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I laughed my ass off at the "It wouldn’t be the case in American soccer because it’s not popular enough." quote.
America DOES have racism, but it's not nearly as tollerated as it aparently is over in certian Euro countries. It has nothing to do with popularity (obviously), just everything to do with the fact that our country is alot more diverse.
You may see Rebel flags in some places, but that's it, and even then it's like 50/50 that the guys holding those flags are truly racist.
It is sad and it just makes me wish that one of those jackasses shouting racial slurs to the players and making Nazi guestures would do that sh*t in a game over HERE. I would love to see just one come to my school (an HBCU) and do that. Just to see if he gets out alive....
I laughed at that bit too JJG.
Popularity of a sport has nothing to do whether racist exists in the stands or not.
We had the Kick Racism Out Of Sport campaign years ago in Ireland (similar to the UK's) and I think it worked pretty well though there was nowhere near the level abuse as they showed at the Spanish games. As much as I hate "Le Cheat" (Henry) it does make me sick to see racist abuse like that hurled at him and other black players for something as stupid as skin colour.
I dont think its as wide spread as that article claims though, sensationalism is the way to go.
its terrible the way its almost accepted in spain, italy and some other european countries, but i would say places like the uk and france where we have a more multi-cultural society, its no where near as bad, the only bigotry i see at games here in scotland is about religion, i have never heard in all the matches i have attended a racist slur because of skin coulor, but thats for another thread! you will never get ride of it in these other countries until you sort out the mindset of their society, most countries here in europe hate EVERY outsider, be them black or foreign of any colour, its the way it is unfortunately, wish it would change, but doubt it because of the arrogance and stupidity of these so called fans
I know all about that. I am from Europe (Ireland) and dont cosider myself anything but Irish. Most of my friends from Ireland/UK and other parts of Europe dont consider themselves anything but their own nationality.
I'm English, not British, not European, just English.
I know all about that. I am from Europe (Ireland) and dont cosider myself anything but Irish. Most of my friends from Ireland/UK and other parts of Europe dont consider themselves anything but their own nationality.
I think Britain and Ireland don't really think of themselves as European as much as the mainland countries do.
There are pockets of racism everywhere - it shouldn’t be a surprise European countries (or some of those who play or watch soccer) are no exception.
That said, UEFA has taken a strong stand against it (zero-tolerance policy) - and they partnered with the FARE Network awhile ago. Their campaigns (and disciplinary measures) to eliminate racism in soccer (and spread the message to fans) have been around for several years.
Make no mistake, soccer is the most racist sport out there. And the inability of the powers to be in the sport to fight this problem is a joke.
It isn't the sport that's racist, it's the fact that soccer has by far the most diverse array of players from many points of origin. To me this is another positive aspect of the sport -- the fact that fans are being exposed to players from many different cultures and races. Unfortunately, racism exists everywhere in the world; it's part of the human condition, and all you can do is try to ameliorate its negative aspects.
It isn't the sport that's racist, it's the fact that soccer has by far the most diverse array of players from many points of origin. To me this is another positive aspect of the sport -- the fact that fans are being exposed to players from many different cultures and races. Unfortunately, racism exists everywhere in the world; it's part of the human condition, and all you can do is try to ameliorate its negative aspects.
I agree the sport isn’t racist - some people are. I also agree about soccer consisting of the most diverse array of players; which actually, at least in theory, one could think to expect to see less racism as a result of this - not more.
However, it’s not part of the human condition (as you stated); it’s learned behavior. To say it is, essentially, is ‘accepting’ it to a degree. That said, I think UEFA issuing a ‘no tolerance policy’ and spreading education, hopefully, results in fewer and fewer incidences.
Last edited by CorporateCowboy; 04-27-2019 at 11:02 AM..
However, it’s not part of the human condition (as you stated); it’s learned behavior. To say it is, essentially, is ‘accepting’ it to a degree. That said, I think UEFA issuing a ‘no tolerance policy’ and spreading education, hopefully, results in fewer and fewer incidences.
Mmm, not quite. Human brains are wired to take rapid shortcuts; to generalize based on a small sample size. It's a useful survival trait, but it also means we naturally gain biases from just observing a few negative situations, such as TV news. Removing those biases takes a lot of work. People who claim they don't have biases don't know themselves as well as they think. I know I have biases, and I have to constantly fight them with my conscious brain, knowing full well that they are stupid overgeneralizations. So, sorry, but I disagree with that part.
Mmm, not quite. Human brains are wired to take rapid shortcuts; to generalize based on a small sample size. It's a useful survival trait, but it also means we naturally gain biases from just observing a few negative situations, such as TV news. Removing those biases takes a lot of work. People who claim they don't have biases don't know themselves as well as they think. I know I have biases, and I have to constantly fight them with my conscious brain, knowing full well that they are stupid overgeneralizations. So, sorry, but I disagree with that part.
‘Rapid shortcuts’ are different than stating racism is innate (and part of the ‘human condition’, as you previously stated). We may be born with the ‘hardware’ to take ‘short cuts’ but the information retrieved/processed has to be present first (by way of learning those stereotypes from our environment). Else, we would all be born racists; and we know this isn’t true. A bias is not necessarily the same thing as racism - and is highly individualized based on perceptions, experiences and environment i.e. ‘learned’ as well. It’s why UEFA’s educational campaign and ‘no tolerance’ message is crucial.
Last edited by CorporateCowboy; 05-01-2019 at 12:51 PM..
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