News just broke that the Spanish football federation could face severe sanctions after a section of their fans engaged in Islamophobic chants during a friendly match against Egypt. I am sitting here reading the article, and I can literally feel my stomach dropping into my shoes. Between the awful statistics of hate crimes and the sheer ignorance of massive crowds, I am officially declaring bankruptcy on the human race.
Why Are We Like This?
It was a *friendly* match. The word “friendly” is in the title. Why do tens of thousands of people gather in a stadium and decide that the best way to spend their evening is by shouting vile, discriminatory garbage? I struggle to return a sweater to Old Navy because I don’t want to slightly inconvenience the cashier, and these people are out here broadcasting their bigotry on international television. I do not understand how people can be so openly awful.
The Only Solution is Isolation
Every time I think about leaving my apartment to try and integrate into society, a story like this drops and reminds me that my couch is the only safe place left on earth. I am going to put my phone on airplane mode, pull a heavy quilt over my head, and pretend that the outside world does not exist. The sanctions aren’t enough. We need to ban crowds entirely. Let them play in total silence.
