My little sister was so excited about this recent Free Tibet protest that she and my mom jumped in the car and drove the five minutes it takes from their house to the Golden Gate bridge to show their support. They drove really slow across the bridge and hooted and hollared and honked their horns. Oddly, they were only two of a very few that were in support of the activists. Most people were angry that they were going to be late for opening day of the SF Giants. My thought about that is, let’s try a little large picture thinking people! I feel that the Tibetans need our help to preserve their very culture and way of life. The Dalai Lama has strong opinions about all of the protests of late. For some insight into his perspective, click here.

(Side thought: Do protests work? Are they effective? Would it have been a better use of resources for people like my mom and sis to donate to the Tibetan cause the gas and toll money they used to support the bridge protesters?)

Pro-Tibet activists scale Golden Gate Bridge

By Jim Christie

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Three pro-Tibet activists scaled the vertical cables of San Francisco’s famed Golden Gate Bridge and hung banners on Monday to protest the arrival of the Olympic torch in the city on Wednesday.

“This is a nonviolent global protest,” one of the three protesters, Laurel Sutherlin, 31, told KCBS radio by cell phone while suspended from the bridge.

“Unfortunately, in a non violent movement this is the only way we can get the word out.”

Wearing helmets and safety gloves, Sutherlin and two other experienced climbers hung the banners between three parallel red cables after a careful ascent on a sunny, cloudless day.

They remained on the cables for more than three hours before bridge workers cut the banners and they came down. Authorities quickly arrested Sutherlin and the other two climbers, Duane Martinez and Hannah Strange.

Mary Ziegenbein, an officer with the California Highway Patrol, said they and four others who assisted the climbers from the bridge would be charged with felony conspiracy.

“One World, One Dream: Free Tibet,” read one of two banners, protesting China’s recent crackdown on Tibet. A second sign read “Free Tibet 08.” Several smaller Tibetan flags fluttered in the wind.

“They are doing it at all the landmarks in the cities that are hosting the Olympic torch,” said Tenzing Dasang, a member of Students for a Free Tibet, an activist group leading the action.

For the rest of the article, click here.

What Is Free Tibet Campaign? Click here to find out.