Lewis Hamilton
Discussion
What value do his F1 peers add by saying in unison "racism is really bad" ?
I get wanting people to speak out, but what does it add when they're stating the absolute obvious? The default position, I would assume and hope, is that all of the F1 drivers abhor systemic racism and want it gone. F1 drivers - white or not - don't strike me as a group of people who are remotely relevant in this, frankly.
What this movement needs is people in positions of power to make statements, and make real, substantial, lasting changes to the system. It ought to come down from the top but Trump is MIA. There is nothing to be gained whatsoever from random celebrities wading in telling us all that they're against racism. No s
t sherlock.
I get wanting people to speak out, but what does it add when they're stating the absolute obvious? The default position, I would assume and hope, is that all of the F1 drivers abhor systemic racism and want it gone. F1 drivers - white or not - don't strike me as a group of people who are remotely relevant in this, frankly.
What this movement needs is people in positions of power to make statements, and make real, substantial, lasting changes to the system. It ought to come down from the top but Trump is MIA. There is nothing to be gained whatsoever from random celebrities wading in telling us all that they're against racism. No s
t sherlock.Durzel said:
What value do his F1 peers add by saying in unison "racism is really bad" ?
I get wanting people to speak out, but what does it add when they're stating the absolute obvious? The default position, I would assume and hope, is that all of the F1 drivers abhor systemic racism and want it gone. F1 drivers - white or not - don't strike me as a group of people who are remotely relevant in this, frankly.
What this movement needs is people in positions of power to make statements, and make real, substantial, lasting changes to the system. It ought to come down from the top but Trump is MIA. There is nothing to be gained whatsoever from random celebrities wading in telling us all that they're against racism. No st sherlock.
The point is that clearly to some people, it's not absolutely obvious. To change that, it requires as many people as possible from all backgrounds to advocate the message. I get wanting people to speak out, but what does it add when they're stating the absolute obvious? The default position, I would assume and hope, is that all of the F1 drivers abhor systemic racism and want it gone. F1 drivers - white or not - don't strike me as a group of people who are remotely relevant in this, frankly.
What this movement needs is people in positions of power to make statements, and make real, substantial, lasting changes to the system. It ought to come down from the top but Trump is MIA. There is nothing to be gained whatsoever from random celebrities wading in telling us all that they're against racism. No s
t sherlock.F1GTRUeno said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Respectfully, that's utter bks.Nampahc Niloc said:
F1GTRUeno said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Respectfully, that's utter bks.But by mentioning this Lewis has brought it to the attention of (at the very least) all of his social media followers, and he’s also stirred up commentary such as this thread. The more people who know what’s going on, the better.
I don’t agree with everything Lewis says, but I have to respect him for bothering to give a s
t rather than just sitting at home and counting his millions.Nampahc Niloc said:
F1GTRUeno said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Respectfully, that's utter bks.anonymous said:
[redacted]
Actually makes no sense at all. So yeah, "utter b
ks" covers it pretty well.longblackcoat said:
So get annoyed, that’s your right.
But by mentioning this Lewis has brought it to the attention of (at the very least) all of his social media followers, and he’s also stirred up commentary such as this thread. The more people who know what’s going on, the better.
I don’t agree with everything Lewis says, but I have to respect him for bothering to give a st rather than just sitting at home and counting his millions.
Sure, Lewis has done a good thing by talking about this. Good for him.But by mentioning this Lewis has brought it to the attention of (at the very least) all of his social media followers, and he’s also stirred up commentary such as this thread. The more people who know what’s going on, the better.
I don’t agree with everything Lewis says, but I have to respect him for bothering to give a s
t rather than just sitting at home and counting his millions.He didn't have to attempt to shame his fellow sports people though! Guilting people in to anything isn't good. It might sometimes be effective but it's not pleasant.
He goes too far when he's on a crusade. Which is fine, it's basically the same level of commitment he applies to his racing so it's not a bad thing. But in this instance, he's essentially told several thousand elite sports people around the globe that they're a
holes because they haven't publicly commented on this specific incident 
Sooner he's back in the car with only tyre deg to complain about, the better.
CoolHands said:
He’s spoken out about other issues in the past like plastic and animal welfare. Also we don’t know if behind the scenes he asked some people in the sport to speak out and they haven’t; which would then be a more deliberate act (for them) ie a choice.
Even if he has asked people, they have the right to choose not to do so without being branded by him.Unless we're to support 'say what I want you to say or I'll attack you'?
TheDeuce said:
CoolHands said:
He’s spoken out about other issues in the past like plastic and animal welfare. Also we don’t know if behind the scenes he asked some people in the sport to speak out and they haven’t; which would then be a more deliberate act (for them) ie a choice.
Even if he has asked people, they have the right to choose not to do so without being branded by him.Unless we're to support 'say what I want you to say or I'll attack you'?
Fair play to Lewis for using his fame to highlight an issue he feels strongly about but shaming others is really not on.
Disappointed in him.
People highlighting the issue has also served to wip up the rioters and looters we have seen in recent nights.
Maybe many sports people want to just stay as sports people and not become political ?
It’s t rarely ends well for sports people earn the become political.
Muzzer79 said:
Durzel said:
What value do his F1 peers add by saying in unison "racism is really bad" ?
I get wanting people to speak out, but what does it add when they're stating the absolute obvious? The default position, I would assume and hope, is that all of the F1 drivers abhor systemic racism and want it gone. F1 drivers - white or not - don't strike me as a group of people who are remotely relevant in this, frankly.
What this movement needs is people in positions of power to make statements, and make real, substantial, lasting changes to the system. It ought to come down from the top but Trump is MIA. There is nothing to be gained whatsoever from random celebrities wading in telling us all that they're against racism. No st sherlock.
The point is that clearly to some people, it's not absolutely obvious. To change that, it requires as many people as possible from all backgrounds to advocate the message. I get wanting people to speak out, but what does it add when they're stating the absolute obvious? The default position, I would assume and hope, is that all of the F1 drivers abhor systemic racism and want it gone. F1 drivers - white or not - don't strike me as a group of people who are remotely relevant in this, frankly.
What this movement needs is people in positions of power to make statements, and make real, substantial, lasting changes to the system. It ought to come down from the top but Trump is MIA. There is nothing to be gained whatsoever from random celebrities wading in telling us all that they're against racism. No s
t sherlock.Nampahc Niloc said:
To clarify. I’ve got nothing against him speaking out. In fact good on him. What’s not right is to try and shame others for keeping their mouths shut.
Same. He's acting from a good place but taking to the public stage to shame people for not happening to have spoken publicly is poor. How many things have happened in the world that hasn't got round to speaking up about!?Can't all rant about everything all the time. There wouldn't be any time left to drive a race car and earn the status to become 'a voice' in the first place!
TheDeuce said:
CoolHands said:
He’s spoken out about other issues in the past like plastic and animal welfare. Also we don’t know if behind the scenes he asked some people in the sport to speak out and they haven’t; which would then be a more deliberate act (for them) ie a choice.
Even if he has asked people, they have the right to choose not to do so without being branded by him.Unless we're to support 'say what I want you to say or I'll attack you'?
He highlighted that F1, a sport watched by millions, had nobody speaking out against this incident other than him.
This makes it seem like statistically, nobody cares. You'd have thought that someone would spoken against it given the amount of coverage it's had.
Noted that several drivers have now come out in support. Some, CLC in particular, noting that they wanted to but felt they couldn't or it wasn't their place. This is understandable.
Exige77 said:
People highlighting the issue has also served to wip up the rioters and looters we have seen in recent nights.
Maybe many sports people want to just stay as sports people and not become political ?
You're suggesting that people should just have kept quiet about what happened? Looked the other way?Maybe many sports people want to just stay as sports people and not become political ?
DuckAvenger said:
Whatever is talk about in celeb-circles, there's always Hamilton, bit late but still. Is he still collecting plastic-rubbish, of course not. Just wait for the next week and next new trend. Surprised he isn't wearing Anonymous-mask. It was pretty big deal yesterday
I think it's fairly clear that this issue is more than just a celebrity fad......I was discussing the initial Hamilton post (shaming fellow drivers etc) and came home today to find that it seems all drivers have now made statements.
Whilst I respect Hamilton for speaking out, guilting colleagues into issuing statements is not cool. Infact, because I know Hamilton 'guilt tripped' them, the posts come across as disingenuous.
Whilst I respect Hamilton for speaking out, guilting colleagues into issuing statements is not cool. Infact, because I know Hamilton 'guilt tripped' them, the posts come across as disingenuous.
Gassing Station | Formula 1 | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff