Yesterday, from Ave. Rivadavia and just down from government house, we watched the olympic torch pass through town. According to some people, it went really well. According to others, it was sort of mixed. To me, the most fascinating part of the whole scene was the security setup. We didn´t get to see much of the flame or the runners because it was masked by a cloud of police. We´re talking about at least four layers here: the stationary cops spaced along the route, the ring of plainclothes cops in jogging suits, the cops on ATVs, and then the Chinese bodyguards. Additionally, you have the helicopters circling overhead, the police marksmen standing on the roof tops, and all of the armored vehicles circling the block. From the video I saw on CNN, it was more ridiculous than the security in San Francisco.
About an hour before the torch came through, there was also a "We think China is really cool, but could slightly improve in a few ways, namely those human rights, Falun Gong and Free Tibet issues" protest. This was ringed by a chain of police and followed by a squad of dudes in black riot gear. It went by mostly quietly and peacefully. All of the Chinese that I saw seemed genuinely thrilled to be a part of the event, riding bikes and running along with the procession and waving flags.
Although the torch run is pointless, anything that creates that level of mayhem on a weekday is good fun in my book.
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