San Franciscans know that their politics are far from the ordinary, and most residents accept and defend their city's
reputation for pushing the limits as an extension of free speech. Yesterday, however, the city had occasion not only to be liberal-minded but also smart. In one of his better decisions (and he's made several bad ones), Mayor Gavin Newsom yesterday moved the Olympic torch run to a different part of the city from the advertised route. Thousands of demonstrators, as seen here, representing the People's Republic of China on one side, and anti-Beijing protesters on the other, were given a chance to face each other down and argue throughout most of the afternoon, while the torch bearers ran down an impromptu route miles away. Had Newsom not made this decision, there would almost certainly have been disorder, injury and arrests. And the torch bearers, volunteers innocent of any political agenda, would have been exposed to undue risk.
The way San Francisco handled yesterday's protests stands in sharp contrast with the way Beijing handles protests in Tibet. If only China would think about this as they fold up their giant red flags for the next running of the Olympic torch. A few more Olympic flags, and a lot fewer Chinese flags, would be a nice touch.
