They will tell us that they are just athletes chasing or hitting balls, but by agreeing to do so in exchange for the huge amounts of money paid to them by Saudi Arabia, they are becoming political actors in a regime that spreads its anti-democratic values throughout the world.
What the $500 million for which Golf player Jon Rahm has sold out to the Wahhabi kingdom hides is imprisoned and tortured citizens, executed minors, women condemned to perpetual confinement and enslaved foreign workers. I am beginning to think that extreme wealth has psychopathologizing effects because I cannot believe that so many sports professionals do not see how dangerous their active participation in the image-whitening of the petromonarchy is.
[Edit typo.]
Guess I’ll have to stop watching golf. Or at least not start.
I’m guessing it’s not easy to say no to those kinds of sums. I can’t imagine having to make that decision. Luckily, I’ll never have to 👌
Extreme wealth absolutely is correlated with psychopaths. Nobody becomes ultrawealthy while keeping a conscience; to get that rich you have to step on other people. Unfortunately this phenomenon is not unique at all to the Saudi regime and I don’t think their cruelty or violence are either; the ruling capitalists all across the world make decisions daily with the same outcomes.
Golf sucks. Personally I think it should die out. What a waste, all across the world, of good land and water.
Interesting how the Saudi export of their religion is a problem but you’ve got people in the streets cheering for Hamas who is just as brutal if not worse in their upholding of their interpretation of Islamic laws. One’s certainly more subtle than attacking and killing a bunch of civilians but both are troublesome for Western democractic ideals.
Iran and Qatari investments are paying off . Better than the investment in a golf league… y’know, if you don’t value human life that is.