As expected, there were repercussions from England's failure to win the Euro-soccer cup after a drawn game led to a penalty shootout, with reports of racist abuse against black players on social media after the game. It's a minority of fans that indulges in violence, vandalism and racism, generation after generation, despite the good-will and concern of the majority, No amount of social engineering seems to lead to this being resolved positively, even if the antagonists are identified and punished.
Football, like other team sports, nurtures tribalism among its fans. It becomes part of peoples' sense of identity and culture. The excitement of the game stirs passions in supporters. Like a wildfire they are difficult to control properly and can be dangerous. Too much energy is invested in the outcome, rather than how honourably the game is played. Individuals take winning or losing very personally, either as a boost or a threat to morale and self-esteem. The hateful reaction shown by a minority, is to my mind, a pathological state, projecting their own self-hatred and failure to give their lives meaning and purpose, on to black people who have worked hard for their success. It's fuelled by excess alcohol and constant media hyperbole on 24;7 news surrounding sporting events.
Akala's book 'Natives - Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire', which I'm reading slowly, talks of white peoples' identity crisis, now that they cannot any longer control the world forcefully and get away with making victims and exploiting people of colour. With only ten percent of the population sharing any kind of religious faith and values it's no longer part of the common social bedrock that inspires, motivates and helps discipline individuals - everyone does what is right in their own eyes. And that doesn't always work towards the common good.
Walking to the river on Friday afternoon I noticed half a dozen plastic water bottles, some of them full, on the ground along the football pitch touchline, thirty metres from the nearest waste bin. I didn't have gloves or a bag to use for picking them up. Sunday afternoon in the same spot twice as many plastic water bottles had been discarded, as I passed a lady overtook me and began picking them up, I felt ashamed that I'd not returned with a protection bag on Saturday, and joined her in clearing them up. Another regular walker in the park, upset by the defilement of the ground football players rely on for their game.
I've seen parents take their children out litter picking in streets and park. If they didn't it would look so much worse as the Council's waste management team would be overwhelmed. Team sports have groups of fans and not all of them behave so selfishly, but why do they ignore those who misbehave? Does their passion for the game weaken their passion for leaving the pitch in as good a state as they found it? There's something about sporting passions that erodes the sense of common decency. It's the last thing we need.
Well, apart from that, today was quite productive really, with Thursday's Morning Prayer and Reflection video finished and uploaded to YouTube, and a Reflection drafted for the Thursday following as well. Best of all, I sat for two hours without pain and discomfort, working undistractedly and without and negative consequence, except that I forgot to start the washing machine, and forgot to start cooking lunch. Clare went early to school for an INSET morning, and returned to find me still beavering away. She took over and did a super pasta tuna and vegetable dish in half an hour.
After lunch, a long walk in the park, during which I got slightly damp due to intermittent drizzle. Then another episode of Iolo William's nature series on Pembrokshire - Wales' Wild West. Superb photography but best of all is Iolo's enthusiasm for wildlife, and the exemplary way in which he goes about watching birds, a demonstration of how best to get to see and enjoy what's there to be seen. Very useful. Then the first of series 17 of NCIS in which there are several episodes in which Cote de Pablo reprises her role as secret agent Ziva David. She looks that bit older - or is the hairstyle and makeup?
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