Mayor Newsome thwarted my planned protest (mooning the Goebbels torch relay) by moving the relay far from the crowds, so only a few locals and media could see it. He canceled the closing ceremonies. I don't blame him. He was doing his job. But in many ways it was a big victory for those who want to liberate Tibet, Darfur, Burma and the Uighur regions, among others.
The Chinese Communist Party imported many hundreds of their supporters, flying in some from Canada. I guess they all enjoyed the free trip to SF. By my eyewitness and media accounts, the pro-Tibet forces were equal in number and much better behaved.
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The few scuffles I saw were started by pro-China people. In one case they roughly pushed pro-Tibet banners back, covering them with their own. When the police showed up and demanded they hold their banner high so as not to block the views. The Chinese raised it for a minute, then went back to harassment as soon as the cops moved on.
For the most part, however, it was pure SF. Protesters from both sides stood next to each other and used nothing more than words to promote their case. I was at Justin Hermann Plaza, the designated site of the cancelled closing ceremonies. We had regular text updates on the location of the torch and protesters were able to get in position. One of the torch relay team stunned everyone by pulling a Tibetan flag from her shirt sleeve. Chinese authorities quickly stepped in and kicked her out, forcing her into the throng of protesters.
I did not fail completely. While I couldn't moon the relay and offend a few people, I was interviewed about my intentions and T-shirt art by Australian TV. I have no idea if it aired and don't have a link, but if anyone comes across it, please post in the comments.
Freedom and compassion won today, just as Archbishop Tutu told us yesterday (as diaried by me Tuesday night). We need to keep up the fight all the way through the games and beyond. Help Team Tibet win the real gold!