Soccer fans are familiar with Fifa's "Say No to Racism" campaign, and we know it is primarily focused on the deplorable monkey chants, fascist symbols, and banana throwing that occurs in the stadiums, especially in Europe (though the U.S. has experienced its own troubles this past MLS season too). But what I want to highlight today is the way non-soccer fans in the U.S. use the sport as a flimsy cover for their rasicist, xenophobic, and willfully ignorant views. I don't know about you local newspaper, but the paper here in Houston, on its website, has a comment section for each posted news article. This past week I've been checking out the comments on some of the soccer related articles, and I'm disturbed by some of the hateful stuff posted by these readers with their hidden identities. Not only do they show a utter lack of knowledge about the sport or its history in this country, they use these articles as a means to bash people of different races, ethnic origins, and countries.
If you see this on your local paper's website, do a virtual Point and Boo, post your own comment, call them out on their willfull ignorance and hate.
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