I shot photos at that there ‘lympic Torch Parade/Protest yesterday. It was a weird getting duped along with tens of thousands of other people.

As I often do while shooting at these kinds of fluid events, I listened to my police scanner and it was clear that in the hour or so leading up to the parade, the police were surprised and overwhelmed by the size of the crowd by the ballpark, as well as a good sized march heading south on the Embarcadero towards the ballpark in the direct path of the parade route.

It was lame that they flipped the script because thousands of people including busloads of school children and families were there to see the torch and got cheated. But I understand. This was a public event with kids and families and old people, not a Anti-War March down Market where the participants know what they were getting into and are ostensibly prepared to get arrested or at least whacked on the head.

I shot photos of the Torch coming through Chico in ‘96 and it was very memorable and made me feel proud to be an American. Practically the only people that saw the Torch yesterday were cops and media and the seagulls in the Marina.

Yesterday felt like yet another indication that American society is becoming more closed. What’s the point of having a “public” event and then so flippantly disregard the public? I know I am saying contradictory things, but it aint a black and white world we live in. It’s disconcerting how corporations don’t give an ess about consumers and our government is just as contemptuous of regular folk like you and I.

Here’s a flickr set of some of my selects from yesterday.