Mayor Gavin Newsom is doing the only thing he can do right now: he’s hiding behind the issue of safety.
On a KCBS radio interview, Newsom said he was “sorry” people didn’t see the torch along the announced route. The mayor said the change was made in “real time” to assure the safety of the torch runners and the general public.
Sounds good. But remember civil disobedience is generally non-violent. And besides, if Newsom feared the crowds, couldn’t he have predicted beforehand that the Olympics would get this kind of reaction in his fair city?
Newsom may have made a tough decision on torch day.
But a tougher, more courageous decision could have been made much sooner–one that would not have allowed San Francisco to be part of an Olympic charade that chooses to ignore China’s record on human rights and Tibet.
So let the mayor talk about “safety.” Olympic rings make for a lousy fig leaf.