Torch Watch 2008

I’m watching/listening to the coverage of the torch relay on the web right now. They’re showing a bus that was stopped by the crowd who believe the torch is located on the bus. I doubt it. There’s no cops anywhere near the bus, so I’m thinking it’s a ploy to try to drive them away from where it really is. It’s actually kind of funny, most of the media can’t find the torch right now. (update: they just located it on Van Ness!) They’ll probably announce the end of the run and then tell everyone the where they ran it. Maybe down in San Jose. LOL.

I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. I totally think that the protesters have the right to protest. I also think that China has major human rights violations, and therefore should not have been considered an appropriate venue for this event, unless they were to make concessions in that regard. In many ways the torch run has become a spectacle, it’s “torch watch” not “flame watch” cause they keep extinguishing the darn thing. And it’s not fair to the athletes or the torch bearers. It’s considered an honor to get to carry the torch, and to be accepted to compete in the games; aren’t the protests are taking that away from those people. I agree that human life is worth so much more than a torch run, But this is the Olympics; we’re all supposed to come together and ignore our political differences, right? When the difference is basic human rights, which, I agree, shouldn’t be ignored, then why the heck were they awarded the games in the first place? I know; Politics. Bah. The IOC can’t follow the directive to stay away from politics, why would you expect that anyone else would try to play along.
At the same time, one could argue that the IOC has done this cause a huge favor. In awarding the games to China, they’ve given this cause the world’s stage. In what other venue could you get this kind of coverage? The attention being given to the human rights issues related to China is unmatched right now. There are so many people who might have become so aware of these issues had it not been for the Olympics being awarded to China in the first place.

In the meantime, we’ll be entertained by watching the media do their dance trying to locate the thing.