While the worldwide media has been focusing their attention on the torch and Tibet, I think we’re ignoring a greater travesty. Namely, the awful pandas that will serve as the official mascots of the 2008 games. A taste…
Like all antelopes, Yingying is fast and agile and can swiftly cover great stretches of land as he races across the earth. A symbol of the vastness of China’s landscape, the antelope carries the blessing of health, the strength of body that comes from harmony with nature. Yingying’s flying pose captures the essence of a species unique to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one of the first animals put under protection in China. The selection of the Tibetan Antelope reflects Beijing’s commitment to a Green Olympics.
I’m not sure if it’s an antelope or a panda or cover art from a Grateful Dead album. But surely there’s some delicious irony in lauding the Tibetan mascot’s ability to run? And hailing it as one of the first animals placed under the “protection” of China? Nuance!
