There I was, all ready to greet the torch with peaceful protest. I live on the Embarcadero, a block from the ballyard, where the torch run was set to commence. Last night the police came by dropping barricades all the way down the block. This morning the sun shone brightly on the waterfront, illuminating the signs my husband and I picked up at last night's prayer vigil. Thanks to the Save Darfur ("China: Extinguish the Flames of Genocide in Darfur") and Students for a Free Tibet ("Olympics in China; Torture in Tibet") coalitions, we bore witness to the human rights struggle and the quest for freedom.
By noon, hundreds of pro-freedom protesters were out in force to issue a full-throated defense of peace and dialogue. Spilling into the streets, the Safe Darfur and Free Tibet marchers carried their banners. A few Chinese flags were in attendance, too, mixing it up with Dalai Lama supporters. But then a strange thing happened: the torch did not pass.
For all the big talk of putting on a show, all that free speech obviously overwhelmed the authorities. Instead of braving a peaceful gauntlet of freedom fighters, the torch was secreted away to an alternate route. Encased by police and barricaded by a SWAT team, the torch movement was barely visible to a TV crowd. And what is the ironic takeaway as we await the rescheduled, secluded "closing" ceremonies? The protesters did not extinguish the Olympic flame today -- the authorities did.