Com'n People...

So the Olympic Torch will make a very quick trip through the streets of San Francisco today. It already snuck into town at approximately 4 AM yesterday. I am curious as to what it did all day. I hope it got a chance to get out and see some of the sites and to enjoy some of the best food in the world.

The protests that are greeting the Olympic torch strike me as really counterproductive. Jimmy Carter most famously turned sports into politics when he boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan. Four years later, the Soviets and a good number of their Eastern Bloc members returned the gesture and did not attend the 1984 Games held in Los Angeles. The whole premise of the Olympics is for the people of the world to come together, drop everything else, and simply celebrate sport. Politics can be dealt with in the political arena. If you want to protest against the government of China, knock yourselves out. There are groups of protestors outside the Chinese Consulate here in San Francisco everyday of the week, month, and year. Attempting to sabotage an event with such positive associations as the Olympics and the Olympic flame is not going to win anyone positive press. Out of respect for the Olympic ideal and the athletes that spend their entire lives working towards the goal of an Olympic medal, I say protest peacefully and find a better way to express your viewpoints. I am certainly not condoning any government’s suppression and denial of human rights. But there is a time and a place for all things.

Cuidate.