Where: Justin Herman Plaza, San Francisco
Why: Protesting/supporting the Beijing Olympics torch
Words: Judgment day
It was pristine in the city, and the masses had gathered to speak their minds. I'd never seen so many Chinese flags. Our art director pointed out what a gorgeous shade of red they are.
This crew was tasked with recording the official ceremony in the plaza, but it never happened. Later that afternoon at SFO, the mayor went through the subdued motions of a mini-ceremony before the torch was whisked off on its private plane to the next undisclosed location.
There was a police barrier at the foot of these steps, so all the uniforms and suits could keep an eye on the crowd from above.
It seemed like there were equal numbers of protesters and supporters. The latter were mostly middle-aged and elderly Chinese Americans in matching black shirts, many with hats and fans.
At one point, a large group began a quiet tai chi performance to welcome the torch, marked only by the collective snap of a hundred fans when they took their mark.
For a while, I stood near a bunch of really excited high-school kids in white T-shirts. Every 15 minutes or so, they'd disappear under one of the huge animal costumes sitting on the ground, then march through the crowd while percussion came from somewhere nearby.
Protesters often drowned out the cheers that followed the performances.
For the most part, the disagreements looked vehement but peaceful. The only real confrontation I saw was between this silent pro-Tibet sign holder and a group of China supporters who shouted at him and held up their American and Chinese flags to block his message.
The whole scene was hectic and surreal. On my way back up the Embarcadero to work, I turned around one last time and saw this:
A final note: You'll be relieved to learn that Tibet can apparently be freed for a bargain price. Or so the trees say.
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