Noam Chomsky on the role of sports in propaganda-based authority

[LooseWilly]

77. How does South Africa winning the Rugby World Cup after the end of apartheid underscore anything?

How does South Africa winning the Rugby World Cup after the end of apartheid, and/or the assertion that that win is basically meaningless, diminish human behavior or argue for "some sort of emotionless, logical construction that does not currently exist in human societies"?

I seem to remember the movie about Mandela suggesting that the soccer (football) victory was an emotionally unifying event. Likewise, the Saints winning the SuperBowl shortly after New Orleans was washed away in a man-made catastrofucky... was said to be an emotionally unifying event. I suppose The Terminator, or Rocky IV were also emotionally unifying events.

Perhaps, being Rick Rolled can also be considered an emotionally unifying event.

I don't know. My parameters of 'an emotionally unifying event" seem to be different than those of many others. I think of shared trauma... winning the sectionals in Gleeclub, or having my team win the Super Bowl— not something I think I need to be "emotionless and logical" to the extent of "not currently" fitting into human societies in order to ... just plain not give a shit about.

On the other hand, not being the one who got brain damage from a tear gas round fired directly at a crowd by riot police, or being one of the cabbies who might've had his windows busted out by rowdy crowds after a game loss... or being just another asshole who has to work for absurdly idiotic bosses... if not immediately superior then somewhere further up the "foodchain"... that's grounds for solidarity for me.

If it's all about sports for you... then that's another lever to work on your psyche.

If not... then your gym teacher in high school is a failure.

Either way... human behavior can't be further diminished than it is by looking at it. We're all fucking idiots... even Mandela.