Every 4 Years (Or 2 Kinda)

Let's talk about the Olympics. In case you don't pay attention to sports, politics or life, they're going to be in China. This year.

Some people are getting a little upset about this. Because China doesn't have such a good record on human rights or the environment or free speech or um, other stuff too. So there are protests, lots, and crackdowns, more, and talk of boycotting the Games. Because, you know, isolation always works so well (cough, North Korea).

As the Games get closer and the Torch Relay (ah, the lighting of the Torch) starts off, there are getting to be more and more protests.

And China, the state not necessarily the people, is preparing in excess for the event. They seem to think this is their 'grand opening', 'coming out', whatever your favorite metaphor is and that the past few years have really just been soft openings. So forget all that other stuff you heard, ignore the man behind the curtain.

The only thing is that EVERYONE knows they're cracking down on unrest, training their citizens in civic pride and rules of polite behavior and blowing away the polluted air by sheer force of willpower.

Now, I love the Olympics, no matter where they are. I understand they have become a commercialized, jaded, steroid-laden, medal count. BUT, people who really believe that don't give enough credit to the athletes who are capable of truly amazing things and who have trained harder than you could even imagine (no, whatever you think is a hard workout, a hard schedule, harder than that) and who only get this chance once every 4 years. To boycott an Olympics is to waste these people's talents. (Besides, every country that hosts ends up more in debt than they started, so wouldn't it be more of a punishment to go to the event than to stay away.)

So, if you were the Chinese government and you were worried about unrest and you knew there were lots of protestors and people pissed off about this, would you pick San Francisco (city of liberal activism) as the ONE city in the US for the torch relay to go through?? And if you want to highlight the traveties going on in Tibet would you stay away from San Francisco on April 9th? No and No.

So, for the rest of us, the Torch Relay going through the city on April 9th is not going to be something to miss.

And, really, neither are the Games. Ever.