From George Orwell:
I am always amazed when I hear people saying that sport creates goodwill between the nations, and that if only the common peoples of the world could meet one another at football or cricket, they would have no inclination to meet on the battlefield. Even if one didn't know from concrete examples (the 1936 Olympic Games, for instance) that international sporting contests lead to orgies of hatred, one could deduce it from general principles.
Nearly all the sports practised nowadays are competitive. You play to win, and the game has little meaning unless you do your utmost to win. On the village green, where you pick up sides and no feeling of local patriotism is involved. it is possible to play simply for the fun and exercise: but as soon as the question of prestige arises, as soon as you feel that you and some larger unit will be disgraced if you lose, the most savage combative instincts are aroused. Anyone who has played even in a school football match knows this. At the international level sport is frankly mimic warfare. But the significant thing is not the behaviour of the players but the attitude of the spectators: and, behind the spectators, of the nations who work themselves into furies over these absurd contests, and seriously believe — at any rate for short periods — that running, jumping and kicking a ball are tests of national virtue.
From Noam Chomsky:
Posted this very early in the morning (my time) before I was fully awake.
ReplyDeleteNow that I've had the whole day to think about it, I regret posting this.
This is probably a bit too close to the stereotype of the self-righteous leftist college student who intentionally looks for ways to spoil things that everyone else likes.
I was that person 20 years ago, but it's probably a bit more forgivable at 19 than at 39.
Not that I'm taking back these opinions. I actually really do hate the Olympics. But I regret attempting to proselytize about it. Especially as I've already expressed myself on this topic several times already. HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. So I should probably just content myself with having expressed my opinion at this point, and let it go.
Bothering an old blogpost with a mundane comment may not be what I should do, but this hits right in the feel so... How do I even organize my thoughts...?
ReplyDeleteI feel the same.
Worst case scenario: Imagine working yourself so hard just to participate in something you yourself hate but forced to, for the egos of the people that you normally hate. And once you won those idle viewers receive even more than what they gave, other people even took credits for what they didn't really do much maybe aside taking you there and forcing you to train, you yourself at the end may not even receive enough what you find yourself deserved of. But if you lose surprisingly you're hated for trying all your best, suddenly you're even worse than the people who did nothing (similarly badly do they treat you when you propose to drop out midway). People just think of you as their national flag basically.
I for one do not feel guilty for my own sentiments, though most of the time I don't let them out, or actually not having anyone who care to hear what I have to say. I did take part in (read: forced to join) some competitions in schools (math, english, and some traditional games) to see the bad sides of all these things.
On a tangent note, here's a trivia I don't know if you or anybody even care about or already knew, but I'm just dropping it here: Right at the very time you made the blogpost or some time around that in Vietnam, there was a regional football cup that Vietnam managed to reach the final. Normally only football viewers watch them, but then suddenly once the news of our team reached the final came the whole country just become nationalistic, even the ones who absolutely have no reason to watch them playing (like housewives and such) suddenly cheer for them too. Cringy stuff ensued. And now I doubt a lot of those very people who have been cheering enthusiastically since that time even remember the full name of it now, I for one certainly don't.
Based on what you've written here, I see that you and I are simpatico on this issue.
ReplyDeleteI suspect you've had the same feelings that I had. As a young person, you were intuitively repulsed by all the mindless nationalism and jingoism that accompanied the Olympics. But you lacked the ability to fully articulate what you were feeling, and everyone around you seemed to love the Olympics (and the national soccer tournaments), so that you felt that you would be a killjoy if you mentioned something. Or you wondered maybe if there was something wrong with you.
And then you read the article by Orwell, or listen to the words from Chomsky, and you feel suddenly that you're not crazy, and somebody out there is saying what you've always felt, but had been afraid to say.
And the relief of hearing someone else say it makes you compelled to voice your agreement.
That's certainly how I felt when I first read that Orwell article, or when I listened to Chomsky talk about sports. It sounds like it's the same with you.
To a certain degree, maybe. The comment was meant to be a reply to other blogposts that you have linked as well. I think I do agree with Orwell here and there. I don't quite share chomsky's views that seems to be purely dismissive, aside the very basic dislike for jingoism. Still them being fixated narrowly on the things they talked about makes their points narrower. If they tried to imagine their view from the participator/athelete's perspective about what really happen there, among other things, they may find even more reasons that make the whole thing even more vain or rotten and therefore the nationalism in it too. Even if nationalism isn't really evil in these kinds of stuff there's just no good about it when millions cheering and reaping the fruits of somebody's labor while said person have to receive some sorts of losing in exchange for what they do. It's like stepping on somebody's corpse and thump your chest. Therefore I don't feel any guilty and that one should feel any less self-righteous for such kind of views. Of course the problematic aspects may not be as many in your country where forced participation is less of a thing, there's definitely nothing bad about somebody participate and get what they want being the exact same pride or glory or a place to waste valuable time or something. But in countries like my beloved socialist republic one cannot get by public schools without being forced to join some sorts of competitive games or sports for one or two events for every single year at the very least. The kind of stuff that has a tendency to be rotten is even more rotten in such situation.
ReplyDeleteThis kinda makes me think of Bobby Fischer. Judging from what I have read, contrary to what they say, I just feel that maybe he's one of those participators who feels being mistreated, not getting enough of what he deserved, or smelling something rotten about the people that took him there, used him for their political or whatever purpose so he was just throwing a tantrum and became more vocal about stuff due to his discontent or bitterness later on. I really wonder how many atheletes or competitors out there that got enough of what they exchanged for, right before fading into obscurity.