Games activists need to grow up
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Along roadways lined with cheering West Shore kids and adults, dozens of people had the thrill of running a leg of the Olympic Torch Relay last weekend.
The long parade of police, sponsor and Olympic organizers vehicles, with the runner amid the mix, came and went largely without incident, unlike the shameful display seen downtown.
Those lined up to see the flame Friday night in Victoria were treated to a flurry of protesters who went as far as to endanger mounted police and their horses. Activists’ actions saw 10 torch bearers denied their right to partake in a once-in-a-lifetime event and effectively ruined the night for families eager to make their own 2010 Olympic memories.
Several hundred protesters under the label
“No2010 Victoria” blocked the relay along Rockland Avenue, outrageously threw marbles under the feet of police horses and by some accounts declared their cause through curses.
To them, rerouting the relay may be a success, but it’s hard to see what positive action they achieved. There is much to be said for standing up for what you believe in, but demonstrating that opinion should not cost others their chance to express support for the same event. Activists came across as selfish and elitist, not as a well-reasoned participant in legitimate protest.
The 2010 Olympics alone aren’t causing the government to cut funding in ministries across the board. The recession has had far a greater impact on the government’s books and the decisions made to prevent a sinkhole of a deficit from developing.
Nonetheless, the Olympics and anything connected to the Games have made a convenient target for protesters looking to get some ink. Blaming the Games for the province’s financial woes and significantly disrupting what should have been a positive experience for thousands of Greater Victorians shows how misguided some people are.
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