Comments on: Racism Looks Pretty Mild on This Side of the Atlantic

By: evelynlizette

evelynlizette — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:20:43 +0000

This video was so disturbing to watch. These professional soccer players whoa re paid millions are disrespected because theyre black; still? It makes me appreciate that i live in america even tough we have our own demons with racism to deal with. I just know that we would never see this kind of behavior in any mainstream form of a sports game because i guess were advanced in the sense that we respect and glorify true talent. This comparison with europe and the u.s makes me feel relieved that we as americans have come a long way from segregation and outright public racism but we need to spread the awareness internationally. Soccer is the most internationally played sport and yet they have the most racist european fans. One of the commentators in the video brought up a good point when he talked about the older man that coach for the spanish team. The coach was trying to amp up his players by taunting them and telling them no to let the black player beat him because hes better than him. The coach tried to say that its a training tactic and that if the black player were fat that he would use his fatness to taunt him so that his own player would have an incentive to beat him in a game for it. Bullshit. Just like the commentator said, there has not been a history of fat people being killed tortured and seen as a 2nd class citizen because of their body weight. Knocking someone down because of their color is unacceptable. Some of the laws FIFA is trying to implement sound great but theres always corruption. Strict law obligation must be incorporated as well as the 3 point disqualification. These coaches for the soccer teams are old and have an old way of thinking. They still see being black as lower class and it being ok to talk down to them. If this was happening in an american football game, it wouldnt even happen. Im glad that our country is decades ahead of the rest of europe but i would still like for the whole world to reach the ultimate point of equality. I know its idealistic but it can happen. We just need the older generation to die out along with their old frame of mind. Out with the old in with the new is what comes to mind when i see this display of hate. I thought these die hard soccer players would at least appreciate the fact that they have the best players in the soccer federation but an enclosed mind loses a lot.

By: bwarelaflare

bwarelaflare — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 20:43:33 +0000

I agree with you because this should not even go down at all! The fans should not be allowed to throw items on to the field in the first place anyway because a player could get struck with it and could get seriously injured or hurt. The fans should have been promptly tossed from the stadium. And then the coach saying that racial comment should have been fined WAY more than he was. It should have been a REALLY expensive fine so any other person or coach who even thought about saying something like that would have thought twice about it. This video is eye-opening because it shows how far along America has came in terms of dealing with racism and how far we still have to go.

By: bwarelaflare

bwarelaflare — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:39:35 +0000

This is just crazy how blatantly racist soccer fans in Europe are! In America we think racism is minimal and damn near over, but this video shed some light on how we are still on bad terms in destroying racism. For the fans to heckle and harass some of the BEST soccer players in the WORLD is mind-boggling! Can you imagine if people tried to do that to Michael Jordan? What about Ray Lewis or Jerry Rice? It is one thing for a fan to just talk about how bad the team is or whatever, but it is a whole 'nother thing entirely too openly yell racial slurs. And even the coach talked about a reputed soccer player and it was on television. Maybe he was just trying to motivate his players. Maybe he is a part of the Ku Klux Klan. I do not know that, but I do know that he is supposed to set an example and that is not the right way to do it. Nobody wants to be playing in a big important game and you are already under a lot of stress and pressure, and then you get bananas and God knows what else thrown at you while you are on the field. I could not even imagine. I could see if it was the Away team's fans, but it is your HOME team's fans. And then most of the stadium chanted "MONKEY" when the guy had the ball, I could see why he just could not take it anymore.

We all have to learn to respect one another and adhere to each other’s feelings. At the end of the day, we are all different, whether it is looks, or culture, or even playing style. People are scared and apprehensive about things that are unfamiliar to them; they just have to be educated about new things. We have to stop being close-minded and learn to be more open-minded. The way these people are acting you would think it was 1950, when we are actually in the 21st Century. Stuff has changed and will only change more so we should all just get used to it. The only way to eradicate racism is to learn about ALL cultures and know that there are going to be people in ALL races who are just bad apples, but they shouldn't spoil the whole bunch. Don't let one person make or change your views about the whole race.

By: Jharred_Tulloch

Jharred_Tulloch — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:13:54 +0000

And to those who think that we are "more respectful" to the black athletes in America. The fact is, although fans dont' take it to the extent of those found in Europe, racism and taunting happen in our Country too. Comments such as "he's black so he should run faster" and the like, may not seem as racist as say tossing a banana at a black man on field, but they are still remarks towards a colored individual that is seperating him or her from the rest of the population. Racism is not something that will ever stop, however it can be regulated, and controlled, to icolated incidents. Once the higher up powers realize this situation in Europe and finally do something about it, then maybe we can see a change one day soon

By: Jharred_Tulloch

Jharred_Tulloch — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:13:43 +0000

____I'm not saying that because the athletes are being payed so much money they should take the abuse though. But what should be done is regulation and stricter rules put in place, to control the fans of the more outragious clubs. Every league in Europe has a governing body who every week place restrictions and deal financial penalties for things as small as taking your shirt of on field. Although I do know of cases where governing bodies have enacted financial penaties to clubs for the actions of their fans, these penalities are not enough. What FIFA and the individual league's regulators need to do, if they ever hope to stop the rediculous treatment of such talented athletes, is start to take away wins/points from the teams with these fans. Fans, no matter how racist, or how bigoted they are, are still fans, that want their respectvie club to do well. By taking away points from these teams (majority of the teams that have fans that do things of this nature are on the lower to middle half of the league rankings) fans will realize that what their doing will no longer be tolerated. ____.

By: Jharred_Tulloch

Jharred_Tulloch — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:13:25 +0000

I also know that colored individuals were not the only group discriminated against. Jews, Muslims, and Asians are all groups of athletes that the "white man" has for years, ridiculed and taunted. ____The funny part to this entire situation however, is that it is these very fans that are paying these very athletes, millions and millions of dollars to do what they love. Play soccer. The meer fact that they have to deal with such hate to do job they enjoy doing is horrible in itself, it is as if a person would be heckled and ridiculed for working at a bank because they were short, but at the same time, these athletes are being payed millions and millions of dollars, that re coming out of these very fans pockets. So in the end, what goes around comes around.

By: Jharred_Tulloch

Jharred_Tulloch — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:12:04 +0000

First, I would like to say that soccer has and will always be one of my favorite sports/past times and although I do not understand why so many people across Europe chose to act in such a disgusting and unacceptable manner, I do however understand the cultural standpoint that comes with the chants and bigotry the audience and fans of European soccer clubs partake in. This however, does not mean I condone, at all, the things that are being said, and done. Sam does have a point in that this is possibly the "white mans" way of regulating what seems to be the immigrants from more southern/african countries "taking over" of the sport. It is a fact that a decent portion of the more talented soccer players are colored. Theese athletes do nothing to encite the reaction of the crowds, but after studying this topic in past classes I know that in the past, people of color were not always allowed to participate in soccer matches. I also know that colored individuals were not the only group discriminated against. Jews, Muslims, and Asians are all groups of athletes that the "white man" has for years, ridiculed and taunted.

By: stephlova12

stephlova12 — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:11:53 +0000

The clip involving European racism was mainly about how the denial of people, mainly European soccer fans, brought about in an environment such as a soccer match, has caused explosive extremisms in the stands. Specific black players and other “dark skinned” athletes have been targeted with direct racism from fans from both home and away teams. For example, for Sicilian’s team Messina, player Mark Zoro, fans made a banner reading “Peanuts and bananas are the pay for your infamy” causing him to stop play by picking up the ball and threatening to leave the game. Similarly for Barcelona, player Samuel Eto’o, he was presented with “monkey” chants every time he touched the ball in a game which caused him to stop play as well. As for why many cases of avert displays racism like the afore mentioned are found at these soccer games happen because there has been no such event like Civil Rights Movement comparable to that in the U.S. Another reason being there are so few black Europeans.

I have noticed that many European countries contain many far-right political parties which have been known to dehumanize as well as teach a sense of fear of black and other ethnic or multi-cultured immigrants which when mixed with the excitement, and potential explosive environment of a European soccer game, can lead to such racist acts. Acts carried out by other coaches and players to me are unacceptable and so the fact that they let the then French coach Luis Aragones continue to coach and only have fined him $5,000 for his racial slurs tells me that there is not enough control over the organized soccer league and cruel behavior is enabled. Hateful actions done on the field as well as in the stands are completely overlooked and that is wrong. Europe’s national soccer federation has taken no responsibility. Apparently FIFA has left rules regarding behavior of fans and players up to the decisions of the individual country; however because of the upcoming World Cup to be carried out, FIFA’s president has made rules that will penalize teams whose players, fans, and whoever that engages in inappropriate racial behavior. While those are positive steps being taken to help mitigate racial conduct, I do not appreciate it to the fullest because it was only brought on because the World Cup is so heavily broadcasted internationally. I found this article interesting because not only is it dealing with the sport of soccer but a more deeply rooted issue of racial prejudices that have stemmed from immigration flows and the introduction of blacks and other races into a pool of scared, white Europeans. Resolutions are probably near on the horizon but like most social issues, violence, deaths, and hurt will undoubtedly take place before

By: JulietaVenegas

JulietaVenegas — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:31:12 +0000

Although I have not traveled to Europe (yet), I am a huge soccer fan and was aware of such extreme cases of “freedom of speech.” That being said, I hate the fact that it continues on even today and that the force that regulates European soccer has chosen to not do anything about it. Due to the fact that I have never been to Europe, I can’t say that it’s stuck in the “old world” or that it’s too unruly, for it’s own good, but I can say that watching this video made me really angry and the barbaric words and actions of the fans.
Whether it’s because of the European culture, media, or the love of soccer, I simply cannot think of a reason that would make these actions excusable… but I can think of a reason that would allow these actions to be considered “normal” to Europeans: Political Correctness. The US culture emphasizes the idea of being politically correct and to not offend anybody or hurt their feelings. Even though some TV shows may use satire to poke fun at being politically correct, the fact that my generation is being brought up on the idea of not offending others cannot be denied. Europeans, on the other hand, may not be fed this idea on a daily basis like we are in the United States. This doesn’t imply that their actions are acceptable, but rather that there may be a reason behind this thing that seems so foul.
Nobody can deny that soccer fans are notoriously more expressive of all emotions than football fans—all you have to do is listen to a soccer game to hear it. I’m not talking about the racial slurs that are yelled from all directions, but rather the continuous chanting that can be heard even from live broadcasts on the FOX Soccer channel. Fans of the home team sing, belt, and scream the same chants/cheers in unison for the entire duration of the game. Even something like that would be a hard feat for the fans in Beaver Stadium. I mean, sure we can yell/sing the melody to Zombie Nation for a solid 60 seconds or so, but imagine not just the student section but the entire stadium doing that for the entire 90 minutes of a soccer game. Not likely to happen. My point is simply that Europeans love their soccer like nothing else, and they’re bound to say and do inappropriate things when it comes to an emotional subject for them like soccer. It is then that the game officials and the soccer leagues need to step in and speak out against actions that are so blatantly racist.

By: starjones10

starjones10 — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 22:20:27 +0000

As a young adult I realized that racism will always get the best of America if we let it. I look at racism in a whole different way. As a young child we learned what not to do to be called "races" but we never was taught how to deal with it if it came our way. After watching the video above, I realize that racism still exist in the most prevalent places. i would have never thought to go to a soccer game and see fans or anyone bash someone of there own hometown the way it was shown. I believe that some people and places are ignorant to the change for the better.

After being face with different situations in my own life, racism does impact the way you feel around certain people, that you feel are different. I believe racism will always change and be covered up to some degree. There will never be a time when we say racism does not exist!. I feel that its one preference to be that way. I just don't understand how that can be when the president of the united states is an African American male with inherently dark skin. I would think that some would think twice before making a races comment or doing anything races towards others. I generally understand that times are different and some people want to keep a head on their culture but its a pure distinction between ignorance and prevalence here in America. I feel what happend at the stadium was very uncalled for and disrespectful. Not only did the people disrespect themselves but there culture. When standing up for something you believe is right whether its races or not, its a certain way to do things. I think what most people don't realize is that not only will they be judged but Europe is now judged by many. Honestly, until I read and saw the articles about the soccer game, i was interested in going this summer after graduation. I have decided against going there now. I personally don't believe in bashing others cultures. I was brought up in a hostile environment, learning about racism and all the things that happend in the past as far as slavery was not easy. We as society learned to become wiser and better with decisions and giving others chances so I would never want to look back to those devastating time again. Its moment like the European soccer game that make people like me change there views. Maybe if I didn't want to make a better life for my children or family in the future I would act the same way, instead I see the drastic changes that America has went threw to make the lives of others better. As a country I feel that most should be embarrassed by the video and should want to change it with no hesitation.

Hopefully not only did the fans and people who engaged in this ignorance learn what they have done but the people who were outside looking in should definitely appreciate the difference in most countries reaction to race. To appreciate, I mean understand and accept all ignorance and learn to be different. Learning about different racism acts around the world does not surprise me even now in 2010 with Barack Obama being our president.