Platitudes to the contrary, politics have unfortunately become a scourge of the modern Olympic Games.

China did not lobby hard and long to host the Games out of love for international harmony and sportsmanship.

It is using the Games as a platform to promote its status on the world stage and to build nationalistic pride.

So it's not surprising that the Olympic torch relay would be a target of political protests by those opposed to China's repressive, anti-human rights policies in Tibet and elsewhere.

But the torch doesn't represent those policies. It is — and should be — a symbol of the Olympian ideal of peaceful competition outside the bounds of politics.

And those who bear the torch represent that ideal. They deserve the right to carry the torch, proudly and honorably, without fear of the violent attacks that disrupted the relay in London and Paris.

That fear affected the torch's only appearance in North America, in San Francisco yesterday. Large crowds of supporters and protesters alike prompted officials to abruptly shorten and change the route, and to protect it with a massive police presence and "every barricade known to man," according to Mayor Gavin Newsom.

The result was a relay that carried neither its Olympian promise nor its political baggage. It was reduced to moving sensitive cargo through potentially dangerous areas.

The right to peacefully demonstrate against China's repression, even in the context of the Olympics, should be respected. But so should the Olympics themselves. Otherwise, what message does it send to our athletes who will be competing in them?