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Btw, thank you mods, I'm glad I'm still here, though I know my time may or may not be short....
And since I've been away, I haven't read any other threads, so just assume for now that anything said that you know that I disagree with -- assume that I said something non-controversial in response.
And rather than spread this out over a number of threads, I have had a serious question for a while now. Why does this site, which I find an excellent place to converse, not have the traffic of some other places? Is it the dearth, or quality, of original pieces?
I think I'm going to write a gamechanger/blockbuster --
"WHYLEWIS HAMILTON MATTERS IN THE U.S."
Part of that reason is NASCAR, and autoracing in general, and what it has historically stood for; part of it is LH's international appeal; part of it is the Jackie Robinson/sports trail blazer aspect (only fueled by his treatment from you know who last year); and part of it is because I proudly wear the badge of being labelled a LH fanboy -- because I understand the implications of this sh%t better than some do, as an historical phenomenom.
I was going to write something, for my personal entertainment, not for public dissemination, last year, sometime before the Austin race, but I didn't get around to it, because even that would have required more time for research and reflection than I have right now. And the reason I say "gamechanger," is because believe it or not, after I wrote that "colonialism mentality" comment, I saw something similar on a popular UK site a few days later, about a photo involving a certain TP/team/new driver -- though it only took a few days for that comment (and comments about that comment), to disappear. Needless to say, it you give me a voice (generally speaking), I'm going to shake things up, but in a good way, I hope. On the other hand, I know "corporate love" is a powerful thing for some, for a lot of reasons, and not all of them bad (like the connections between a child and a parent, which unite a family around a particular set of colors), and I know that a "corporate" orientation could get me banned, but sometimes, you really have to call them like you see them.
What this has to do with Merecedes, is, that's where LH now drives, so it's relevant for that reason, as that would now be part of the ongoing saga that we are now witnessing. And once I started writing in this thread, I just let it flow. So if you want to delete most or all of this post, that's cool. I just really wanted some feedback on whether this idea would be clutter, irrelevant or unwelcomed, just not germane to what this site is about (the articles are kind of anti-LH), or something informed F1 fans like you would find an interesting diversion (from a U.S. perspective). I guess in that sense, it's kind of a trial balloon, but I know it could very easily get shot down, for good or bad reasons. I would be very interested in the U.K./European perspective on this, but I haven't seen much yet, as far as articles that try to look deeply below the surface of what is a fascinating event, to me at least. It seems that the U.K. press kind of avoids the issue, as if by not mentioning it, it doesn't exist. (Btw, I think the U.K. is doing a great job on racism in football, but why are there still "monkey chants" occurring all across Europe, as far as I can tell from here?).
The U.S. media does a good job covering the rise of blatant and subtle racism as it related/relates to our President. An F1 driver obviously does not have the impact of a presidential election, but has anyone ever covered racism in F1? Does it even exist, and how can anyone tell if it did? Would they immediately lose all access to the teams, if they broached such a topic?
And Mercedes, if you don't like someone asking the hard questions, you shouldn't have signed him, because to me at least, that's what being alive is all about, asking and trying to resolve the hard questions. And btw, hats off to you Mercedes, because that took guts and forward thinking, because you know this dude is a lightning rod for controversy, and it's not going to change, because some on the negative side of the ledger are not going to allow it to change (see, it did come back to Mercedes).
Just some thoughts, whether interesting reading or not, I can't tell from here. If not, I'll move on . . . , eventually
; but for right now, you guys/ladies are the best, and I appreciate all of you -- even those of you who may hate my guts 'cause I'm going to keep questioning -- but that's another discussion for another time, and maybe, for another place.
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P.S., this is one of those posts of mine, that often doesn't see the light of day, because I choose not to submit them. Sometimes I think I write some things down just to get them out of my system, but it could also be a springboard for contemplation/discussion. (Now that I think about it, it could be that this whole post is fueled in part by something about "monkey chants" that I just saw on one of the international channels. I seem to be getting the vibe that football fans are "low class," while
all F1 movers and shakers are above that kind of idiocy. But the question then becomes, "
Are they just better at it?"). If this is a waste of space, I will be duly chastened (but in any event, onwards and upwards I guess).
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PEACE, in our lifetimes.
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