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There are many things, for example, becoming morbidly obese and dying of a heart attack in your 20's, getting convicted of a violent crime and being sentenced t

by sgt101 8y ago

There are many things, for example, becoming morbidly obese and dying of a heart attack in your 20's, getting convicted of a violent crime and being sentenced to life imprisonment, getting killed in a war, getting killed in a car wreck. Humans are not rational brains riding round in a sort of meat carriage, we are animals and our whole body (and social setting) adds up to who we are. Physical conflict is part of human life - specifically a proportion of young men are predisposed to physical rivalry. Taking options to express this away does not remove the predisposition, it merely shifts it to other outlets which may be much less constrained and much less positive.

FeteCommuniste 8y ago
Plenty of competitive physical activities don’t involve routine hits to the head...
- cljs-js-eval 8y ago
  No, but the ones I and others want to do involve hits to the head. You don't get to decide for me whether the risk of injury is greater than my enjoyment of the sport. You can be dictator of your own life.
  - sgt101 8y ago
    I 90% agree - but the inducements and pressure on athletes from the big prizes of sport mean that there is a duty of care as well. The use of padding seems to increase injury in both NFL and Rugby but makes for more spectacular and acceptable TV (players being visibly knocked out or stretchered off are upsetting viewing), gloves and head guards in boxing the same. In Rugby the rules are being altered to reduce blows to the head and being honest I think that it will not change the character of the game at all. Combat sports and soccer are bigger challenges, although for soccer I wonder if the changes in pitches and balls over the last 30 years mean that the data on player injury is much less valid - the aerial game doesn't mean much to Messi after all.
    - cljs-js-eval 8y ago
      At the pro level, I think I agree with you too. That is different enough from the amateur scene that it deserves its own ethical analysis.

by sgt101 8y ago

FeteCommuniste 8y ago

Plenty of competitive physical activities don’t involve routine hits to the head...

cljs-js-eval 8y ago
No, but the ones I and others want to do involve hits to the head. You don't get to decide for me whether the risk of injury is greater than my enjoyment of the sport. You can be dictator of your own life.
- sgt101 8y ago
  I 90% agree - but the inducements and pressure on athletes from the big prizes of sport mean that there is a duty of care as well. The use of padding seems to increase injury in both NFL and Rugby but makes for more spectacular and acceptable TV (players being visibly knocked out or stretchered off are upsetting viewing), gloves and head guards in boxing the same. In Rugby the rules are being altered to reduce blows to the head and being honest I think that it will not change the character of the game at all. Combat sports and soccer are bigger challenges, although for soccer I wonder if the changes in pitches and balls over the last 30 years mean that the data on player injury is much less valid - the aerial game doesn't mean much to Messi after all.
  - cljs-js-eval 8y ago
    At the pro level, I think I agree with you too. That is different enough from the amateur scene that it deserves its own ethical analysis.