Majora Carter is a hero. She is part of the growing movement that is integrating social and environmental justice and sustainability. Read this great diary about her work around green jobs and Sustainable South Bronx.
Yesterday, in San Francisco, Majora Carter was one of the Olympic Torch Bearers. She pulled out a hidden Tibetan flag and held both the torch and the flag as she ran. How was she rewarded? The flag was ripped from her hand by other runners. The torch pulled from her hand. Then police took her from the procession and shoved her into the crowd.
Majora Carter is a hero.
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The night before, Majora Carter spoke at a vigil in San Francisco. The Sun reports:
Ms. Carter foreshadowed her action when she spoke Tuesday night at a candlelight vigil staged by Tibetans and pro-Tibet activists. "I'm going to be carrying that torch because I do see it as a light for freedom and for justice," she said at a candlelight vigil at San Francisco's United Nations Plaza.
Some in the crowd booed as Ms. Carter was announced, but they seemed to warm to her as she spoke. "I know that I'm getting the kind of love that I'm feeling from all of you tonight, that a little bit of that love is going to transfer into that flame and it is going to go all the way to China," she said.
Yesterday, she stood by her words and unveiled a hidden Tibetan flag as she was handed the torch.
NYT reports:
At least one torchbearer decided to show her support for Tibetan independence during her moment in the spotlight. After being passed the Olympic flame, Majora Carter pulled out a small Tibetan flag that she had hidden in her shirt sleeve.
''The Chinese security and cops were on me like white on rice, it was no joke,'' said Carter, 41, who runs a nonprofit organization in New York. ''They pulled me out of the race, and then San Francisco police officers pushed me back into the crowd on the side of the street.''
I wanted to go to the protests, but I had two job interviews that afternoon so I couldn't go. (I work in sustainable building.) On the way back to Berkeley on the Bart, I saw several Tibetan people holding Tibetan flags. I asked them how the protest was and one told me that a woman had unveiled the Tibetan flag as she carried the torch. I went home and watched the news, they showed video of Carter taking out the flag and then getting straight mugged. The torch bearers around her just started grabbing her arms and ripping everything out of her hands. Then she got pulled away like she had just pulled a gun on a VIP. I guess that's what happens when you show support for human rights.
Update [2008-4-10 13:51:57 by bollucks]: Thanks to Neil in the comments for posting this video. See how she gets treated by the police. This is horrible! Who the hell are they working for? I'm glad my tax dollars can be used to support PRC's crackdown of dissent, even outside of their borders.
Update [2008-4-10 14:40:45 by bollucks]: Video of the flag being pulled from her hand.
More video.
I will update with video of the actual moment when I find it. Note, another torch bearer unveiled a Tibetan Flag. He is an athlete in a wheelchair from the bay area, updates on him when I get more info.
Don't mix politics with the Olympics? Whoops. Articles 4 and 5 of the Olympic charter say the host country must understand human rights and not discriminate on race, religion, or nationality.
Interviewer for local news talks with Chinese activist. He says he wants to show that others support China and they should be allowed to speak out. Interviewer asks, but you wouldn't be allowed to speak out if you were in China, right? Response: yes, that's true. Whoops.
Thank you, Majora Carter. Thank you, Green For All. Thank you, Tibetan Activists. One World, One Dream.
Update [2008-4-10 14:50:34 by bollucks]: Other torch bearer protest image.