As someone who is both a passionate football fan, and a committed anti racist it goes without saying that I find racist incidences at football matches to be absolutely abhorrent. Nearly as nauseating however is the self righteous commentary on the subject from the worlds of media and politics. In light recent of high profile incidents (documented to such a tedious extent that I’d rather watch paint dry than discuss them in this blog) it’s suddenly in vogue for everyone to give their two penneth on the topic.
To give a couple examples; culture secretary Jeremy Hunt (a Freudian slip on Radio 4 a couple of years ago being the most apt description of this character) has announced a conference on ‘Racism in Football’ “to ensure that the sport is not dragged back to the bad old days." Quite how Mr Hunt is qualified to comment on “the bad old days” is beyond me given that he claimed the Hillsborough disaster was caused by hooliganism. Just in case the conference wasn’t far enough removed from reality it will be chaired by Mr Cameron himself.
Despite the obvious temptation to turn this blog into some good old fashioned tory bashing, I should state that I’ve found bourgeois liberal commentary obnoxious. Deborah Orr of the Guardian saw fit to write on February 17th that “Racism, quite clearly, has not been "shown the red card". Racism, quite clearly, has not been "kicked out of football."” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/feb/17/race-is-a-myth-deborah-orr?INTCMP=SRCH)
Until I’ve seen evidence of Deborah Orr, Jeremy Hunt or David Cameron muttering obscenities in Birch Services because they’ve just wasted huge amounts of time and money travelling to watch their team implode at Burnley on a cold Tuesday night, then their views on football are no more valid than my views on nuclear physics.
Despite media hyperbole, racism in football has actually followed a fairly predictable path. It reached its peak in the 1970’s and 80’s. Unsurprisingly this coincided with the far right’s most visible presence in British society since the days of Mosely’s blackshirts. To give a rough idea of the extent to which these were the ‘bad old days,’ a number of clubs including Leeds United and Chelsea had evident links to the National Front. Racist chanting and throwing bananas at black players happened on numerous occasions. From my perspective, given my affection for Celtic, the most sickening of these events happened in 1987 when Rangers’ player Mark Walters was pelted with bananas. It is however incorrect to suggest that everyone attending a football match during this time was a far right inspired racist. It’s interesting to note that even some hooligan firms of the era included members of various races.
Moving onto the situation in recent years and again the racism in football has taken a predictable route. Just as British society in general has adopted ‘official’ anti racism, so has football. This is not to say that racism has ever been completely removed from football, just as it has never been completely removed from society. The difference however is that overtly racist language has become culturally unacceptable. Overtly racist chanting has in general disappeared from British football, to the extent that racist comments are now highly likely to be challenged by other fans at football matches.
Unsurprisingly though, reactionary and ignorant views haven’t disappeared from football, just as they continue to appear in the Daily Mail and other sections of the reactionary press. No amount of empty statements from Cameron and co will come close to challenging these views. Instead these views are most effectively countered by anti racists providing concrete alternatives. The most effective example I know of comes from a group close to my heart, Ultra Sankt Pauli, who regularly invite asylum seekers to attend games with the group. This not only aides integration of asylum seekers into German society but helps to breakdown prejudices others have about the asylum seekers themselves. In conclusion, racism in football can only genuinely be defeated by football fans themselves, obscene political posturing offers no solutions.
And the joke: I was walking through a car park the other day, and saw a sign saying ‘Thieves operating in this area.’ I thought that’s handy for the surgeons, gives them time off to steal people’s cars.
Monday 20 February 2012
Wednesday 15 February 2012
Valentine's Day: The Elitist Holiday
Now, this blog. It's not written because I'm single or because I'm bitter. It is, however, written because I am both of those things!
This is going to be an attempt at a full length blog about how Valentine's day should be banned on grounds of political correctness!
According to our good friends at Wikipedia there are 14 different saints by the name of Valentine, there is very little known about the two St Valentines that are "celebrated" on the 14th February. One of them was from Rome and martyred in around AD 269. The other was from Terni and was a bishop. Both are buried on a road north of Rome. The 14th February was apparently celebrated as a saints day as early as 496AD, and it's association with love and romance in the middle ages. By the 14th Century when it was linked with love, the differentiation between the two saints was lost.
Before doing this little bit of research into Valentine's day I used to blame capitalism. I'd probably have even found a nice excuse to blame Thatcher! But I have now found that this goes deeper into history. Chaucer is to blame for the origins. There is no recorded link between Saint Valentine's day and love and romance until Chaucer wrote about it in "Parlement of Foules", which he wrote in 1382. From there it was only going to get worse!
So that's the history. The main reason that I feel Valentine's day should be banned is that it is, as the title suggests, elitist! Christmas and Easter may well be Christian holidays, but all school kids get that time off and we all feel we are allowed to eat chocolate at those times of year. Valentine's day on the other hand, excludes so many people, mainly us single people! I think we all remember the "news stories" telling us how Brits can't celebrate Christmas because it is a purely Christian event.
There are some people out there who, no doubt, are happy to be single, and some of them may even like to rebel against a couples holiday. I feel, however, that we should spare a thought for those who aren't happy about being single. Maybe some people have just lost love ones, in one way or another, and I'm sure they'll tell you that they not need a nauseating corporate event to remind them of this fact! Most of us find we can't truly ignore it too. I gave it a good effort, most of my close mates being single, and the decision to celebrate a friends birthday instead, but any trip to a supermarket was a constant reminder that you're all on your own, and any look at your Facebook reminds you that someone you didn't really talk to in school and haven't seen for years is very happy on their Valentine's date.
I actually feel that even if I was in a relationship I'd still feel the same about this! If I were to be romantic on Valentine's day (hard to imagine I know), then my girlfriend would clearly be thinking "why is he not like this all the time?" This putting pressure on myself to keep up the act! On the other hand, if I was not romantic on Valentine's day then it would put excess pressure on a relationship that has to deal with all the other modern pressures too.
To conclude I just want to quote a lyric from a Beautiful South song. "You know when romance is dead, your makeup's in a tool box somewhere in the shed."
And the joke:
"Knock knock."
"Who's there?"
"Shut up you daft bugger, lay your domino."
This is going to be an attempt at a full length blog about how Valentine's day should be banned on grounds of political correctness!
According to our good friends at Wikipedia there are 14 different saints by the name of Valentine, there is very little known about the two St Valentines that are "celebrated" on the 14th February. One of them was from Rome and martyred in around AD 269. The other was from Terni and was a bishop. Both are buried on a road north of Rome. The 14th February was apparently celebrated as a saints day as early as 496AD, and it's association with love and romance in the middle ages. By the 14th Century when it was linked with love, the differentiation between the two saints was lost.
Before doing this little bit of research into Valentine's day I used to blame capitalism. I'd probably have even found a nice excuse to blame Thatcher! But I have now found that this goes deeper into history. Chaucer is to blame for the origins. There is no recorded link between Saint Valentine's day and love and romance until Chaucer wrote about it in "Parlement of Foules", which he wrote in 1382. From there it was only going to get worse!
So that's the history. The main reason that I feel Valentine's day should be banned is that it is, as the title suggests, elitist! Christmas and Easter may well be Christian holidays, but all school kids get that time off and we all feel we are allowed to eat chocolate at those times of year. Valentine's day on the other hand, excludes so many people, mainly us single people! I think we all remember the "news stories" telling us how Brits can't celebrate Christmas because it is a purely Christian event.
There are some people out there who, no doubt, are happy to be single, and some of them may even like to rebel against a couples holiday. I feel, however, that we should spare a thought for those who aren't happy about being single. Maybe some people have just lost love ones, in one way or another, and I'm sure they'll tell you that they not need a nauseating corporate event to remind them of this fact! Most of us find we can't truly ignore it too. I gave it a good effort, most of my close mates being single, and the decision to celebrate a friends birthday instead, but any trip to a supermarket was a constant reminder that you're all on your own, and any look at your Facebook reminds you that someone you didn't really talk to in school and haven't seen for years is very happy on their Valentine's date.
I actually feel that even if I was in a relationship I'd still feel the same about this! If I were to be romantic on Valentine's day (hard to imagine I know), then my girlfriend would clearly be thinking "why is he not like this all the time?" This putting pressure on myself to keep up the act! On the other hand, if I was not romantic on Valentine's day then it would put excess pressure on a relationship that has to deal with all the other modern pressures too.
To conclude I just want to quote a lyric from a Beautiful South song. "You know when romance is dead, your makeup's in a tool box somewhere in the shed."
And the joke:
"Knock knock."
"Who's there?"
"Shut up you daft bugger, lay your domino."
Monday 6 February 2012
Don't Listen to His Moaning
If anyone hears Laurence Perks complaining about having wet hair or a wet ear then tell him he deserved it!!
If he waves a tea towel in your face and then wont let you dry your hands on it then I was well within my right to dry my hands on his head!!
I once met a girl in a gym, we really hit it off and started kissing. After half an hour I stopped and said: "I'm sorry, this is just not working out."
Keep the faith!!
If he waves a tea towel in your face and then wont let you dry your hands on it then I was well within my right to dry my hands on his head!!
I once met a girl in a gym, we really hit it off and started kissing. After half an hour I stopped and said: "I'm sorry, this is just not working out."
Keep the faith!!
Thursday 2 February 2012
Got to love winding the Daily Mail readers up haven't you?!
Back again for another blog. This one is all in direct response to an article that has appeared in the press recently. There are other versions of the same article, but here is the Daily Mail's take on it: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2094305/Menna-Pritchard-26-defends-rock-climbing-TODDLER-strapped-back.html.
Now the background information to my response to the article is this; I am a rock climber, with my Single Pitch Award (one of the rock climbing qualifications), and I also happen to know the person in question. I admit from the outset that I do not know her very well, but I study the same degree at the same university and she is the year below me and it would be fair to say our paths have crossed. Given that information, it may explain why I'm so quick to comment on the subject.
To start with I want to get my only real criticism out of the way. The picture that has cause most problems has been the one of Menna climbing with her daughter, Ffion, on her back. Now in this picture, two out of the three people are wearing climbing helmets, the problem is, it is Ffion that doesn't have a helmet on. My comments on this are that maybe Menna has been a little short sighted here, in that this is the picture that she shared with friends on facebook. At the time she could never have known that the picture would have become as public as it has. I do know where the picture was taken, and have climbed there myself, so I do know what the conditions are usually like at the crag. I also have a good understand of the rope system in place for that climb. What I can't pass comment on are the specific conditions on the day, or the anchors used to fix the rope in place. What I do feel the need to say is that when top roping at Three Cliffs Bay I would not wear a helmet, unless in exceptional circumstances. Every climber will have a different attitude to wearing a helmet, and my question to Menna would be that if she felt it was necessary for her to wear a helmet, then why had she not made sure Ffion was also wearing a helmet. I would especially want to ask this, as my attitude towards helmets are that if I don't think I'll need it then I won't wear it. Menna may hold a view that she has bought a helmet and so she will wear it, and that she would still have done this climb if she didn't have one.
Now for the positive.
As touched on above, the climbing that was taking place was one of the safest ways to climb, if not THE safest way of climbing in the outdoors. Climbing for me has been one of the most important things I've ever done. The personal and social benefits of climbing on me have been, on occasions, the only things I've had to get me through the darker times. The people close to me will know first hand how a good day on the rock can really change my view on life, and how frustrated I can get when I can't climb as often as I'd like. What I hope happened in this situation is that Menna was provided with a wonderful opportunity to combine her love of adventure with irreplaceable learning for a young child. Studying the course that both myself and Menna do, we are both well aware of the host of advantages that the outdoors can offer. We have also been taught to critically evaluate the risks we take, this is why I am sure that Ffion's safety will have been the most important consideration for Menna before entering into the "risk" situation. I am not a parent myself but would like to think that any decisions made by parents would have their children's well being as the highest priority.
My views as an overall?
Menna has more than enough knowledge to have made a well educated and safe decision for her child, she was also climbing with other experienced climbers who would not have put anyone at risk, especially not a toddler. If the well being of Ffion, and young children in general, is what is important, then why has the media felt appropriate to intrude on a young family and place them in a media spotlight.
Before this blog was posted I spoke to Menna about the issues. She explained to me that she was still wearing the helmet from the earlier climbs she had been doing, and if she has just been doing the bottom ropes (not top ropes as I stated above) with Ffion she would not have worn her helmet. She also explained that this is not a regular event. At this particular time Ffion had shown an interest in going up the climb, and after deciding it was safe Menna only climbed part of the route before being lowered down. Finally Menna has said that "The photo was stolen from my blog and sold without permission. I am seeking legal advice about this. Words were also lifted and misquoted."
I realise that this has been my best effort yet at a serious blog, but there is still time for the much anticipated joke!!
I went into the airport last week and said "I want this bag to go to Rome, this bag to go to Amsterdam, this back to go to Berlin and I want to go to Paris."
"I'm sorry sir, we can't do that" replied the check-in staff.
"Well you managed it alright last week!!"
Keep the faith!
Now the background information to my response to the article is this; I am a rock climber, with my Single Pitch Award (one of the rock climbing qualifications), and I also happen to know the person in question. I admit from the outset that I do not know her very well, but I study the same degree at the same university and she is the year below me and it would be fair to say our paths have crossed. Given that information, it may explain why I'm so quick to comment on the subject.
To start with I want to get my only real criticism out of the way. The picture that has cause most problems has been the one of Menna climbing with her daughter, Ffion, on her back. Now in this picture, two out of the three people are wearing climbing helmets, the problem is, it is Ffion that doesn't have a helmet on. My comments on this are that maybe Menna has been a little short sighted here, in that this is the picture that she shared with friends on facebook. At the time she could never have known that the picture would have become as public as it has. I do know where the picture was taken, and have climbed there myself, so I do know what the conditions are usually like at the crag. I also have a good understand of the rope system in place for that climb. What I can't pass comment on are the specific conditions on the day, or the anchors used to fix the rope in place. What I do feel the need to say is that when top roping at Three Cliffs Bay I would not wear a helmet, unless in exceptional circumstances. Every climber will have a different attitude to wearing a helmet, and my question to Menna would be that if she felt it was necessary for her to wear a helmet, then why had she not made sure Ffion was also wearing a helmet. I would especially want to ask this, as my attitude towards helmets are that if I don't think I'll need it then I won't wear it. Menna may hold a view that she has bought a helmet and so she will wear it, and that she would still have done this climb if she didn't have one.
Now for the positive.
As touched on above, the climbing that was taking place was one of the safest ways to climb, if not THE safest way of climbing in the outdoors. Climbing for me has been one of the most important things I've ever done. The personal and social benefits of climbing on me have been, on occasions, the only things I've had to get me through the darker times. The people close to me will know first hand how a good day on the rock can really change my view on life, and how frustrated I can get when I can't climb as often as I'd like. What I hope happened in this situation is that Menna was provided with a wonderful opportunity to combine her love of adventure with irreplaceable learning for a young child. Studying the course that both myself and Menna do, we are both well aware of the host of advantages that the outdoors can offer. We have also been taught to critically evaluate the risks we take, this is why I am sure that Ffion's safety will have been the most important consideration for Menna before entering into the "risk" situation. I am not a parent myself but would like to think that any decisions made by parents would have their children's well being as the highest priority.
My views as an overall?
Menna has more than enough knowledge to have made a well educated and safe decision for her child, she was also climbing with other experienced climbers who would not have put anyone at risk, especially not a toddler. If the well being of Ffion, and young children in general, is what is important, then why has the media felt appropriate to intrude on a young family and place them in a media spotlight.
Before this blog was posted I spoke to Menna about the issues. She explained to me that she was still wearing the helmet from the earlier climbs she had been doing, and if she has just been doing the bottom ropes (not top ropes as I stated above) with Ffion she would not have worn her helmet. She also explained that this is not a regular event. At this particular time Ffion had shown an interest in going up the climb, and after deciding it was safe Menna only climbed part of the route before being lowered down. Finally Menna has said that "The photo was stolen from my blog and sold without permission. I am seeking legal advice about this. Words were also lifted and misquoted."
I realise that this has been my best effort yet at a serious blog, but there is still time for the much anticipated joke!!
I went into the airport last week and said "I want this bag to go to Rome, this bag to go to Amsterdam, this back to go to Berlin and I want to go to Paris."
"I'm sorry sir, we can't do that" replied the check-in staff.
"Well you managed it alright last week!!"
Keep the faith!
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