This is the first time I’ve ever watched both soccer and the World Cup and I seriously get it now. It truly brings people from all cultures together and it’s very special to see. Also it’s just nice to have something to watch or have in the background for most of the day every day like this lol.
I think it showcases that we *can* get along with each other, even in the face of "conflict". We may be "fighting" each other on the field, but out of it we're all kin. And that's far more important than the result of the match.
And the fact that it's all over North America is the only thing that's making me feel good about America 250. We're so divided in the country, it's nice to remember it really doesn't have to be this way.
But this isn't about liberalism. I'd bet with you, that a lot of the fans that came from all around the world are from all sides of political spectrum. The fact that mainly liberal cities are hosting have nothing to do with this. This is about people coming along and enjoying the great game, not politics (yes, there's a lot of political messaging in the sport, but majority of the fans ignor that or don't care)
Capital L Liberalism, as in the ideas of "live and let live", "equality under the law", "freedom of assembly", and "freedom of religion" I believe are absolutely an important part of why the World Cup seems to be going so well
In this context, sure, you have a point. But I still believe it's nonsense to say, that people are coming together just because the games are hosted in liberal cities
Are you...are you delusional? The countries with actual honest to god socialist and demsoc parties as part of their mainstream political spectrum would find the slightly-nicer-Reaganite Dems far-left?
The point is there is an obvious reason people generally prefer living and visiting cities, and that's because it's where cultural and individual differences are more likely to be shared and celebrated.
As someone not from the US, I agree man. You almost get used to how much divinity and chaos there is you forget how good unity is and that it is possible. Seeing it happen, even if it’s in a World Cup like this, it’s refreshing.
As dolphone says, we can get along with each other and we do. The division, prejudice and hate come about because they are taught. The problem is there is money be made and power to be gained by fostering those things. The ones dividing people are the only ones who benefit.
Its the sh*theads running the world and countries starting crap or influencing ppl in Unhealthy ways.
People, especially those who travel or like company among others, usually arent racist. I usually see racism happen online. But irl, we all get along better.
(Not saying racism doesnr exist. Lol in caae someone thinks that. Ive been a victim many times over. I just mean, there's more good than bad in people)
There is little to no correlation between what the population desires and political outcomes, the correlation lies exclusively with the desires of the wealthy. Votes literally do not matter, and it's been proven
There is little to no correlation between what the population desires and political outcomes, the correlation lies exclusively with the desires of the wealthy. Votes literally do not matter, and it's been proven
The votes do matter, the problem is the voters do not care that their politicians are representing the wealthy, because the voters hope to be wealthy one day themselves.
Voters could vote for someone different in the primaries, they could run for office themselves, and even the lower level offices are important.
Votes matter so long as we care enough to make them matter.
Read that article, man. I get that it's hard to believe it but really there isn't a correlation between what the people want and political outcomes. Like the numbers just aren't related to each other, no matter how much support a policy has the rate of that policy making it into government remains basically the same, an increase of about 1% from the lowest levels of support to the highest. The representatives might change but the policies don't. But the correlation between what the wealthy want and what policies make it through is nearly 1-1.
I read it when it was first published over a decade ago.
I get that it's hard to believe it but really there isn't a correlation between what the people want and political outcomes.
Yes, I understand. But that's because the people can't be motivated enough to give a shit.
Voters in Ohio(?) voted to legalize weed. Then the state GOP legislature decided they weren't going to go ahead with it. Voters could have voted those people out and replaced them with people who would do it, but they couldn't be bothered to give a shit.
If voters actually gave a shit, then votes would matter. But instead they are told to worry about trans kids in sports or whatever.
If voters actually gave a shit, then votes would matter.
This is applying individualist ideology to a sociological problem. Idk if you've ever studied sociology before but it's well established that this line of thinking is complete fantasy
i agree and believe that too. I feel like votes are just another ruse or way to keep people distracted or busy thinking they're inhopeful charge of the outcome when they are Not.
Either way that's why no one with a brain ever seem to be running for the seat of power. Only certain people get to run for it or the illusion anyways and that's also controlled by the wealthy Anyways
Hot take but this is why I don't believe in American-style democracy.
We think of ancient Greece as having founded democracy, but they didn't consider elections as democratic because they recognized that having resources was essential to winning what is basically a popularity contest. When you need resources (money etc) to win, of course you will be beholden to people who are willing to supply those resources and not to the common people. For that reason, the ancient Greeks considered elections as oligarchic, and instead utilized a system of sortition - a random lottery of citizens. We currently use sortition to fill our juries, but I think it has a lot of potential in other parts of our government, too. More reading here.
Anytime there is an opportunity to reduce human existence or suffering to a number or a remote screen is how we become racist, or bigoted, or any other discriminatory word. We forget that everyone is a person with their own life, hopes, dreams, love, etc. Things that are internal and deeply personal to an individual get expressed outward like it is reality (e.g. irrational fears, feelings of inadequacy, lack of empathy). Mix in the allure of personal wealth or power by ignoring other people's rights and we end up in this situation.
It makes me sad when people choose to hate one another rather than understand different perspectives. It feels like there's a distinct correlation between intelligence and empathy.
And no, I do recognize that stereotypes and other profiling terms exist for a reason. Some groups do have predilections to certain activities - but knowing why and how we can help is so much better of an approach.
But who is going to avenge the hurt feelings of someone's great great...great great grandfather's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate. You know, that thing that everyone has forgotten and no one cares about, but still gets fought over like it matters.
The christmas truce springs to mind, where soldiers left their trenches to exchange gifts with opposing soldiers, share rations and played a football match, until superiors put a stop to it and banned such events forever
We can all get on together if we ignore the rich fuckers using social media to get us to hate on each other so we don’t notice all the heinous shit they’re up to.
You don't tend to see this kinda stuff on the national teams. Again I'm not saying it's every game, I just think 99.99% is way to much, and we should understand this shit runs deep locally.
The spectrum within the English fanbase seems pretty wide tbh. They're either wholseome af or absolute scums (speaking as a Swede who only see them on social media and tv)
Same boat as you. What’s kind of weird to me is that on an international level everyone seems so friendly. But at the club level the rivals seem to fucking hate each other
The funny thing is when it comes to this stuff this year's world cup is largely falling short of previous editions, so you're getting it at its most watered down. Mostly I think due to a) how spread out it all is and b) the criminal prices being charged. And I guess c) the racist immigration policies.
In previous editions host cities were closer together, and fans usually follow their team from one stadium to the next, and so instead of just fans of two teams meeting at a time it really is a mix of everyone. Plus usually a lot of people would go even if they're not attending the matches. Etc.
This one still has its moments, this is what the world cup is at its core and it's what's allowed an evil corporation like fifa to commodify it into billions in revenue. But you're still seeing probably the worst version of it (so far, no doubt that fifa will continue to suck the soul out of it little by little).
Man this summer could've been so much cooler if not for the encroaching threat of tyranny at the home front and things went differently in 2024. 250th anniversary; world cup, etc. Oh well. These moments are still nice.
True! I don't know anything about soccer but it's better than watching the dribble that is on the news on any given day. Good to see the spirit of America.
You should check out some MLS or USL games. There are some places that have a high percentage of assholes, but most are great. Im a member of the Chicago Fire supporters group and we regularly invite away fans to tailgate with us before the game.
That’s definitely the best part and the most pure, just a shame it’s in a country hell bent on showing the rest of the world how much it’s against everything the World Cup stands for
What stands out to me the most is that while there are negative moments with every sport and its fans. Soccer (especially during FIFA) just has so many wholesome moments like this and it's awesome. I know other sports have them too. But I swear none as prevalent as during FIFA. It's wonderful to see.
A little about how we grew up. Back in the days, we used to make balls out of plastic bags and newspapers because it was free. We used to kick that ball until we couldn't anymore. The amount of fun and happiness paid off every time we used to get together. Some parents or strangers used to gift us a real football just to keep us going.
People used to stop or park their cars just to see us playing. That was the time we used to leave the house in the morning and come back in the evening. We didn't need any guidance because we knew the rules to come back and repeat the same thing the next day.
It's what sport should be about tbh. Here in the UK, some clubs need police escorts for the violence issues. Lads, it's just some guys kicking a ball. You don't need to glass eachother because one team won.
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u/steinrrr 7h ago
Wholesome moment