On Racism and Sportsmanship
It’s really sad and frustrating to observe from afar what things have now come to.
What’s interesting is the definition that the situation has been described by: racism. It just doesn’t make any sense here. Think about it.
Racism: noun \ˈrā-ˌsi-zəm \ a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.
That’s why the word racism is inapplicable in this case by the lexical and cultural definition of the word. Simply because the two parties involved here, Jordanians and Jordanians of Palestinian origin, do not only share the same race, but also share the same nationality, language, religions, history, culture, demography, pains, hopes, dreams, etc, etc. Same … every … single … thing.
I suppose denying that a problem exists would be silly, but it’s definitely not a “national crisis that threatens the unity of the country” as all the media have portrayed it! And that’s why I like to believe that all the unfortunate events that took place in Amman recently are the acts of an insignificant segment of the society and that by no means does it reflect the sentiment of the united Jordan I know.
Football stadiums shouldn’t and were never the index by which a country’s national integrity is measured (otherwise England would have been the most divided country in the world, which it isn’t).
On a related note, Prince Ali was elected today as the new FIFA vice-president. Following the recent win Qatar scored to host the 2022 World Cup , Prince Ali’s election is considered the second achievement for Arabs in international football in a month’s time.
Credited for progressing Jordanian football, Prince Ali recently said:
“Football is more than a sport. It’s a culture. A lifestyle. A Powerful medium for uniting people. I’m running because I want to see Asia taking its rightful place in the football family. I am running because it is time for change. It is time to work together as one continent. United.“
This is why I am more confident than ever that winds of change are already blowing, and the mistakes that would occasionally happen every now and then will be something of the past.
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January 7th, 2011 at 12:19 am
“Football stadiums shouldn’t and were never the index by which a country’s national integrity is measured”
GREAT quote!
January 8th, 2011 at 4:00 pm
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January 8th, 2011 at 4:31 pm
Thank you, Kinzi