Formula One Bahrain and the value of a Boycott
Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2012 11:25 am
I'm a bit pissed off. I've had allowed myself the sin of following the F1 Grand Prix for years, but it has always been a guilty pleasure.
The 'sport' has shown an increasing obsession with money and in this pursuit it has abandoned any moral credibility it ever had.
Gone are the days when a few enthusiasts and a garage could make a good fist of it and produce a car that was competitive.
Despite that there are some good examples of kids who were far from rich getting all the way to the top to achieve the championship.
Lewis Hamilton is one such guy. But his team has sold its soul to the devil - half of McLaren is owned by Bahrainis. And it is for this reason that despite majority public opinion in the host country the F1 circus has visited this travesty of a country despite it staying away last year.
They have done a great PR job and have allowed Jean Todd, the "crown Prince" and Bernie Ecclestone to have their say in defence of the morally incoherent position of continuing to hold the event. whilst the ordinary people of Bahrain, are made silent. The ordinary Bahraini has no platform, no voice. They do not enjoy the luxury that we all take for granted- free speech and a vote.
The knock on the door in the middle of the night; the disappearances; the killings; the arrests of doctors who treat the victims of the regime - these are the day to day expectations of Bahrainis. All this whilst the drivers (also SILENCED) whose main aims are to win what was once the greatest show on earth impotently ignore the truth and continue to support an evil dictatorship.
So here I sit with my partner - with the TV switched off and we enjoy our own impotent rage in a boycott of F1. I just wanted someone to know that- because so few people seem to be listening, so few people care.
The 'sport' has shown an increasing obsession with money and in this pursuit it has abandoned any moral credibility it ever had.
Gone are the days when a few enthusiasts and a garage could make a good fist of it and produce a car that was competitive.
Despite that there are some good examples of kids who were far from rich getting all the way to the top to achieve the championship.
Lewis Hamilton is one such guy. But his team has sold its soul to the devil - half of McLaren is owned by Bahrainis. And it is for this reason that despite majority public opinion in the host country the F1 circus has visited this travesty of a country despite it staying away last year.
They have done a great PR job and have allowed Jean Todd, the "crown Prince" and Bernie Ecclestone to have their say in defence of the morally incoherent position of continuing to hold the event. whilst the ordinary people of Bahrain, are made silent. The ordinary Bahraini has no platform, no voice. They do not enjoy the luxury that we all take for granted- free speech and a vote.
The knock on the door in the middle of the night; the disappearances; the killings; the arrests of doctors who treat the victims of the regime - these are the day to day expectations of Bahrainis. All this whilst the drivers (also SILENCED) whose main aims are to win what was once the greatest show on earth impotently ignore the truth and continue to support an evil dictatorship.
So here I sit with my partner - with the TV switched off and we enjoy our own impotent rage in a boycott of F1. I just wanted someone to know that- because so few people seem to be listening, so few people care.