• The Snark Urge@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    138
    arrow-down
    5
    ·
    1 year ago

    I resent the ubiquity of the language of sports in political matters. It is reductive in framing and trivial in tone.

    • livus@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      41
      ·
      1 year ago

      Me too, well said.

      It’s incredibly gross to see these two groups as “teams” competing against one another while fans watch from the sidelines for entertainment.

      • shatal@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        21
        arrow-down
        4
        ·
        1 year ago

        That’s why I stopped trying.

        People arguing whether babies were beheaded as if they’re challenging a ref call. Their team is always right and 100% just, the other is always wrong and 100% evil and no one wants to hear that the truth is always gray and complex.

        It’s disheartening.

        • krellor@kbin.social
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          5
          ·
          1 year ago

          You could copy and paste a list of historical events from Wikipedia and spark a flame war, unfortunately.

          • Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zone
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            12
            ·
            1 year ago

            “In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move”

            • Douglas Adams
    • knexcar@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      4
      ·
      1 year ago

      With how many atrocities occur in this messed up world (and the Middle East especially), it’s hard to keep caring and see it as anything other than a sport in a faraway place.

      • livus@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        @knexcar compassion fatigue? This is something social media can help with, ironically.

        I remember a few years ago when I was back on another site, a poster who was trialling 3D-printed field tourniquets (he was a medic) posted about his experience being shot in the leg by Israeli snipers who shot his colleague dead later that day.

        Really brought home that these are just people like you and me, with hobbies and jobs and lives… and comment histories.

    • Telodzrum@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      13
      arrow-down
      17
      ·
      1 year ago
      1. “Team” isn’t a term used exclusively in the domain of sporting contests. In fact, it is a military term, as well (although not as ubiquitous in that space).

      2. Analytic and technical terms are sterile and effect a dehumanization of not only the actors involved, but also the outcomes of events.

      • krellor@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        14
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        I was going to say, I hear it plenty in informal settings in politics, business, and military. Probably not a great phrase to let the press get a hold of though.

        • The Snark Urge@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          9
          ·
          1 year ago

          I would contend in turn that politics, business, and military matters are necessarily either formal or farcical.

          • krellor@kbin.social
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            6
            ·
            1 year ago

            That’s about the gist of it. Either you are taking it seriously, or using humor to cope. The line between the two isn’t always clear.

      • livus@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        @Telodzrum

        1. “team” by itself just means a group of people working together to achieve a common goal, BUT when used in the context of "the other team" (with the definite article) it implies there are two teams working in opposition to one another specifically.

        @Gradually_Adjusting’s idea that this is most likely intended as a sports metaphor for Biden’s audience seems reasonable.

        1. I can’t decide whether you’re saying “team” is analytical and sterile/dehumanizing, or whether you’re suggesting that actually calling Hamas “Hamas” would have been dehumanizing.