| just a mess of a blog |
"I wish I knew you IRL" is the sweetest kindest sentiment but unfortunately knowing me IRL is essentially the same experience as knowing me online, IE: we exchange words once every six months and you never see my face
Also just adding that the crash was no ones fault & 100% not George’s! Stuff like this happens all the time and unfortunately this time it turned really nasty.
People should be more bothered about how Zhou is rather than sending hate to Pierre & George! This is where the sport turns toxic!
They didn't say anything in Barcelona, 2008 when blackface happened, they didn't say anything when Abu Dhabi happened and they're not going to say anything now that Nelson Piquet has called Lewis the 'N-word'. That's how it was, has been and will continue to be.
Also sidenote, you guys love to find excuses for slurs. Ableist slurs - the man was young and Dutch. Racist slurs now - it happened a year ago. You guys had a breakdown when Vips said the exact same slur as Piquet and now you're just not going to say anything. It's the same with the F1 journalists, I don't know what about Lewis makes them ignore the crap he goes through, or maybe I know exactly what it is about Lewis that makes them ignore racism against him. For all of Will Buxton's 'I see you' now would be great time to actually say something from the F1 journalists but of course they'll stay silent.
"It's not about racism, people just don't want to see the same person win"
Lemme break something down to you
Lewis had to learn martial arts from the age of six because he was racially abused and wanted a way to defend himself.
Still a child, (8 I think?) he picked up karting and as soon as he appeared on track, a group of adults was saying from the start that he's not going to achieve anything, that he should give up and stop showing there. Lewis was still a very young boy when for the first time he heard from his father the words "Be careful what you're doing, they're watching your every step" (paraphrasing)
So after winning his karting championship, he felt like he wasn't allowed to celebrate on track. He sang "We are the champions" in the car with his dad. From the youngest age he knew that expressing any kind of emotion can be turned against him.
2007 was the first year a black man raced in Formula 1. F1 races are being hosted from 1950.
In 2007, Lewis' first year in Formula 1, he was racially abused at Chinese Grand Prix, by Spanish fans (and that's sadly the only information I've got, I couldn't find any details)
In 2008, at the Circuit de Catalunya, several fans wore blackface.
In 2008 as well, a page named "burst Hamilton's tyre" was created, encouraging fans to "leave nails on the track for Hamilton to run over".
Those were his first two years in Formula 1. Extremely warm welcome, don't you think? Surprisingly enough, Lewis was the only one receiving awful treatment and insults. I wonder why?
Lewis was always open about the racial abuse he experienced from the youngest age, and spoke up about it way before the 'We race as one' campaign and BLM.
In 2020, when he finally gathered the courage to loudly speak up about his rights and the rights of other people and actively support BLM and campaign against racism, he was called a clown who brings unnecessary politics to the sport (let me pass over calling human rights politics). Jackie Steward felt the need to loudly criticize Lewis, saying that there is no racism in Formula 1 and if you're good enough, you will be accepted. The same Jackie Stewart was called the most racist and hostile driver Willy T Ribbs has ever dealt with. Mario Andretti sided with Stewart as well, saying that Lewis created a problem that doesn't exist. Obviously, they are both white.
In Formula 1, there are two big allies to LGBTQ+ community that loudly speak up about the topic - Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. Only one of them is widely criticized for it and accused of doing it for 'woke points' and - once again - bringing politics into the sport. I will let you guess by yourself.
After Silverstone 2021 crash, Lewis was denied the right to celebrate his victory. He received racial abuse so severe, Instagram and Facebook needed to step in. Additionally, (if I remember the numbers correctly) 20 000 posts on Reddit had to be taken down and 6 000 got banned. Several teams aired pointless statements that they do not condone racism and racial abuse. There shouldn't be the need to release those statements, as it should be something normal and obvious.
In 2021, Lewis is the only driver being booed on every track, during every session and regardless of his result. At Spa and Zandvoort the booing got so bad he couldn't hear the questions the interviewer asked him.
He's always the one being blamed for every incident that happens, no matter what statement the FIA releases.
Recently, Bernie Ecclestone said that Lewis should retire in honour of Michael Schumacher and prevent himself from beating his record "out of respect".
Now I want you to take a look back and think of any driver who received similar treatment.
I want you to take a look back and think of anyone in F1 being criticized and insulted for every move he makes.
I want you to take a look back and think of any driver who needed fourteen years in the sport to develop enough courage to express how they really feel and what they stand for.
Do you really think people don't want to see the same person win? Or maybe you just hate seeing a successful black man beating every record in the whitest sport on earth?
