posted about this and then read it back and it felt more like a vent than I necessarily wanted so. revised version because it's still something that is On my mind...
I think discussing the f1 movie online only leads to promoting it and that's counter productive, but the recent discourse that's come from it has kind of felt. idk. odd..
I think there is pure intent, we Should highlight Brad Pitt for being an abusive awful man, but the irony of discussing this in a space that is. actively full of abusive awful men who, by choice or not, we put money into the pockets of by participating in discourse and fandom of this sport, has really given me... hm. some moral qualms about intention and awareness of the content we are consuming.
there's a pride and shame participating in fan communities/adorning team merch. I love sharing my love for this sport with other people who love this sport. but every act of participation is inherently, unconsciously or not, an endorsement of the abuses and injustices of this sport and that's... just the unavoidable truth for like majority of the entertainment we engage in. that's just to say, engagement with the sport contributes to it's popularity and it's general flow of income (not implying anyone here Actually endorses xyz). despite this, I think everyone here can attest to this community being a positive in their life in one way or another.
not posting this to. start a debate on the merits of enjoying formula one. I think there's no "perfect" answer regarding how to support formula one, besides disengaging completely but. to disengage completely, effectively to center your interests purely on selfless humanitarianism, is I think. a really complicated and bigger discussion that's not relevant to get into rn. my point is. we are in this space for selfish reasons at the end of the day and that's not a necessarily bad thing but it's something to be mindful of.
from my asks, not one mention of the ongoing genocide in sudan? the ethnic cleansing of assyrians and yazidis by kurds? the destruction of indigenous villages in brazil and argentina? the refugee wave of arab christians and shi'as from syria? all of which many f1 sponsors have been involved in for decades....?
it's really exhausting and dehumanizing to be ignored even in a post that's attempting to acknowledge this topic in the first place you know? again sorry bc I know the entire post was to discuss the effectiveness/honesty of addressing these topics in f1 fandom but....
re: anon which I still wanted to keep up since they've raised a valid point; the longer you spend researching, the more you'll realize the issues impacted and funded by formula one and it's sponsors extend to. quite literally every minority group, those mentioned above and even further. (I apologize again for only scratching the surface) it's impossible to ignore the years of racism and xenophobia the driver's themselves and in turn fans have faced. the bare minimum that half the grid can't even pronounce their own coworkers name, etc. not to mention the current discussions about accessibility for women in racing, women fans and the trad content disguised as feminism. like. I don't think anyone here is ignorant to this being an exclusionary sport for the conservative elite.
that being said. I suppose. this is still a safe space for a lot of people. and there is no answer to engaging with this sport in a 100% harmless way. in having a community of friends and people I admire here, I've often felt like the discourse feels aimless and that the actual effective solution should just be monetary contribution. but then again, there is something very dehumanizing/jarring to post direct links to crowdfunds followed by rpf and getting 0 notes on the first and 100 on the latter. so what is the right answer..h mmmm
pointing fingers at each other feels kind of odd regardless, in the general... context of what it is we support. suppose the point. at all. is just to say the good is that we've created spaces for queer sports fans, women and fem-presenting sports fans and people from all over the world from all economic backgrounds, an accessible platform to engage with something that otherwise Does feel incredibly inaccessible to the average person. despite this being a community that does not traditionally welcome us, fan spaces champion change to push this sport in the direction that it might. it's certainly easier to make an impact outside this sport, which I personally feel like is my answer to this question, as in. achieving at least a net sum zero towards being a part of the motorsports community while also working towards positive change against it.
I don't think I have a solid conclusion here, it's more just something that's weighed on my mind to stay silent on. as I said in the og post, depending on how much traction or whatever this gets, I'll reconsider how I feel about posting these sorts of things in the first place. but. I'd rather say somettttthing than just ignore it and move on. thank u for reading, if u read the og or this one lol
Salam Animal Care // CARE FOR GAZA // Buy an E-sim for Gaza
FOTC // URGENT support needed in Goma
immigrants in federal detentions // anonymous ICE reportings
WFP Donations to Sudan // SAPA
contact your congress members
there's plenty more to talk about, to link, etc. and there's plenty more ways to help out outside of donations. hope this is somewhat an ok start to this conversation, if you have anything to add my dms are open
