I had a conversation with someone recently. It went something like this:
ME: Well, if you feel so strongly about it, you should write to your MP.
HIM: I might write a strongly-worded letter to the BBC, but not to my MP. My MP is useless.
ME: Well, you voted for him.
HIM: No I didn’t.
I should stress that the exchange was far more light-hearted than the words above might convey. No argument ensued and we swiftly moved on to other matters. But it got me thinking, as these things often do, about the way of the world these days. Our democracy involves us electing a Member of Parliament, whose job it is to represent his constituents in the House of Commons. Inevitably, therefore, there will be a number of people in each constituency – indeed, sometimes a majority – who didn’t vote for the elected candidate, but whose views that candidate is obliged (morally at least) to represent. I’m not sure that this ever happens. Certainly not these days, but I am not learned enough to know whether it ever happened, or whether it was ever thus.
The same scene is replayed across the political spectrum, whether in terms of a candidate elected to serve their constituency, or a political leader elected to lead their party – or country, come to that.
In these politically turbulent times, you may be thinking: ah, here’s Trussers going all political, or that you are about to see my Brexit colours nailed to a mast. Well, sorry to disappoint, but if you think that’s about to happen, then perhaps you don’t know me as well as you thought.
Those who know me well will know that I use this blog sometimes to comment on the culture of the day, but with particular regard to motorsport, not politics. It may be that it is impossible to disentangle politics from anything these days, but in any case, it does seem to me that the rules of the game have changed.
Motorsport News may no longer have a letters page, but in general, journalism and broadcasting are no longer one-way streets. When I was growing up, whether I was watching motor sport on TV (very rare), going to Brands Hatch, Silverstone or Crystal Palace (more commonly) or reading about it in newspapers and magazines, I did not feel compelled to interact with anyone. Admittedly, a PA commentator once irritated me to the extent that I wrote to him, but it was an effort (bashed out on an old type-writer I inherited from my parents) and went through several iterations before I sent it off. But I tried to make it constructive, and in no way could it be described as ‘trolling’ (indeed the word didn’t exist in 1980).
Then I read recently that Autosport magazine is to cease publishing its magazine and rather will concentrate on its online offerings. Bizarrely, then, a clarification in the magazine itself revealed that the magazine would still be published in its traditional form, but at a price of £10.99, compared to the previous £3.99, an increase of 275%! Something rather incongruous there. I get the feeling all may not be what it seems.
Anyway, that is not my point. My point – I will get there eventually – is that the world is changing. Indeed, it has already changed and I don’t think it is going to change back. My way of thinking is now out-of-date. There, I’ve admitted it. I like books and magazines, but I am in the minority. I don’t like consuming my motorsport from a screen, I want to be at the event: whether that be behind the spectator fence or behind a microphone. I’ve been lucky this year to have spent time in the team garage, and the intensity of that feeling is even more palpable, visceral.
But when I see how many motorsports events are streamed online these days, and how often – with some notable exceptions – spectator enclosures are empty… again, I feel like I am in the minority. Look at period photos from club races in the fifties, and you will see rows and rows of spectators in the enclosures. These were unquestionably popular events – you could get close, and see, hear and feel the action. Compare that to the empty grandstand that overlooked the final round of the ELMS at Portimao last weekend.
Even if the streaming coverage is good (and frequently it isn’t), I find that I cannot experience the whole race if I am not there. And I hate being implored to “join the conversation”, to “let us know what you think”, whether I use a hashtag or not. But I think that the majority of people enjoy that aspect of it: and any resulting feeling of celebrity or notoriety.
The point is, that being in the minority is not that simple. I am not going to stand up and suggest that I am right and the rest are wrong – these are subjective matters, I recognise that. And I am prepared (grudgingly) to go along with the majority.
It just means that I might seem a bit grumpy to some. For that, I apologise. But leave me alone, I will get over it. In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy motorsport, in whatever role I have. I am sure that others will enjoy their motorsport in their own way as well. That is what freedom is all about.
Since I have become dependent on it for my income, however, I understand better those who need motorsport for their livelihoods. I realise how easily passion for the sport can be compromised by commercial interests. And from there it is a short step to the self-centred, greedy motives that seem to drive the sport (and politics) into some rather strange directions.
ME: Well, if you feel so strongly about it, you should write to your MP.
HIM: I might write a strongly-worded letter to the BBC, but not to my MP. My MP is useless.
ME: Well, you voted for him.
HIM: No I didn’t.
I should stress that the exchange was far more light-hearted than the words above might convey. No argument ensued and we swiftly moved on to other matters. But it got me thinking, as these things often do, about the way of the world these days. Our democracy involves us electing a Member of Parliament, whose job it is to represent his constituents in the House of Commons. Inevitably, therefore, there will be a number of people in each constituency – indeed, sometimes a majority – who didn’t vote for the elected candidate, but whose views that candidate is obliged (morally at least) to represent. I’m not sure that this ever happens. Certainly not these days, but I am not learned enough to know whether it ever happened, or whether it was ever thus.
The same scene is replayed across the political spectrum, whether in terms of a candidate elected to serve their constituency, or a political leader elected to lead their party – or country, come to that.
In these politically turbulent times, you may be thinking: ah, here’s Trussers going all political, or that you are about to see my Brexit colours nailed to a mast. Well, sorry to disappoint, but if you think that’s about to happen, then perhaps you don’t know me as well as you thought.
Those who know me well will know that I use this blog sometimes to comment on the culture of the day, but with particular regard to motorsport, not politics. It may be that it is impossible to disentangle politics from anything these days, but in any case, it does seem to me that the rules of the game have changed.
Motorsport News may no longer have a letters page, but in general, journalism and broadcasting are no longer one-way streets. When I was growing up, whether I was watching motor sport on TV (very rare), going to Brands Hatch, Silverstone or Crystal Palace (more commonly) or reading about it in newspapers and magazines, I did not feel compelled to interact with anyone. Admittedly, a PA commentator once irritated me to the extent that I wrote to him, but it was an effort (bashed out on an old type-writer I inherited from my parents) and went through several iterations before I sent it off. But I tried to make it constructive, and in no way could it be described as ‘trolling’ (indeed the word didn’t exist in 1980).
Then I read recently that Autosport magazine is to cease publishing its magazine and rather will concentrate on its online offerings. Bizarrely, then, a clarification in the magazine itself revealed that the magazine would still be published in its traditional form, but at a price of £10.99, compared to the previous £3.99, an increase of 275%! Something rather incongruous there. I get the feeling all may not be what it seems.
Anyway, that is not my point. My point – I will get there eventually – is that the world is changing. Indeed, it has already changed and I don’t think it is going to change back. My way of thinking is now out-of-date. There, I’ve admitted it. I like books and magazines, but I am in the minority. I don’t like consuming my motorsport from a screen, I want to be at the event: whether that be behind the spectator fence or behind a microphone. I’ve been lucky this year to have spent time in the team garage, and the intensity of that feeling is even more palpable, visceral.
But when I see how many motorsports events are streamed online these days, and how often – with some notable exceptions – spectator enclosures are empty… again, I feel like I am in the minority. Look at period photos from club races in the fifties, and you will see rows and rows of spectators in the enclosures. These were unquestionably popular events – you could get close, and see, hear and feel the action. Compare that to the empty grandstand that overlooked the final round of the ELMS at Portimao last weekend.
Even if the streaming coverage is good (and frequently it isn’t), I find that I cannot experience the whole race if I am not there. And I hate being implored to “join the conversation”, to “let us know what you think”, whether I use a hashtag or not. But I think that the majority of people enjoy that aspect of it: and any resulting feeling of celebrity or notoriety.
The point is, that being in the minority is not that simple. I am not going to stand up and suggest that I am right and the rest are wrong – these are subjective matters, I recognise that. And I am prepared (grudgingly) to go along with the majority.
It just means that I might seem a bit grumpy to some. For that, I apologise. But leave me alone, I will get over it. In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy motorsport, in whatever role I have. I am sure that others will enjoy their motorsport in their own way as well. That is what freedom is all about.
Since I have become dependent on it for my income, however, I understand better those who need motorsport for their livelihoods. I realise how easily passion for the sport can be compromised by commercial interests. And from there it is a short step to the self-centred, greedy motives that seem to drive the sport (and politics) into some rather strange directions.
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