Little Things That Irk You: The Hateful 08

[QualityChimp]

Driving, the other night, I saw a kid on a black bike, wearing a black coat, trousers and bag.

I say "saw", I barely saw him until the last second.

I don't understand why people on bikes have no lights, no reflective strips and wear dark clothes.

[fishbowlhead]

Driving, the other night, I saw a kid on a black bike, wearing a black coat, trousers and bag.

I say "saw", I barely saw him until the last second.

I don't understand why people on bikes have no lights, no reflective strips and wear dark clothes.

Hopefully they all get run over and removed from the gene pool, natural selection.

[Anpanman]

...plus most of 'em have headphones on as well, crazy.

[QualityChimp]

Lads, there's something I need to talk about and it's doing my nut in - The World Cup.

Sorry, this might be a bit rambling.

So, Qatar basically bribed their way to having the World Cup.
Homosexuality is illegal there.
Floggings are legal.
The stadiums have been built with "modern slave labour" and there have been over 6500 deaths.

It's easy to target people like Gary Lineker or Gary Neville, who have (rightly) spoken out injustice here, but are being paid to go there and commentate.

Brew Dog are giving profits of their Lost lager to human rights charities, yet are showing the WC in their pubs and have been roasted for it.

So where do we, as individuals, draw the line?
It feels like you either fall into the camp that doesn't like football anyway and won't watch or you love a World Cup and will set aside your morals for a few weeks for The Beautiful Game.

I love a World Cup and I don't even like football!
My company are doing a competition where you predict the results and there are some great prizes.

However, if I start watching or even take part in the work competition, am I not just being part of the whole thing of accepting it?

We look on aghast as voters in America say "Abortion is illegal, but it's OK for Trump" or nurses saying they knew Savile was dangerous but just kept quiet to avoid losing their jobs or ask why people who knew Harvey Weinstein and what he did but didn't speak out.

Now we're those people.
It's easier to turn a blind eye when it's something we are affected by.
It's easier to say one less person won't make a difference to viewing figures.

So, am I alone in this quandary?
Is anyone actively avoiding the WC for Qatar's human rights record?

[Neon Ignition]

The trouble is I guess that if you like football and the big game tournaments then Qatar is simply the latest in an incredibly long line of moral scenarios that have been brushed over in order to watch men kick a ball. I think if it's something that really causes offence then skip watching it as despite the focus things like World Cups get, major tournaments in football are ten a penny, there's always another one on the horizon and ultimately nothing of real importance happens or comes as a result of it. But, then I'm in the camp that would suck the vastly over-placed popularity of the sport out of it anyway
Like politics, morals and professional football are poor bedfellows

[Asura]

I love a World Cup and I don't even like football!
...
It's easier to say one less person won't make a difference to viewing figures.

So, am I alone in this quandary?
Is anyone actively avoiding the WC for Qatar's human rights record?

I'm similar in that I don't normally care for football, but I normally watch the international competitions. Kinda the same way I don't care about Javelin for 4 years but will watch it at the Olympics, or that I love to watch Bobsled at the Winter Olympics despite having zero connection to it outside of that context.

But yeah, this time around, I'm not going to watch it.

It's difficult, because there's an element of moral relativism where people are in danger of sounding like a Russian propagandist pointing to false equivalencies; e.g. "you condemn Qatar, but trade with the US which has formalised slavery by its prison system", which is using clever language to compare two things which are not the same. I think it's pretty fair to say that the Qatari regime has done things in the process of getting this World Cup that are decadent to the degree that refusing to support it, in any way, is a totally justifiable moral stance.

Does it make a difference? Probably not. But I'll feel better, which I guess is fine.

Where you draw the line on these things is always up to the individual. I don't engage with any Rurouni Kenshin stuff anymore despite it at one time being one of my favourite things. Does that affect its bottom line? Probably not. But it matters to me.

[Atticus]

I guess I'm already in the watching camp as F1 and MotoGP race there. As for the World Cup ... if Qatar was hoping for a positive PR experience out of this it's looking like the exact opposite.

[wakka]

Yeah, it's massively shone a light on their human rights abuses in a way that I don't think they would have anticipated. They were seeking prestige and instead they've gained notoriety.

[fuse]

Not watching, but wasn't interested in the first place.

Brewdog will never in a million years not take an opportunity to be in the news, even if it's for brazen hypocrisy. As well as posturing with these giant posters while still showing the games in your pubs, you just so happened to sell a load of beer to the only alcohol distributor (who just so happened to be government owned) in Qatar just in time for the World Cup, did you? Punk my arse.

[wakka]

Cannot stand Brewdog. Absolute arses.

[Hirst]

I don't watch the World Cup either way, but I've been to Qatar a couple of times for airport transfers to Thailand via Doha Hamad and I'll be doing it again after the World Cup is over.

As for why I go that way, a handful of other flight options exist, but realistically the only decent way from Manchester is via UAE (Emirates/Etihad) or Qatar (Qatar Airways). There are other ways that exist on a technical level, but they're expensive, poor quality or require so much flight-switching that you'd probably not get there. Notwithstanding the fact that I really do like Qatar Airways, there's not much I can do to defeat world geography and my own budget. All the Middle East airline options are either directly state-owned, owned by the royals or similar. It's not quite a Hobson's Choice but it isn't a million miles off.

I did look this time at seeing if I could get a night at Doha just so I could go into the city with my missus and see what it's all about, but it would have required either two separate bedrooms or for us to get married beforehand. Even if we risked a single room, the extra cost was pretty substantial and went beyond my curiosity as to what it might be like, especially with all the bother of getting taxis and all that. And I've got to weigh that up against my own concerns of taking the missus to a place where she will effectively be regarded as a second-class citizen and we could be arrested for some cultural faux pas quite easily. Instead I'll just have my usual Qatar experience of looking at the shiny marble floors, looking at the big bronze teddy bear, having a ride on the completely superfluous terminal metro train, buying 200 cigarettes definitely 100% for personal consumption I swear, quick coffee and onto the next plane.

What I will say is that as far as tourism is concerned, it's important not to lump in the entire population with the government and usually if you want to see a place you don't really have much choice than to give their government money. It's like our government are a set of absolute scum, but if someone wants to pay their £100 for a UK tourism visa so they can live out their dreams of seeing Eureka in Halifax then I wouldn't hold it against them.

[endo]

Punk my arse.

Careful what you wish for. The last time I had my arse punked I couldn't sit down for a week!

[Asura]

Cannot stand Brewdog. Absolute arses.

Didn't they do something years ago, where they interviewed a bunch of graphic designers for a job, got all of them to make work to a brief as a sample, then didn't hire anyone but used all of the work those people had made?

[Anpanman]

I don't watch footy any more so won't be watching it, if anything we cheer against England because of the arsehole fans, we have a pub close by and it wasn't too bad after they lost at the Euro final, if England had won the night would have been unbearable, any excuse for the locals to set off all sorts of IED's.

Used to watch the women but even they have started diving about so gave that up too.

[randombs]

Putting aside the moral quandary of feeling like I’m supporting Qatar and ignoring their religious nonsense like banning homosexuality and not letting people rut out of wedlock, I’d get distracted during the games thinking about all those who died - DIED, FFS - so that some idiot king could show off the stadiums he had built with but the wave of a hand.

I won gold medals for eye-rolling while watching the Tokyo Olympics but I was able to separate the my feelings towards IOC with those towards the athletes grinding on skateboards and smashing volleyballs. With this WC, Qatar will be shoved down my throat via ads for Qatar Airways and whatnot. I just wouldn’t be able to enjoy it, and why would I watch something I’m not enjoying? This isn’t going to the cinema with my wife to see The Great Gatsby in 3D.

(I kid, I kid. love that film, really. I even bought it on BR… in 3D!)