Olympic Torch: Flame of Shame

Yo, people, what's the problem? The Olympics (and by association, the Olympic Torch Relay) are not about politics. They're not about whether China has some human rights issues (is the pot calling the kettle black here? Think Guantanamo, think Abu Ghraib). They're about people. People competing against other people, not against political policies.

Didn't we learn anything in the 80s, we boycotted the Moscow Olympics (is there some sort of irony here as we are now the occupying force in Afghanistan), the Soviets boycotted the LA Olympics. What did that accomplish? Nothing. The end result the only people who suffered were the athletes who didn't get to compete, and the fans who didn't get to watch the games.

It was funny really. As I read the story of the people who climbed the Golden Gate bridge to hang their "Free Tibet" sign I thought "that would never happen here in San Jose." For a bunch of reasons really. There's the obvious - we don't have a Golden Gate Bridge so there's no place to climb. But more importantly, our police don't take that kind of crap. The San Jose PD would've treated the protesters just like they treat the occasional stray mountain lion that finds its way into civilization - cap their asses.