Lewis Hamilton, F1 Driver or Activist?
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: West Wiltshire, UK
Age: 68
Posts: 412
Originally Posted by SpringHeeledJack
I've noticed in the last many months that nearly every tv commercial in the UK seems to suddenly have a plethora of non-caucasian artists doing the honours as every company/corporation trips over themselves to be seen as inclusive. The only problem I have is that it doesn't represent the actual reality in the country, even closely. In the USA since many years for every 3 'white' artists in a TV/print commercial, 1 had to be 'non-white' to represent the demographic accurately. I wonder if I could head off to (for example) Nigeria and start to complain when I would be passed over for a TV job and how prejudiced it all was.
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 58
Posts: 90
Originally Posted by clareprop
Not really, they're selling the whole team to Ineos for next season. They came, they saw and they conquered..now they're leaving (apart from share ownership) because constantly winning is going to give them negative marketing.
Well, you can play that game with lots of countries/teams/people if you want to go back far enough. He's protesting against current issues...and not really doing much different to other sportspeople. I guess if you really don't like it, you have to sell your shares, sponsorship ownership or TV subscription. I don't really care because I think he has a point..I also enjoy the 99.9% racing content.
Well, you can play that game with lots of countries/teams/people if you want to go back far enough. He's protesting against current issues...and not really doing much different to other sportspeople. I guess if you really don't like it, you have to sell your shares, sponsorship ownership or TV subscription. I don't really care because I think he has a point..I also enjoy the 99.9% racing content.
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Looking for the signals square at LHR
Posts: 228
Originally Posted by stevef
The whole thing has become overblown and it seems that almost every corporation and celebrity is frightened of not agreeing with or promoting the present tsunami of apologism. I'd also suggest that the pound-shop Black Panther demonstrators aren't helping their agenda, either via the media or Britain's Got Talent showcasing.
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: UK
Age: 55
Posts: 3,037
They're not.
They're trying to make people stop behaving like they're superior.
Is it really too much to ask to treat people as people without looking at the colour of their skin first?
Yes, of course slavers existed (some cases still do) in many countries and cultures but I don't see a legacy of oppressed/poor/uneducated white descendents in the Middle East or Japan or Africa.
Blues&twos
Spot on!
They're trying to make people stop behaving like they're superior.
Is it really too much to ask to treat people as people without looking at the colour of their skin first?
Yes, of course slavers existed (some cases still do) in many countries and cultures but I don't see a legacy of oppressed/poor/uneducated white descendents in the Middle East or Japan or Africa.
Blues&twos
All of the adverts I see on TV have people in them.
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: Salisbury, Wiltshire
Posts: 0
I don’t quite see why Lewis Hamilton (or any other sportsperson or pop star) using his high profile to promote a cause carries any more weight than anyone else’s opinion. He’s a racing driver. He’s no more knowledgeable than any of us walking the street and some of us, being a lot older, have a lot more life experience to draw on too.
A lot of the same people that nod wisely at his profound words would dismiss a similar comment made by an anonymous individual on Facebook.
A lot of the same people that nod wisely at his profound words would dismiss a similar comment made by an anonymous individual on Facebook.
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: West Wiltshire, UK
Age: 68
Posts: 412
Originally Posted by SarcenStone
I don’t quite see why Lewis Hamilton (or any other sportsperson or pop star) using his high profile to promote a cause carries any more weight than anyone else’s opinion. He’s a racing driver. He’s no more knowledgeable than any of us walking the street and some of us, being a lot older, have a lot more life experience to draw on too.
A lot of the same people that nod wisely at his profound words would dismiss a similar comment made by an anonymous individual on Facebook.
A lot of the same people that nod wisely at his profound words would dismiss a similar comment made by an anonymous individual on Facebook.
For every person who has been given the support and encouragement that Lewis Hamilton was fortunate enough to receive, there may well be thousands with his background that aren't so lucky, and arguably their voices are the ones that need to be heard, as being more representative, than his.
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: South Oxfordshire
Posts: 617
Isn't that what Hamilton is doing, using his high profile to echo the message from those in a less privileged position?
Isn't that how awareness is raised generally about a wide variety of issues ?
Like Bob Geldof/Feed the World in the eighties, as one example - none of the musicians/pop stars who took part had ever had anywhere near the desparate poverty experienced in Ethiopia, but were using their celebrity status to get the message out.
Isn't that how awareness is raised generally about a wide variety of issues ?
Like Bob Geldof/Feed the World in the eighties, as one example - none of the musicians/pop stars who took part had ever had anywhere near the desparate poverty experienced in Ethiopia, but were using their celebrity status to get the message out.
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Manchester, UK
Posts: 1,948
Lewis went up massively in my estimation today for raising the Nigerian shootings. For many, BLM is just a useful club for the political left to beat the US while ignoring worse abuses elsewhere. Well done Lewis for pointing out black lives in Africa matter too.
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: La Rochelle.
Age: 45
Posts: 515
I have a lot of time for Lewis Hamilton as a racing driver and a person. However, one wonders if he will be 'Taking a knee' against 'race injustice' while in Jeddah next year? In my view, to do so would possibly be one of the most hypocritical statements a
sportsman could make.
Obviously, I'm aware that western countries have a poor record when it comes to dealing with this murderous and corrupt regime but why F1 should now decide to prostitute itself to them is a mystery, especially when there are plenty of other wealthy middle east countries who have tidied up their act over the past few decades.
sportsman could make.
Obviously, I'm aware that western countries have a poor record when it comes to dealing with this murderous and corrupt regime but why F1 should now decide to prostitute itself to them is a mystery, especially when there are plenty of other wealthy middle east countries who have tidied up their act over the past few decades.
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Everett, WA
Age: 65
Posts: 3,184
During the pre-race program for the last race, there was a short bit on Willy T. Ribbs - "African American" race driver - as a promo for feature program later that day on Sky Sports. I was a fan of Willy T. back in the '80s when he ran (and often dominated' the US TransAm series - he was an obviously talented driver, plus he was entertaining and a great interview. I remember his involvement in Indy Car (CART in those days), but he never had the financial backing to be successful in CART, driving for the back marker teams.
I don't get Sky Sports (the F1 coverage is via ESPN) - but the program showed up on youtube so I watched it. Good program, and Willy is still entertaining and a good interview. I didn't realize (or at least didn't remember) that he had a test in an F1 car but sadly didn't get the ride.
Interestingly, while I was certainly aware that he was black - and black drivers were rare in auto racing (still are rather rare for that mater) - I never thought of him as a trailblazer for black racing drivers. I just thought he was a talented driver who happened to be black.
I don't get Sky Sports (the F1 coverage is via ESPN) - but the program showed up on youtube so I watched it. Good program, and Willy is still entertaining and a good interview. I didn't realize (or at least didn't remember) that he had a test in an F1 car but sadly didn't get the ride.
Interestingly, while I was certainly aware that he was black - and black drivers were rare in auto racing (still are rather rare for that mater) - I never thought of him as a trailblazer for black racing drivers. I just thought he was a talented driver who happened to be black.
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Out in the sticks in DE56
Age: 82
Posts: 554
Originally Posted by Lancelot37
It may sound not nice of me to say, but I consider Hamilton the current best driver, but I am so tired of his race ranting I'll cheer if he gets beaten.
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: UK
Age: 50
Posts: 336
Originally Posted by Lancelot37
It may sound not nice of me to say, but I consider Hamilton the current best driver, but I am so tired of his race ranting I'll cheer if he gets beaten.
The fact that there are so
many inner city black kids up to no good may be down to the fact that from birth they grow up seeing the disadvantages put upon themselves. It’s easy as a white boy in a white world to see that your future is up to you, but to a black boy it’s not only up to them but to what ingrained attitudes puts in their way.
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Everett, WA
Age: 65
Posts: 3,184
I'm not sure why, but there were very few blacks (or other 'people of color') in the amateur racing that I did (and I was involved for 35 years). Certainly no where near proportional to the ~10% of the US population that's black. It's not just lack of opportunity - precious few of the racers I was involved with enjoyed any meaningful sponsorship - the financing many came from them (or in the case of the younger drivers, their parents), although some who had small businesses could write off the expenses as advertising. For some reason, young black kids seem to be drawn to other sports - and to race you need the desire to justify the expense so people don't do it on a whim. Ball and stick sports don't require much in the way of a financial commitment so people can move in and out of the sport relatively easily.
Most people in professional racing start out at the amateur level - even the mechanics and engineers - so if you want more 'people of color' in professional racing, you're going to need to get them interested at the amateur level.
Most people in professional racing start out at the amateur level - even the mechanics and engineers - so if you want more 'people of color' in professional racing, you're going to need to get them interested at the amateur level.
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Darkest Lincs
Posts: 488
Originally Posted by Lancelot37
It may sound not nice of me to say, but I consider Hamilton the current best driver, but I am so tired of his race ranting I'll cheer if he gets beaten.
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Middlesbrough U.K.
Age: 83
Posts: 360
Originally Posted by wowzz
I agree - it's not nice of you.
I'm tired of having it jammed down my throat, I consider us each equal, and Hamilton needs to shut his big mouth, he is doing nothing for the cause but he is alienating people. The knee thing is pathetic.
