The Olympic Torch in San Francisco

There's a lot of excitement all around the city today, with the commotion coming from the carrying of the Olympic torch. Probably what's added to the excitement was the disruption that happened over the weekend along London and Paris legs where people tried to snatch the torch away from the runners.

Due to this incident, additional police forces are being deployed on the scene, at a cost of probably a million dollars from what I gather from the news last night, to ensure that the event will go on without causing a repeat of the weekend's fiasco.

From what I've glanced from the TV broadcast in the pantry earlier the morning, the run itself is very uncoordinated, due to the fact that the route has been shroulded in secrecy, even from the runners till the exact moment, in order to minimize the chances that the protesters will disrupt the event.

As much as I don't agree with China's actions with respect to Tibet, I just don't understand the rationale for disrupting the Olympic torch bearing marathon. I can't even see any possible positive outcome of these actions: just assume that someone did manage to snatch the torch, douse the fire, or smash it on the ground. What next?

*Nyeh Nyeh*, I win and you lose?

Does getting the torch change anything material for the struggle to liberate Tibet from China? Sure, it may make the protesters 'feel good' about whatever they've done, but these actions contribute nothing to help their cause, besides just irking the CCP even more. By putting an egg on their faces, they're likely to respond with hostile reactions more so than ever. I don't see much diplomacy in such actions, and they remind me of the guerrilla tactics Greenpeace pulls to gain media attention (and notoriety).

Getting media time to highlight the plight of your people is a good thing, but only when it's deservingly so. I just don't see the need for the mass disruption, media whoring, and expending resources to maintain law and order, especially when there is no positive outcome that can be derived from it.