What's been happening to Lewis Hamilton has been dreadful. And to make things worse, the racism has a clearly identifiable source, namely the Spaniards.
I honestly believe its time the world started to be fair. If Sporting associations could ban South Africa from competing in the past, why can't Spainish individuals be banned from motorsport until their government actually takes actions to stop the behaviour? It doesn't matter whether or not its the drivers who are racist, they are clearly turning a blind eye against the disgrace of their fellow spaniards when you notice they've done nothing to try and stop it.
Forgive me for my ignorance, but do you have a link to a news article or something of that nature? I haven't heard anything about this yet, and I'd rather not rush to judgment before knowing any hard facts.
seems like typical european sports really, i remember seeing a segment on some show on hbo about racism in soccer, how like people where doing the hitler salute and such, and throwing banana peels onto the field, so yea, europe is racist when it comes to thier sports. America is just hateful with thiers lol
If Wikipedia is both accurate and complete (often not the case), I will say that the FIA is probably taking the correct stance on this. I don't think that barring Spain from competing because of what its fans are doing is appropriate, though.
I think that having Alonso publicly apologize for his fans and chastise them for their behavior should be sufficient. Their actions were reprehensible, but the Spanish government can only do so much to prevent it; removing the offenders from the events is about it, as anything more approaches censorship, which is a very bad thing(TM).
It seems to me that the Spanish driver is unfairly going to be associated with racism because of his a few of his fans' actions (which only came up at all because of the rivalry). Of course, I think sports rivalries are silly to begin with, and often have an overall detrimental effect on society. I've lived in both Michigan and Ohio - you'd be amazed at how poorly some people think of the members of the other state just due to a silly college football rivalry.
This if offensive, but it isn't the worst thing in the world. Its racism at worst. Nobody is getting maimed...yet. This stuff happens alot in America...
If Sporting associations could ban South Africa from competing in the past, why can't Spainish individuals be banned from motorsport until their government actually takes actions to stop the behaviour?
While the actions of these Hamilton-bashers are despicable, I don't think you can quite compare it to government-enforced apartheid. They don't represent the official view of the Spainish governemnt. While there probably aren't many Spanish F1 fans who cheer for Hamilton over Alonso, they aren't all racists. Every country has its share of idiots. This whole notion of "Why are Spaniards so racist?" sounds a bit prejudiced in and of itself, doesn't it?
I just want to point out that I don't believe Hamilton's unpopularity in Spain comes from the fact that he's black, but from his rivalry with Fernando Alonso. Such rivalries are, as we all know, widely present in all forms of sports. Since we're talking F1, Alain Prost, for example, was widely disliked by Brazilians due to his rivalry with Ayrton Senna. The racial abuse in Hamilon's case is a side effect of said unpopularity, which is definitely sad.
That said, I think sports racism in Spain may spiral out of control if left unchecked. Aside from the situations already mentioned in this thread, there have been countless others of black football players being ridiculed and compared to monkeys by Spanish fans.
I just want to point out that I don't believe Hamilton's unpopularity in Spain comes from the fact that he's black, but from his rivalry with Fernando Alonso. Such rivalries are, as we all know, widely present in all forms of sports. Since we're talking F1, Alain Prost, for example, was widely disliked by Brazilians due to his rivalry with Ayrton Senna. The racial abuse in Hamilon's case is a side effect of said unpopularity, which is definitely sad.
That said, I think sports racism in Spain may spiral out of control if left unchecked. Aside from the situations already mentioned in this thread, there have been countless others of black football players being ridiculed and compared to monkeys by Spanish fans.
I completely agree with Rick (as usual) on this. Personally, being a Latin American myself, I can tell how many Spaniards (obviouslly, one can never say "ALL") are really racist (some even unknowingly) toward other people. Even people whose ancestors were conquered by them retain some of this hate (I have a grandfather who says he doesn't like blacks in general, but he's not serious about it, and he's quite a nice person, who happens to have black friends... go figure). It is a fact: each country has its share of supremacists, as suggested before, who thinks everyone else is inferior in some way. And this is yet another case of a public figure getting ridiculed from a sports rivalry but just so happened to be another kind of target (a racial one) for mockery. Yes, it is unfair that a whole country be banned from an event, but on the bright, realistic side, it will likely decrease the problem for a while (which I guess was the whole initial intention). It may seem totalitarian, but I do believe that, unluckily, the actions of the few can end up representing the actions of the whole (it shouldn't be that way, but it's a fact that many systems take it so. I can attest to that, being a minority myself. Luckily, I have my own views and actions to avoid being way too generalized by racists:D).
I honestly believe its time the world started to be fair. If Sporting associations could ban South Africa from competing in the past, why can't Spainish individuals be banned from motorsport until their government actually takes actions to stop the behaviour? It doesn't matter whether or not its the drivers who are racist, they are clearly turning a blind eye against the disgrace of their fellow spaniards when you notice they've done nothing to try and stop it.
heres a wiki link to what happened: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Hamilton#Racial_abuse
seems like typical european sports really, i remember seeing a segment on some show on hbo about racism in soccer, how like people where doing the hitler salute and such, and throwing banana peels onto the field, so yea, europe is racist when it comes to thier sports. America is just hateful with thiers lol
www.diestoremoval.com
A truly great petition
I think that having Alonso publicly apologize for his fans and chastise them for their behavior should be sufficient. Their actions were reprehensible, but the Spanish government can only do so much to prevent it; removing the offenders from the events is about it, as anything more approaches censorship, which is a very bad thing(TM).
It seems to me that the Spanish driver is unfairly going to be associated with racism because of his a few of his fans' actions (which only came up at all because of the rivalry). Of course, I think sports rivalries are silly to begin with, and often have an overall detrimental effect on society. I've lived in both Michigan and Ohio - you'd be amazed at how poorly some people think of the members of the other state just due to a silly college football rivalry.
While the actions of these Hamilton-bashers are despicable, I don't think you can quite compare it to government-enforced apartheid. They don't represent the official view of the Spainish governemnt. While there probably aren't many Spanish F1 fans who cheer for Hamilton over Alonso, they aren't all racists. Every country has its share of idiots. This whole notion of "Why are Spaniards so racist?" sounds a bit prejudiced in and of itself, doesn't it?
Also, Alonso has spoken out against these people.
That said, I think sports racism in Spain may spiral out of control if left unchecked. Aside from the situations already mentioned in this thread, there have been countless others of black football players being ridiculed and compared to monkeys by Spanish fans.
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I completely agree with Rick (as usual) on this. Personally, being a Latin American myself, I can tell how many Spaniards (obviouslly, one can never say "ALL") are really racist (some even unknowingly) toward other people. Even people whose ancestors were conquered by them retain some of this hate (I have a grandfather who says he doesn't like blacks in general, but he's not serious about it, and he's quite a nice person, who happens to have black friends... go figure). It is a fact: each country has its share of supremacists, as suggested before, who thinks everyone else is inferior in some way. And this is yet another case of a public figure getting ridiculed from a sports rivalry but just so happened to be another kind of target (a racial one) for mockery. Yes, it is unfair that a whole country be banned from an event, but on the bright, realistic side, it will likely decrease the problem for a while (which I guess was the whole initial intention). It may seem totalitarian, but I do believe that, unluckily, the actions of the few can end up representing the actions of the whole (it shouldn't be that way, but it's a fact that many systems take it so. I can attest to that, being a minority myself. Luckily, I have my own views and actions to avoid being way too generalized by racists:D).
I like 4/4s for 7.