Hamilton: racist abuse

November 6, 2008 at 7:38 am · Filed under Politics, sport

Well, this is annoying. Yet again I’m compelled to comment on Spanish racism. Given that this particular type of confusing and misguided display seems to be coming so frequently from Spain of late, does this mean my commentary is also in danger of becoming racist (against the Spanish)? I do wish they’d stop.

Here we see Spanish Grand Prix fans showing their dissaproval of Lewis Hamilton, current Formula 1 World Champion. Richard Herring analyses their non-logic here.

More recently, reports have emerged of a Spanish website attacking Hamilton in an openly racist way. Apparently more than 16,000 people left racist messages on the site. I haven’t actually seen the site, as the reports I’ve seen have, understandably, declined to reveal the site’s URL.

Thanks to Graham Linehan for naming them arseholes of the decade.

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Spanish Olympic basketball team: ‘friendly’ racism

August 16, 2008 at 6:19 am · Filed under sport

So soon after I spotted the McClaren interview, I find this. So enormously misguided.

Link to Guardian article.

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McClaren: dodgy accent

August 16, 2008 at 4:51 am · Filed under sport

I know little about football, and less about Steve McClaren, but when I heard about this cringe-inducing interview I made an immediate dash for YouTube.

Background: Steve (ex-English football manager) is interviewed by a Dutch TV channel, within weeks of becoming the manager for a Dutch football team, and in an effort to fit in, decides putting on an appalling Dutch accent is a good idea.

I’m sure there’s a lot to be said about this clip, but what strikes me most is the xenophobia angle. How can anyone be so clueless and ill-at-ease with the very idea of foreignness?

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