Torch Trouble

I never said that I am familiar with any sort of situation for any reason. My dreams of Olympic glory went out the window when I decided I didn't like to race alpine skiing as much as I liked getting stoned in the woods and hitting fresh powder. I just wanted to point out that the repurcussions of an Olympic boycott isn't completely lost on me or mine.

What influence will the Games likely have on China's foreign OR domestic policy? Nada. Zip. It's just a boost to their fucking ego and a pat on the back from the rest of the world. "I say, China, good show Chauncy." Sarajevo hasn't exactly become an example of peace and love since '84.

Yep. We Boycotted Moscow b/c of Afganistan. "Lack of solidarity?" We later sent them the fucking CIA and Stinger missles. Low and behold, the USSR WITHDREW from Afganistan. Game. Set. Match.

Jesse Owens went to Ohio State, FYI. Go Bucks!

Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout.

Oh y'all motherfuckers are lucky.

TORCH MAYHEM 2008 EXCLUSIVE PICTURES!!!!

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

Milling about.

One of the few non "Free Tibet" or "Stop the Genocide in Darfur" protests I saw that had more than a few people were territorial protesters from Vietnam. Thought it was interesting.

First wave of Free Tibet protesters.


lolgodwinlol

There was an absolutely HUGE presence of pro-Chinese demonstrators (or, as the mainstream media inaccurately called them "pro-Torch" demonstrators). These were people that were mostly bussed in from out of the area at the expense of the Chinese consulate and other "pro-Chinese groups". In other words, these were hired shills for the most part. It was disgustingly transparent.



If it looks like there aren't many people in these pictures, it's because we walked in between the two main crowds to catch people marching in between the Ferry Building (where the torch was supposed to end up) and McCovey Cove (where it started). In actuality, there were a shit-ton of people there.

More in a second...

i know i say this every time the city is mentioned, but god i miss san francisco. wish i was there. and those pro-chinese ("pro-torch") protesters look totally planted and funded. great shots, clint.

Just wonder if those are standard Chinese procedure for faking news stories. Plant a few dozen pro-gov't protestors in a crowd and call it good?

I love how the pro-Chinese are flanked by inflatable mascots.

Clearly something a few friends threw together in their basement.

Round two:

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

Pro-Chinese demonstrators. They were fond of chanting "Dalai Lair!" and "CNN Liars!"


The road along the Embarcadero is split down the middle by light rail tracks. At one point you had the Chinese protesters walking along the right side of the road towards the Ferry Building and the Tibetan protesters walking along the left side. These two were virtually simultaneous to the four above.


More Chinese.


Two protesters yelling at each other. This was not the only confrontation like this I saw, just the only one I caught on camera.

More on this in a second, but the above people were perhaps the most victimized by the indefensible decision to sneak the torch out on another route: the people who just showed up to see their friends or family run with the torch. While the Chinese got to say they got to run their torch around the city, the protesters got to say they disrupted the route so much that they had to completely hide the torch and the City got to say that no one got hurt, these people got nothing. Despicable.


This is on the Ferry Building. He got the biggest ovation of anyone I saw.

I gotta say, it was a little jarring seeing all the Chinese flags around. They didn't necessarily outnumber the Tibetan flags, but it was almost like being caught in a foreign occupation. Not entirely comfortable, especially with the knowledge that these people were bussed in from elsewhere.

I do wish more protesters were talking about how China is helping fuck-up the Sudan. Tibet is important, but Sudan is a genocide.

In 1996, I was a freshman at San Francisco State. I was lucky enough to see the Olympic Torch come right underneath my 5th story window. The road along Lake Merced Blvd (about as far away from "downtown SF" as you can get) was lined with people maybe 1-2 deep. It was nice. People cheered. I thought it would be a once-in-a-lifetime event. I guess I was right.

No one got to see the torch this time except for the lucky few who happened to be accidentally on Van Ness or in the Marina. One of my co-workers was one of those people. Good for him. But for everyone else involved, this was a complete slap in the face. Oh, except for the Chinese government. They liked it because they get to beam images back through their censored press outlets. They get to tell their populace that everything was hunky dory in San Francisco. Not like those savages in Paris, no. Americans love the Chinese! Yay!

Yep. The Chinese government gets to have their PR coup. Everyone else got it right in the ass. From the protesters, to the supporters to the simple spectators, everyone else got fucked. Even canceling the run would have been a better solution because then we could have all gone home. Instead, the City lied to people to protect the interests of the Chinese government. They told us that yes, they might change the route but NO MATTER WHAT they'd end up at the Ferry Building. They never went anywhere close. They told us that they'd make sure that people would be able to voice their opinions and have a robust protest. They weren't able to in the way that they were promised.

I've been a supporter of Mayor Newsom for a long time. No longer. He took the easy way out and pandered to foreign interests over the desires of his own constituency. I understand the need for safety. But if that was the prevailing concern, then cancel the fucking relay. Don't give your people assurances that they will get to see the torch and voice their opinions and then sneak out the back door with your middle finger in the air just so China can have their little photo op. Seriously, fuck you, Gavin. Hope it was worth it.

Ok. My mistake then.
I thought that having a close family member lose their opportunity to compete in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow because of the boycott then would lend you a certain familiarity with with that situation in particular at least.

ok, whoa. Like, total whoosh there. Ya lost me.

Um. yeah.
Seems pretty clear that Stinger missiles might have had more of a hand in influencing their withdrawal than boycotting the games or the CIA.
I'm more interested in what the boycott accomplished. Was it positive or negative ? Meaningless ?

Obviously I want to believe in those idealistic principals of the Olympics being about the athletes, the games, sportsmanship, and using a friendly even if fierce, virtuous competition to build bridges between cultures and political differences on a more personal level, but more fundamentally it's the belief that dialog and commonalities are a more productive way forward than simply taking your ball and going home.

Yes. Go Bucks indeed.

Yeah, I think Newsom seriously underestimated how bad this makes him look.

Okay, but you're some random guy in Milwaukee. I'm talking about countries literally boycotting, like we did in the 80s.

the IOC completely misses the point:

and i still can't get over this:

No, I agree! GO BUCKS!!! Milwaukee FTW!

I hope you CCed this to Newsom's office, all f-bombs included.

Going further downhill.

Why do Chinese political shennanigans seem so childish? "Pro torch protesters?" "Convenient Terrorist Plot?" (came up just in time to take some attention away from torch protests) . . . It's like a 12 year old playing RISK!

The Dalai Lama is right. They do deserve the olympics, for it is a spotlight on their massive piles of collective bullshit. They deserve that attention and the scrutiny and shame that goes with it. Such a wise man.

You mean like when the CIA funded and organized anti-Mossadeq protests in Iran?

Oh dear god. Do you honestly believe that I've been talking about not watching the Olympics on cable or something? This is a joke, right? 'Cause you're a comedian or some such and jokes are de rigueur, right? If this is not the case, your obtuseness really bums me out.

If you're reading this thread from the last page to the front you're in luck. There is no reason to read any further. That's it in a nutshell.

Well, if you think torch trouble is bad, wait 'till you hear about Olympic Terrorism!

Although I suspect the Chinese authorities may be full of it, and trying to distract the world from their real problems.