Protesting the Olympic Torch...
know1
Posts: 6,794
....is just an asinine thing to do.
I do not support China or the things it does that make people want to protest, but come on - these people are hassling the poor person whose dream it was to run with the Olympic torch.
China doesn't care if protestors block the way and scream things at some poor schmuck who was lucky enough to be granted the honor of running with the torch.
I do not support China or the things it does that make people want to protest, but come on - these people are hassling the poor person whose dream it was to run with the Olympic torch.
China doesn't care if protestors block the way and scream things at some poor schmuck who was lucky enough to be granted the honor of running with the torch.
The only people we should try to get even with...
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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couldnt agree more... if anyone thinks that the leader of China is sitting somewhere watching it and thinking "hey that guy put out the torch... perhaps i should remove from Tibet...hmmmmmm man putting out torch is indeed a formidable foe." then they are sadly deluded.
phone calls from Bush, Brown, Putin... pffttt!!! what they need is a man putting out torch!
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
the olympics have turned into a money-making venture anyway, so protesting the symbol of this money-making venture makes some sense...
It's nice that some think it's asinine, those protesting may disagree...
you protest at suitable political events that involve Chinese diplomats... or organise demos through the streets of certain cities at certain times and have a collective show of disdain for the Chinese government rather than a few haphazard attempts at stuffing out an Olympic flame..
i'm ok with people protesting all the way down the route of the torch... i think thats how good protests work... but crazy folk running from the crowd and attacking a sportsperson so they can try and wrestle a torch off them is both pitiful and pointless.
reminds me of the story about some shitty London college writing a letter to Saddam Hussein asking him to stop bombing the Kurds... i bet he was shitting himself ... "ohhhh nooo a letter from Islington Musical College!!!!! I must stop killing these people or they will never stop writing angry letters!!
the letter was signed by about 74 students... big deal
if i want to protest gas prices.......i should approach the cashier who is granting me access to put gas into my car.
i think i understand........attack the weakest.
so were sitting here discussing the inanity of snuffing out the olympic torch. so... if we're discussing it and are already aware( i would think) of the atrocities committed by the chinese government, then imagine someone who was completely oblivious to what china gets up to, watching the telly and questioning what it is they are seeing? they ask why this is happening. they go find out. they discover a conscience they never knew they had. their mind is awakened and they start to protest in whatever way they see fit. that to me is the reasoning behind the actions weve seen on our tvs these past days.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
whoever protests inside china has balls.
if anyone only knows about the Chinese situation as a result of this TV debacle then i think rather than protest against the Olympic torch they should protest about their own lack of education.
you could be right about that dunk. but you know as well as i do there are millions of people who get ALL their info from the telly. it is the strongest influence on how these people form their opinions and what those opinions will be.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
However, I have said before, trying to extinguish the flame is not cool. It is spitting in the faces of these kids that are so proud of what they have accomplished.
I also don't think someone riding the sofa and watching the tv is suddenly going to get off their ass and start boycotting all that is Chinese. It just doesn't work that way. Yes, they may get up in arms in their homes, sitting on the sofa, but I doubt it will go farther than that. If they are not aware of the situation in TIbet by now....well...TURN OFF THE TV AND READ A PAPER or go to the library.
And I don't feel right when you're gone away
hmm well i'd be very cautious about suggesting people read the newspaper as an alternative to watching the telly. theyare just too similar too often as far as i can see. one has to know which papers are worth the effort(and which to avoid..hello murdoch press) and yet upon learning that, to take everything they read with a grain of salt and back it up in the library as you suggested.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
What people should be doing is calling out the pathetic IOC. Those guys are the reason this thing landed in China in the first place. Let them hear about it and let them hear it years ago when they decided to go to China.
"Obama's main opponent in this election on November 4th (was) not John McCain, it (was) ignorance."~Michael Moore
"i'm feeling kinda righteous right now. with my badass motherfuckin' ukulele!"
~ed, 8/7
However, I really hope that there is no boycotts or disruptions at the games themselves. It's not the athletes' fault of the political actions of China. I guess you could say the same thing about the people carrying the torch, but it's not like they have been training everyday of their lives, and investing all of their resources to get ready to carry a torch.
edit: and the whole attacking the runners/snuffing out the torch thing is retarded... When I said protesting, I was thinking more along the lines of the people who are protesting along the route with signs and things like that.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
well as much as is admire the dalai lama, i see this as an empty threat. though i dont doubt or fault his motivation. im sure he is fully aware of what the tibetan people will lose if he steps down. he is an extremely charasmatic leader and his loss could well be irrevocable.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
I'm even of the opinion that hanging the banners or waving negative signs at them is just wrong.
(not wrong in the sense of having the right to protest, but wrong in the sense of protesting the wrong thing and ruining someone's dreams)
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
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two wrongs dont make a right.
by jumping into the face of an athlete and trying to wrestle a torch off them is analogous to what China is doing in Tibet. That athlete has every right to be proud to carry the torch and obviously as athletes they know what it means... some dufus trying to take it off them is no better than the chinese bully boy back in Tibet trying to remove a Tibetan flag from a student.
protest peacefully and by painting banners and flags, etc etc etc.. but trying to rip a torch from someones hands is antagonistic and infantile.
Not to mention the torch itself is supposed to be a symbol of peace. If you want to protest the fact that the games went to China, blame the corrupt bastards that run the IOC (since it is not like China wasn't in Tibet when the games were awarded) not some poor guy running with the torch.
I agree. The people here in China are really looking forward to the olympics. It's a very big deal to them. This is the first time in many of their lives that they have been granted an opportunity to appear on the world stage.
I think it's a shame that it's taken the olympics to bring to light the issue of Tibet. Why weren't people making noises about Tibet last year or the year before? I feel sorry for the people of China that this event is being smeared over something that should be treated as a separate issue. It's one thing to criticise, and protest the government of a country, but it's another thing to try and punish the people of that same country who have no say in what their government does.
byrnzie lives in China and typed the word Tibet... he was arrested 8 mins ago
totally agree with you amigo
LOL ! Sad thing is it might be true ! They at least upped his surveillance team from 10 to 20 people.
Ditto.
And I would simply add, China does care, and they are most definitely watching! The torch run is going to even be cut short because of all the protesting. At least the US is finally paying a little attention, it's a start. Now we have to go further.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
I'm just asking, and please feel free to educate me because I would love to no more of how you feel about this, since you seem closer to it than any of us. But the people have to change their governmet, they have to do something about it. And knowing that the world is actually out there listening and judging their government, does that not give the people more of a reason to fight for a change in their government.
On the same point, yes a lot of people have set back and said nothing about Tibet for years and years but would you not agree that sometimes you have to wait for the right time to strike. And considering how much attention the Olympics will bring to China, isn't this the time to act.
Same for the people of China-Now is the time to do something about your government?
Please don't insult me, but I would love to hear different perspectives, by no means am I saying I have any of the answers-I'm just asking.
by no means am i insulting you...but the people and the world watched the last time they tried to change their government.
I am happy and proud that San Fran is going to be showing our protesting ethics.
protest and stub out that torch...as the Olympic Chairman said: “We recognize the right for people to protest and express their views, but it should be nonviolent. We are very sad for all the athletes and the people who expected so much from the run and have been spoiled of their joy,” Rogge said.
spoiled of their JOY...versus being robbed of life, autonomy, and cultural identity.
I say - fair trade. (get the pun????)
Hail, Hail!!!
And focusing your outrage about China getting the olympics at the torch runner or an athlete is kind of like focusing your outrage about the Iraq war at a foot soldier. Why not protest the Iraq War outside some soldier's house?