people take to the streets and shut down traffic in San Francisco I am immensely proud to live in a city full of people moved by their beliefs enough to march. Laugh it up cynical New Yorkers, you’re just jealous. On the fifth anniversary of our invasion into Iraq, for example, there was a massive protest, and I sat at my computer listening to it going on outside with goose bumps.
This Olympic torch thing, though, I’m not 100 percent sold on. Protesting China’s human rights abuses gets a thumbs up, but I’m not sure that snuffing out the Olympic torch really sends that message. It just seems like a protest that won’t do much but hurt people like this guy, while China carries on doing whatever they want. If anything, I worry that some poor bastard is getting beaten in a Chinese prison for every torch-stopping march. I don’t know…allowing human rights abuses in China to snuff out a torch that’s supposed to represent world peace just seems wrong. The argument is that this will shine a light on abuses in China, publicly embarassing the country into doing better. But when’s the last time anyone did anything because someone they didn’t respect embarassed them? Call me crazy, but I just don’t believe that Chinese officials are worried about what protesters think of them. The real protest seems to be against the IOC for allowing China to host the Olympics at all, which makes sense, but why wasn’t anyone joining with the Tibetans protesting at IOC headquarters last month then?
And let’s not forget that the Olympic rings and the torch relay were apparently introduced to the modern Olympic Games by the organizers of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin as a way to reflect a powerful image for the Third Reich. Critics of Chinese policy are pointing to that regime’s similar use of the symbols to project a more innocent image of itself. In fact, they’re even trying to run the torch through Tibet–nothing to see here folks, everything’s a-okay in Tibet. Definitely fucked up, but again how the hell did they "win" the Olympics in the first place, and why on Earth did the whole world keep using Nazi symbols to represent peace and unity? Maybe I should get out there and march after all.
I’m with ya on this one. Living here in Seattle its the same thing, a lot of activism awareness. (some of it is a little misguided, but all in all Seattle is a great liberal town)
Considering what the Olympics is supposed to represent, I’m not sure a b
I agree as well, but the IOC seems to have a history of making awful decisions.
Protests are the sign of a healthy democracy…good on them ;)
Expecting the same thing when the torch hits Canberra in 2 weeks (though they are discussing cancelling the relay given the public sentiment atm).
Israeli Savages Shoot American Protester (Shanbo Heinemann)From San Francisco In What Was A Peaceful Protest in West Bank
http://homo-sapien-underground.blogspot.com/2008/02/israeli-savages-shoot-san-francisco.html
LWB, you really should link to a newsource when you post a story like that on your blog.
On a more personal note, you’re kind of a whack-a-do, aren’t you?
…9/11 conspiracies? GTFO
Also, this post:
http://homo-sapien-underground.blogspot.com
Not early enough…he’s still here after all :P
What’s the 9/11 theory…who was it? Aliens? The Jews (again)? George Bush? The cast of television’s “Charmed”?
You gotta watch that Shannen Doherty, she’s tricksy.
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