Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Simple Thoughts, Words and Actions

A thank you note, and a challenge.

Dear reader, soccer fans, all,

I would like to thank each and every one of you who have written about, taken action in regards to and engaged in careful contemplation of the corruption within our beautiful sport.

The last few days have seen what we all hope is the beginning of change within the marble walls adorned with opulent trappings that the leaders of our chosen leisure-time passion call an office. From those who have chronicled the abuse of power, to those who diligently followed the trail of illicit money, we have finally been made painfully aware of the cancer which has spread across the globe and throughout our game.

To be sure, this cancer is not alone in soccer, or futbol. This is a cancer which has dogged humankind since before recorded history. Greed, lust and human frailty continue to gaze through hungry eyes in almost all of our chosen endeavors. We battle each and every day to keep ourselves on a thoughtful, meaningful path.

The sport we love, curious, mercurial and thoughtful, will undoubtedly be better after the veil-lifting currently taking place. Sepp Blatter stepping down is a good step, but a tiny step. Tiny because the cancer which spread for so long produced a horrible open wound upon our passion.

And this leads to the challenge I mentioned above. Carefully contemplative soccer fans must reject Qatar as host of the 2022 World Cup.

I will not attend, watch or give any positive light to the abomination that is Qatar 2022. To do so would be to wallow in and find enjoyment from the spilling of the blood of hundreds of our fellow human beings. All so that we might enjoy a few moments of relief from our daily lives.

To sit in one of the stadiums being built in Qatar is to sit in puddles of blood sponsored by corporations, a country run by people stuck in the middle ages and, sadly, you and I. We are the beautiful game. We must take some responsibility for allowing the cancer to spread to the point that hundreds of healthy young men have toiled without human love in conditions horrific enough that their very hearts have burst within their strong chests.

I will not condone this barbaric practice of forced slavery by a people who possess so much of the world's wealth.

I challenge all of you to join me in stating, unequivocally, that you will not attend, watch or have anything to do with Qatar 2022 and the companies which are sponsoring the dark ages social and cultural practices responsible for so many deaths, wives losing husbands, parents losing children and children losing fathers.

Yours in the beautiful game,

David Burgin   

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