How About a Carnival of Freein’ Tibet?

By: Clint | June 12th, 2007

Inspired by the RSL entry about what happened at the RSL-China game, I tried to find information about any protests at the Rapids-China game and found no “legit” news or columns mentioning a thing. Luckily, Black Panther does a phenomenal job at digging into the whys and the whats and the how-do-you-do’s regarding Team China’s visit to the rocky mountain region.

Having grown up with friends from HK, Taiwan, mainland China, and north Vietnam, the subject of Chinese govt policies and how they affect their citizens has been an on-and-off topic around nhyeah. And when music or sport worlds collide with protesters of something unrelated to the event at hand, it used to annoy me as every second it distracts someone from the event is essentially thievery. But, that would be the point, wouldn’t it. Similar to how people block passage to a bridge/road in protest of something unrelated to why commuters/travelers are trying to access that bridge or road. Getting the attention of people who would not in the normal course of their day be made aware of a situation that the protester feels is important.

Now, the fact that one person thinks that A) there is an injustice going on somewhere and B) this injustice needs additional people to be made aware of it is not only annoying but it is what led the USA to be founded. So, while it may not be the best way to communicate ideas and opinions, I definitely do support it. And, I am sickened by the Chinese government’s historic and ongoing repression of rights (read: murder, unjust imprisonment, etc.) not just in Tibet but within its own borders, as well (its world-recognized borders, not the delusional ones it claims to have).

Public protest is not only a right in America, it is a large part of what CREATED America. To suspend those rights at an event which the public is invited into (regardless of whether tickets are purchased or not) based on legal (no profanity that I could see) banners simply because the stadium/team was hosting players from a country that has no freedom of speech is wrong and un-American, in the true sense of the term (not the vitriolic, biased, inaccurate way that someone like Orrin Hatch would use it).

Here is footage of The Man discussing signage with fans at the Rapids game (which I did not attend, by the way. in protest! …yeah, that’s it. in protest! not because i got sick on burritos earlier that day):