last night had to be one of the top five most ridiculous things that has happened in portland that i have ever seen. portland is a city of protest, if there are three or more people getting together you can probably find someone to protest it. it is great, free speech, makes the city what it is. but last night just before the olympic torch goes by sghq there is a loud speaker booming and sirens. i look out over the balcony and there is a truck driving by with video monitors showing footage of rodeos with the slogan "cruelty is not an olympic sport." since last time i checked rodeo stunts were not olympic events, the only thing that i can figure they were protesting was the fact that salt lake city has rodeos and therefor should not be allowed to host the olympics. oregon has some of the biggest rodeos in the country so it just seems a little ridiculous to me. but i am sure that they would protest if the olympics were here too. and don't get me wrong, i am a vegetarian, i don't wear fur, and i believe that rodeos and the circus and zoos are more than a little fucked up but is it really appropriate to protest the olympics because of that? it is kind of apples and oranges don't you think? but i once saw a protest against shopping on the day after thanksgiving here where the protesters put out boxes of hangers and the mounted police got all tangled up in them harming the horses. so sometimes it doesn't matter what the kids are protesting just that they are. god i love this city.