Football ruins lives 2
I recieved a comment from my blog from someone called K, saying "What does football have to do with public schools?"
My reply to the mysterious K would be, virtually nothing at all. But those people who argue for the abolition of public schools do so on the basis that it would divert the energies of middle class parents into the state school system. By banning football we might even hope to divert the
energies of the working classes into the state school system.
Obviously I would not actually advocate banning football because I'm not the kind of rabid nazi that wants to dictate what other people can and can't do, based merely on what I think would be a fairer, better way of doing things. I'm prepared to accept that I might not be able to see the
whole picture in this case and that my judgement might even be severely impaired by the fact that I have never enjoyed playing or watching football. But that's just me.
And don't try saying "well lots of people enjoy football", because that is not an ideological argument, which is what the anti-public school argument claims to be.
My general point is that other people's energies are not yours to divert.
Or, sorry, K's to divert.
My reply to the mysterious K would be, virtually nothing at all. But those people who argue for the abolition of public schools do so on the basis that it would divert the energies of middle class parents into the state school system. By banning football we might even hope to divert the
energies of the working classes into the state school system.
Obviously I would not actually advocate banning football because I'm not the kind of rabid nazi that wants to dictate what other people can and can't do, based merely on what I think would be a fairer, better way of doing things. I'm prepared to accept that I might not be able to see the
whole picture in this case and that my judgement might even be severely impaired by the fact that I have never enjoyed playing or watching football. But that's just me.
And don't try saying "well lots of people enjoy football", because that is not an ideological argument, which is what the anti-public school argument claims to be.
My general point is that other people's energies are not yours to divert.
Or, sorry, K's to divert.
posted by william at 9:09 AM
2 Comments:
No they're not, in their leisure time. As much as I appreciate your benificent tolerance of other's opinions, organising sports days requires a slightly different set of priorities to organising education for under 16 year olds. Yes, there's a disgusting amount of money in football and the government shouldn't subsidise it at a high level. However I doubt that banning football would stop the violence and obnoxiuos display surrounding it. Isn't it there as a vent for that kind of feeling, the more raucous side of the oceanic? Previously wouldn't we have used it up in wars, pagan rituals, communions or something? It's a different quality of activity to parents volunteering to come in and help with the orchestra.
Excuse me, obnoxious.
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