4 ms·

It seems pretty obvious that a totalitarian petrostate, that bribed its way into using a global sports event as a massive PR push, doesn't care. What matters is

by m12k 4y ago

It seems pretty obvious that a totalitarian petrostate, that bribed its way into using a global sports event as a massive PR push, doesn't care. What matters is whether we care that they don't care. What matters is whether we care that our sports institutions are massively corrupt.

ekianjo 4y ago
- nehal3m 4y ago
  This has to be the shittiest take on this story I could possibly imagine. One, this guy is a sports journalist. He wouldn't have covered COVID in any direct sense. Two, you're comparing having to stay indoors to dying in the blistering heat during slave labor in service of an actually totalitarian government. Three, the timing of this death is at the very least suspicious. It's weird that you'll lay the responsibility for the COVID lockdowns at journalists' feet, but when there is possibly an actual conspiracy going on you instantly regurgitate your own COVID talking points. My mind is truly frayed here.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
routerl 4y ago
> bribed its way into using a global sports event as a massive PR push So common that it has a name. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sportswashing https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sportswashing
- JasonFruit 4y ago
  The lists in that article are absurdly tendentious. Except for Berlusconi, there's very little reason given to justify inclusion.
  - routerl 4y ago
    You seem to have read a different article than the one I linked, since your comment is incoherent given the contents of the linked article. E.g. the lists literally include the 1936 (Nazi) Olympics, which is just about the textbook example of using a global sporting event for the sake of propaganda. Jesse Owens certainly threw a wrench in those (white supremacist) plans, however.
themitigating 4y ago
We care but do we care enough to do something and what would that be?
- fnimick 4y ago
  Not watching and giving them your attention (which equals advertising dollars). Which isn't likely - all the people I know who were upset about Qatar hosting are sports fans in the first place and all got together to watch it regardless.
- harimau777 4y ago
  We could refuse to participate in their sporting events.
throwawaylinux 4y ago
What seems pretty obvious is all the globalist institutions, everything from FIFA to the UN Human Rights Council, which are happy to take bribes from unashamedly totalitarian petrostates and worse, don't care. That's what gets me. Qatar can Qatar in Qatar, but the disgusting, corrupt, hypocritical ruling class who would preach to me and claim to be the "experts" on how I should live my life and to be my moral superiors is what gets me. And they're the ones who really enable and legitimize these regimes too. They're the real evil, and it's high time to put an end to them.
- Swenrekcah 4y ago
  So, putting FIFA aside since it’s not a public institution, you’re saying that because some institutions have a problem with some of their workings, that they should be abolished? We need to strengthen our democratic institutions and of course also be more demanding of honesty from their leaders. Just saying they’re evil and we need to put an end to them sounds like people saying the police is evil and should be abolished. A really bad idea in my opinion.
  - throwawaylinux 4y ago
    I'm saying that all institutions which support and enable and legitimize brutal theocratic dictatorships like this should be purged of the parasites which infest them, yes.
BurningFrog 4y ago
Everyone knows FIFA is a deeply corrupt organization. There is also not much anyone can do about it. But I don't think "we need to care more" is a good mental model for the issue
- jackmott42 4y ago
  Quite a lot of really simple solutions actually. But modern reasonable people who are offended by evil are too nice to get rid of it like they should.
  - Yaa101 4y ago
    Not too nice but too cowardice, they don't want to deal with the moral psychological fallout of killing evil people, they rather sit in a corner and weep about how evil the world is.
    - lupire 4y ago
      That's "nice". ---- You're so nice You're not good You're not bad You're just nice I'm not good I'm not nice I'm just right I'm the witch You're the world --Into the Woods, Last Midnight
- zepn 4y ago
  Surely there are, say, British, European or American FIFA representatives who can be tried for taking bribes, or for being part of an organisation which takes bribes? Why are those people immune? They're complicit.
  - selectodude 4y ago
    For better or worse, it's one country, one vote for a lot of this stuff. You can bribe the entire Caribbean for the cost of bribing France (Qatar did both).
  - jdminhbg 4y ago
    This does occasionally happen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Blazer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Blazer
snapplebobapple 4y ago
It's not that it's a petrostate, it's that this has been the view of the region forever. This region did not come to the moral conclusion that slavery was wrong, they only stopped when Europeans showed up with gun boats and forced them to cut it out (Also, why isn't anyone asking these guys wtf happened to all the black slaves they imported because basically none of them exist in the region today despite the region likely taking more slaves during the slave trade than the USA. The answer is obviously castration and murder if one looks into it). This attitude has been present in this region since antiquity, finding oil just caused a white washing of the practice to something just below causing European gun boats to show up while expanding the practice dramatically.
- zhengiszen 4y ago
  Quite the shortcut you took there mate... Europeans stopped slavery when it was no more economically interesting for them to go on. Still they kept going in their remote colonies (Brasil, USa,...)

by m12k 4y ago

ekianjo 4y ago

nehal3m 4y ago
This has to be the shittiest take on this story I could possibly imagine. One, this guy is a sports journalist. He wouldn't have covered COVID in any direct sense. Two, you're comparing having to stay indoors to dying in the blistering heat during slave labor in service of an actually totalitarian government. Three, the timing of this death is at the very least suspicious. It's weird that you'll lay the responsibility for the COVID lockdowns at journalists' feet, but when there is possibly an actual conspiracy going on you instantly regurgitate your own COVID talking points. My mind is truly frayed here.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

routerl 4y ago

> bribed its way into using a global sports event as a massive PR push So common that it has a name. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sportswashing https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sportswashing

JasonFruit 4y ago
The lists in that article are absurdly tendentious. Except for Berlusconi, there's very little reason given to justify inclusion.
- routerl 4y ago
  You seem to have read a different article than the one I linked, since your comment is incoherent given the contents of the linked article. E.g. the lists literally include the 1936 (Nazi) Olympics, which is just about the textbook example of using a global sporting event for the sake of propaganda. Jesse Owens certainly threw a wrench in those (white supremacist) plans, however.

themitigating 4y ago

We care but do we care enough to do something and what would that be?

fnimick 4y ago
Not watching and giving them your attention (which equals advertising dollars). Which isn't likely - all the people I know who were upset about Qatar hosting are sports fans in the first place and all got together to watch it regardless.
harimau777 4y ago
We could refuse to participate in their sporting events.

throwawaylinux 4y ago

What seems pretty obvious is all the globalist institutions, everything from FIFA to the UN Human Rights Council, which are happy to take bribes from unashamedly totalitarian petrostates and worse, don't care. That's what gets me. Qatar can Qatar in Qatar, but the disgusting, corrupt, hypocritical ruling class who would preach to me and claim to be the "experts" on how I should live my life and to be my moral superiors is what gets me. And they're the ones who really enable and legitimize these regimes too. They're the real evil, and it's high time to put an end to them.

Swenrekcah 4y ago
So, putting FIFA aside since it’s not a public institution, you’re saying that because some institutions have a problem with some of their workings, that they should be abolished? We need to strengthen our democratic institutions and of course also be more demanding of honesty from their leaders. Just saying they’re evil and we need to put an end to them sounds like people saying the police is evil and should be abolished. A really bad idea in my opinion.
- throwawaylinux 4y ago
  I'm saying that all institutions which support and enable and legitimize brutal theocratic dictatorships like this should be purged of the parasites which infest them, yes.

BurningFrog 4y ago

Everyone knows FIFA is a deeply corrupt organization. There is also not much anyone can do about it. But I don't think "we need to care more" is a good mental model for the issue

jackmott42 4y ago
Quite a lot of really simple solutions actually. But modern reasonable people who are offended by evil are too nice to get rid of it like they should.
- Yaa101 4y ago
  Not too nice but too cowardice, they don't want to deal with the moral psychological fallout of killing evil people, they rather sit in a corner and weep about how evil the world is.
  - lupire 4y ago
    That's "nice". ---- You're so nice You're not good You're not bad You're just nice I'm not good I'm not nice I'm just right I'm the witch You're the world --Into the Woods, Last Midnight
zepn 4y ago
Surely there are, say, British, European or American FIFA representatives who can be tried for taking bribes, or for being part of an organisation which takes bribes? Why are those people immune? They're complicit.
- selectodude 4y ago
  For better or worse, it's one country, one vote for a lot of this stuff. You can bribe the entire Caribbean for the cost of bribing France (Qatar did both).
- jdminhbg 4y ago
  This does occasionally happen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Blazer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Blazer

snapplebobapple 4y ago

It's not that it's a petrostate, it's that this has been the view of the region forever. This region did not come to the moral conclusion that slavery was wrong, they only stopped when Europeans showed up with gun boats and forced them to cut it out (Also, why isn't anyone asking these guys wtf happened to all the black slaves they imported because basically none of them exist in the region today despite the region likely taking more slaves during the slave trade than the USA. The answer is obviously castration and murder if one looks into it). This attitude has been present in this region since antiquity, finding oil just caused a white washing of the practice to something just below causing European gun boats to show up while expanding the practice dramatically.

zhengiszen 4y ago
Quite the shortcut you took there mate... Europeans stopped slavery when it was no more economically interesting for them to go on. Still they kept going in their remote colonies (Brasil, USa,...)