Quote:
Originally Posted by allan_kuan
These people do not realize they do more harm than good by blocking people's way. Sure, there are reasons to argue against the Olympics.
|
It's obvious that these protesters feel very passionate about these reasons. They honestly feel these reasons are very important.
Quote:
|
But... can we stop it from continuing? No. That'd be a waste of billions of dollars of money and it'd be more like suiciding in front of a full-speed freight train to try to make it stop in 10 m. And yet, they still try to stand in the path...
|
Seems like they successfully got the train to reroute onto th siderails and got their message out. Seems pretty successful to me.
Of course their actions won't stop the train. They know this better than you or I. But they're passionate about their cause and want to get their message out.
Quote:
|
not realizing that their actions and the media attention around it will not get them any more support than before... in fact it can turn moderate opposers away.
|
I haven't seen any "pro-Olympic protesters" lauding the benefits of the Olympics... sure it may turn some off, but people aren't stupid. Many, for example, see sensational headlines like "guy with cerebral palsy denied" and think to themselves... okay, what's the other side of the coin... and why is that relevant other than to evoke an emotional response?
Quote:
|
Democracy does not have to be messy. Whoever thinks that it is inherently so is wrong. There are ways to make it civilized and peaceful... which some people choose not to do.
|
Amazingly, it can be all three. Civilized, Peaceful and Messy. I think this accomplished this. There was no violence, no vicious words flung and just obstruction of an event that they truly believe is harmful. Just because we may not agree with them doesn't mean that they're evil.
Quote:
|
Finally... I highy respect and applaud the torchbearer's decision to not accept apologies from the protestors.
|
I don't believe one was offered in the first place, so a refusal is pretty easy.
Also, I believe he said it wouldn't mean much, not that he wouldn't accept one.
Quote:
|
As mentioned in the article it is hollow for him to do so when they committed such disgusting actions... not to mention the other despicable actions that they have done in past Olympic events (making children cry, placing anti-Olympic messages in candy, forcing people to not see the torch at their own expense and time, etc).
|
I guess I see things a different way. I don't see what they did as hollow and am surprised at the amount of vitriol here. It's really not a big deal to let them protest and this is being sensationalized by the media. Why else would they even MENTION that the guy has cerebral palsy than to stimulate an emotional response from the public. To me, that's borderline not objective journalism.
Also, why the big deal about getting political messages in trick or treat candy? The kids don't care, it's the adults that do and it offers a great opportunity for parents to teach children an object lesson on either side of the fence: pro-O or anti-O.
Kids are curious and if you present all the facts, they're pretty smart about seeing through crap... whether it's pro-Olympic crap or anti-Olympic crap.