Sport- it's a way of building up irrational attitudes of submission to authority, and group cohesion behind leadership elements. Noam Chomsky

 

Googled him after and looked at some of his stuff.

Excerpt from a talk given....

''This is an oversimplification, but for the eighty percent or whatever they are, the main thing is to divert them. To get them to watch National Football League. And to worry about "Mother With Child With Six Heads," or whatever you pick up on the supermarket stands and so on. Or look at astrology. Or get involved in fundamentalist stuff or something or other. Just get them away. Get them away from things that matter. And for that it's important to reduce their capacity to think.

Take, say, sports -- that's another crucial example of the indoctrination system, in my view. For one thing because it -- you know, it offers people something to pay attention to that's of no importance. [audience laughs] That keeps them from worrying about -- [applause] keeps them from worrying about things that matter to their lives that they might have some idea of doing something about. And in fact it's striking to see the intelligence that's used by ordinary people in [discussions of] sports [as opposed to political and social issues]. I mean, you listen to radio stations where people call in -- they have the most exotic information [more laughter] and understanding about all kind of arcane issues. And the press undoubtedly does a lot with this.

You know, I remember in high school, already I was pretty old. I suddenly asked myself at one point, why do I care if my high school team wins the football game? [laughter] I mean, I don't know anybody on the team, you know? [audience roars] I mean, they have nothing to do with me, I mean, why I am cheering for my team? It doesn't mean any -- it doesn't make sense. But the point is, it does make sense: it's a way of building up irrational attitudes of submission to authority, and group cohesion behind leadership elements -- in fact, it's training in irrational jingoism. That's also a feature of competitive sports. I think if you look closely at these things, I think, typically, they do have functions, and that's why energy is devoted to supporting them and creating a basis for them and advertisers are willing to pay for them and so on.''

 

 

 

Is he speaking out his hole or is there truth in his words?

 

On the other hand if you accept some of his rationale, he can leave you a sense of total helplessness and deep cynicism of society.......

 

However, this is clearly not true in all cases. For most of us sport is a fun way to lose the belly, and I really don't think going to Rovers games can be considered as being part of a state sanctioned social control project. The opposit in fact. I think this is through an American view of the world where fan culture isn't politicised.

 

 

 

Who determines what matters though.   Its an exisistentialist question about life.  Who is anyone to tell another person how they should conduct their life and how they should use their brain etc.  In my view the term should is a very dangerous term as it someone how indicates that there is a hierarchy of ways to spend your life.  Within reason, as long as you do not harm or hurt someone else if you wish to talk about football all day c'est la vie.

What has more of an impact in life, political institutions or footballing ones?

 

Well depends do you mean life or do you mean society.  I would say for someone like Messi that football has had a much bigger impact on his life than say political institutions.  However on society, political institutions has a far greater impact on life.  Knowing all of that, who says we should spend more time thinking about the things that have greater impact.  Maybe we should think about the things we enjoy and keep us sane and not hurting others.  Its a dangerous game when we have people using the term should, when it comes to people thought process and how they spend their time. 

That's why i started the sentance with perhaps .

 

Maybe not, what if they spend that time on politics and it resulted in people dying through them using their opinions and actions to take up arms against people. Maybe they are better off using their anger and opinions in an area such as sport rather than on political matters.  There is a website called politics.ie, how do you know that these people are not on there. In addition does a website like politics.ie achieve anything more in the political field than ybig does in the football field or maybe it achieves less.  Maybe the people who are debating football on here actually work in politics and are achieving change in areas and come on here for a relese from that. 

This is just a string of hypothetical statements. Nobody knows the answer to these and if they claim they do than they're talking out their hoop.

We do not know therefore it is very hard to be suggesting what people should or should not do.  If people want to come on here to talk about football all day, who is anybody to tell them what they should or should not do with their time and who knows if they would or would not be better served by spending their time debating politics. 

 

yes but the point is that sport and other distractions make the existence we lead more bearable and therefore less shallow .

 

there will always be ruling classes , people are better off now in most countries than they were before popular media, music and before the cult of sport. the best you can hope for is a nice life.

 

 

I read it slightly differently.

The idea that you are from x so you must support the team of x, which is more prevalent in the US, especially around schools and colleges seems to be his core point. From a young age kids are ordered to do what they are told even if it is as trivial as cheering for the american football team who bully you. This is an indocrination.

I'm sickened. Last realistic chance I can ever get to see him on a public platform. 

no he wasn't 

Double Maxim - You should chat to him about being a Sunderland fan. See how he rationalises that !

Just seen the video again. It was published on July 15th 2018.  It was 5 years ago when he spoke 

Would anyone recommend his defining work that everyone should read?

this documentary is very good, Requiem for the American Dream

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI_Ik7OppEI" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI_Ik7OppEI

How’s everybody feeling about a life without sport?

course he is you Tory **** 

I'm absolutely astounded that you'd be negative towards Chomsky Hetfield. 

You an Alan Dershowitz fan?