Today was the day that the Olympic flame came to my home city of London. What a day it was!
The day began, like many other parts of the country, with snow. It has been a bit of a weird weekend for weather - less than 48 hours before I had cycled to a meeting in my body armour and a t-shirt because it was too hot for my jacket. But the weirdness had only just begun.
At the Army, it was decided that we should end the meeting a few minutes early and go outside to see the flame pass our church and to play a bit of Christian music. A sizeable group of Salvos made their way to the front of church to wave the flame on its way to Greenwich. Lucy and Tim, both linked on the left hand side, took the opportunity to arrange a protest against the human rights abuses that are taking place across China.
It was only when I arrived at home and saw the news the full extent of the protest was made apparant.
A number of scuffles, assaults and security breaches marred what should have been a celebration of sport, culture and all things great and British. Don't get me wrong, I understand that issues that are going on in the region at the moment and over recent years but I really don't feel that today was an appropriate time to protest.
The protesters claimed that they were going to be peaceful, but photographs prove that not to be so. Is it peaceful to attempt an assault on a TV presenter carrying the torch? Or to direct a fire extinguisher at another torch carrier?
Having had a look through various news sources that show various images of what went on today, I can assure you that the manner in which the police acted would have been entirely justified and entirely lawful.
The Olympics is about equality, respect, peace, sharing cultures and leaving a better person. Today in London did not reflect that in the slightest.
So do I feel shame? Well yes, I do - shame that London couldn't effect their displeasure and discomfort about the situation in a way that was fitting for the Olympics
Timmy "Beijing Blogger" Magic
PS - before anyone asks, the band didn't play "Torchbearers"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I was chatting to a mate about this late last week. He said that he didn't think there'd be any protests during the torch procession. I replied:
"Want to bet?"
"Well, yes, that's the problem..."
Post a Comment