Olympic Torch – Tibet Protests

I’m sure most of you have heard about the “Free Tibet” protests in England and France during the olympic torch relays.

I think the tradition is for the flame to be carried around the world from Athens to the site of the Olympic games, and so far at many of these cities there have been many “Free Tibet” protests. Protests have turned violent, to the point where protesters have tried to snatch the flame from the hands of athletes carrying the torch, or by extinguishing the torch. In the relay in France the torch had to be extinguished multiple times due to protests, and transported to safety.

I think this is bullshit. Especially after reading comments and articles in Digg that seem to support the protesters. Most of these comments seem to come in the typical vein of: “China is a human rights abusing, terrible country and they are at fault.” A British newspaper uncovered that many of the “guards” escorting the torch carriers were top graduates from China’s police academy. The typical Digg response? “Wow China is such a terrible country for having a goon-squad to protect the torch.”

Are you kidding me? Protesters are turning violent and they are literally trying to mob the torch carriers and you think China shouldn’t be putting their top people into doing the escorts? I saw the video of a protester trying to grab the torch from a young girl athlete… the guards reacted quickly and brought the protester down. And no, they did not use any excessive force. They merely tackled the guy and let police take over. Frankly, if it were me I would have stopped and kicked the crap out of that protester too. Seriously. What is wrong with people these days?

I’m all for protesting, but there needs to be a line drawn at where it turns physical at a non-political events. It’s the freaking olympic torch relay for crying out loud. A game celebrated around the world for its ability to bring peace. And you attack an athlete? What kind of point are you trying to make? For all those athletes who have worked their entire lives to compete for their country at the Games – do you think they deserve to have THEIR event tarnished and marked?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that those people who think Tibet should be free should just swallow their opinions and take it quietly. But think about who you are really punishing when you go out and make a public nuisance of yourselves. And if you want to have protests, make them peaceful. If you have a problem with China, go riot in China (good luck), or outside their embassies in other countries. Don’t use another event as your own platform, and for chrissakes stop giving biased arguments and reports for why you think tibet should be free – and delivering the arguments as if they were the truth. They aren’t. It is propaganda, and if you stoop to propaganda you are just as bad as the Chinese government you claim to hate. If you think you have a strong point – stop lying or exaggerating. Make the point as it is, and let others judge it on its own factual merit. Don’t disrespect us, or your own cause.

And for most of the Westerners who are pro-tibet… how much do you know about Tibet? Not much, I bet. Half of the protesters, if not more, who were chanting, waving banners – how many of them have really understood the issue at hand? Most people out there hating on China and what-not don’t even know what they are talking about. They hear about some protest, the keywords, “freedom”, “human rights” and off they go. They immediately jump on the cause, and argue so vehemently for it – when the arguments and viewpoints they present aren’t even theirs – they are picked off from opinions they read / overheard, and not based on their own critical evaluation at all. And THAT really makes me angry. Because I know this kind of typical person. This is the guy/girl who thinks China is still operating under Communism. They are the ones who think China is stealing US jobs, that China is a threat to US national security, and well… basically they accept everything the politicians tell them about China – namely, that all their domestic economic troubles are because of China. Well, I really hate it when people don’t think for themselves. Believe it or not, OTHERS are not at fault for your own problems. YOU are. Your economy is failing? Don’t blame others. Blame yourself, or your elected politicians. This isn’t just about problems with the economy, this applies to everyday life. Sometimes, we just have to suck it up and take a hard look at ourselves before we blame others for our own problems.

I guess the point of this post/rant is: for all of you people out there reading news about “free tibet” and “China abuses human rights,” and “China is stealing our jobs,” etc. etc… please just stop and think about this:

Are my opinions informed? Are they based upon my own researched factual knowledge? Or am I simply taking an opinion presented on the newspaper, and making it my own without critically thinking through the issue myself?

If it is the latter – I implore you to rethink your preassumptions.

Additionally, let’s say we come to the informed conclusion that China abuses human rights. Please also stop and think about what that entails: so what should we do? Should we snatch olympic torches? As you can see, one does not follow from the other.

I am not confident myself to say whether or not Tibet should be free from China. I don’t think it should – but I am more than willing to admit that I don’t know enough. I just wish those people strongly condemning China could present their own opinions too with the same humility.