Letters to the Editor
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If only they had hired a taxicab ...
"It was the Rosie Ruiz of torches."
That's just brilliant.
I was reading on that other lefty online magazine a quote from Lamar Alexander (former governor of Tennessee) about how people running for president are reluctant to give up the race because in a way, it's an admission that they have disappointed their supporters and that's a hard thing to do. Apparently, those responsible for today's relocation of the torch run hardly gave a second thought to their own supporters - those who longed to see the torch, who took off from work or traveled great distances to see the torch, who subjected themselves to protest they might rather have avoided.
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Running is too obvious
It must be hard to move the torch quickly while having to hide. You know, the carrier puts the torch in a nondescript bag, sits on the park bench, gets up "forgetting" the bag while the next carrier sits by it, and happens to walk off with it. then that carrier goes to the airport and finds a naive traveler to carry one extra package, just as a favor, maybe with a small fee, please don't look inside. Or maybe a deliberately inconspicuous person takes a match and tries to light his shoe. He's seized and he fails to light it, and an examination of the shoe shows yes, there's the torch hidden inside.
See? No wonder they had start the torch now for games this summer.
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Boycott the Beijing Olympics AND Chinese products
By all means all decent folk should boycott the Beijing Olympics. Those who argue that politics shouldn't play any part in the Olympics are either intellectually dishonest or just plain ignorant. The Olympics are all about politics. The PRC wanted the Olympics for the international prestige and cachet it would bring -- just like Nazi Germany did in 1936* (And boy, didn't that bring Germany into the family of nations!).
That said, if anyone really gives a rat's derriere about Tibet and other human rights violations by the PRC, then Chinese products should be boycotted as well. However, I don't see a lot of do-gooders advocating this.
And that said, given the US's very poor record on war atrocities, going back to at least the Viet Nam war, the US shouldn't be hosting any more Olympics any time soon either.
* BTW, I hope everybody knows the whole torch-running schtick as well as the Olympic symbol are both Nazi additions to the Olympic tradition. Zieg heil, sports fans!
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I sort of delighted in the pictures of protestors wearing North Face Denali jackets...
...because it reminded me that hey, in America, at least we've got something that, to use a sorta dated term, sor-whores (and the frat rats who like to dress like them) and granolas can agree on: Total oblivion to the geo-politics involved in this quintessential Chinese product in favor of a uniquely American variety of brand-whoreness.
Which kind of got me to thinking.
So the "silent-sports" outdoor industry, which probably if polled among biz persons and end users went about 80% Dem in the last election, and whom if you asked anybody who claims to follow the topic would probably be cluck-clucking about China...
...is as wedded to the hip to China and its politics as any industry out there. Sure, it's easy to take pot shots at Wal-Mart and Nike, but have you checked the tags on your $350 Gore shell lately? What about that Patagonia fleece? Holy crapola, every piece of nylon you own -- oh yeah, and that eco merino wool, too -- is coming out of China. All of it.
So, I'm waiting for the industry's collective response. A couple years ago, a coalition of groups spearheaded by Black Diamond threatened to pull its trade shows out of Utah on account of then-gov Mike Leavitt's (admittedly boneheaded) stances on wilderness land use. I'm still waiting for the response now. I'm assuming they won't hesitate to use their leverage in a positive vein, cheap imports be damned.
Climbers! Mountaineers! Runners! Bikers! To the stockades!
I bring this up because the spectre of mountain climbers being inconvenienced this summer in Tibet is more than I think I can bear. It should be for you, too.
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How dare they bring running water, electricity, mass transit and medicine to Tibet!!!
How dare they disassemble feudalism! I am, as a Liberal in good and fully paid up status officially outraged that I can no longer vacation in quaint primitive Tibet where middle age used to be 19. How dare progress mess that up. Why I will wear a black t-shirt and shake my fist at Nike!
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Bizarre
I wonder exactly how many protesters are well read on China and Tibet, understand the issues and are carrying well-formed opinions into the protests?
I suspect the percentage is dismally low.
I'm more of a political junkie the vast majority of people I know and I know enough about Tibet & China to know I don't know enough to have an opinion. But hey, a day out at the protests is a lot of fun, eh?
The Canadian and the Ukrainian in me, having grown up with a double dose of Neighbour-as-Goliath syndrome what with the US and Russia, sympathizes naturally with the Tibetans.
However, I can't see how throwing yourself in front of the torch does anything more than give you a fun memory to recount down the pub. It's not going to change China, that's for sure!
Then again, maybe I'm just annoyed Canada's perfect record in the World Curling Championship's round robin stage was ruined by an upstart Chinese rink in their first Championship. ;)
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wrong subject for protests
I am as horrified and indignant as anyone when it comes to human rights abuses in China. Viewed through the prism of our modern society that country's primitive justice system and cultural prejudices seem... well... primitive.
If you detect a note of sarcasm it is not your imagination. Our "modern" country imprisons and executes innocent people, finding out decades later the error in evidence. Our country has the highest prisoner to population ratio in the world. We discriminate against blacks, gays, and foreigners with the blessing of our Christian national religion. Tell me how our nation has the right to boycott or even criticize the Chinese?
The Olympics is supposed to be a symbol of peace and cultural understanding and acceptance. If it is used as a protest platform for every international grievance that can be directed at a host nation (and you can be sure the next time they are held in the US there will be similar protests), you can be sure the end is near for them. That would be a terrible loss for mankind.