Reflections on 4U 9525

Over the weekend I listened to an interview with a brain researcher who made two statements that really stuck with me.

The first was that humankind is the only being in the animal kingdom that is fully aware that it will eventually die, and yet has built in a defence mechanism that somehow manages to deal with that reality and generally does so without cracking.

The second thought was that perhaps that the very ability to build that construct is also what allows people to create walls in their minds to combine seemingly incongruous actions.  I refer to torturers and their ilk that happily go home every night to their families where they are perceived as wonderful loving parents and spouses, and yet in the morning go off and commit brutal acts against humanity as thugs in police or military units.

I believe the interview was taped before the Germanwings disaster so there were no references to the crash.  Despite this the actions of the pilot somehow fit in to the discussion. Although this interview was concerned with the workings of the brain as a series of chemical reactions which are governed or at least tempered by the creation of cultural umbrellas under which civilisations function in normal circumstances, it hinted loudly that cultural mores were necessary but not sufficient to ensure that an individuals actions didn't go beyond the accepted norms.

There was of course the usual nurture versus nature argument, but essentially the researcher's take was that it is a mixture of the two.

But it did segue into the plane disaster.

There has been a lot of talk as to the mental state of the pilot. He suffered from depression. Apparently he had had suicidal thoughts. But in none of the documents made public to date was there any indication that he was actively suicidal or that he was harbouring seriously aggressive thoughts towards others.

First and foremost I think on the part of Germanwings, and to a degree Germany as a whole there was some sort of relief that there was not a mechanical failure.

Germany is a highly industrialised nation which takes great pride in its' engineering prowess.  Having a plane crash because of a mechanical fault does not sit well.

And so it was almost with relief that the first reports were of pilot error.

Which then turned to fear.

Pilot error is one thing.  But a suicidal murderer is another.

It breaks every convention that society has constructed to ensure a basic code of conduct.  And for Germany, which has a leaning towards viewing every problem, mechanical or human, as being solvable and therefore avoidable, this pilot's actions cuts deeply in the nation's collective psyche.

The Public Sector Again to the Rescue?

It is a strange quirk of capitalism that the private sector is always clamouring for independence or freedom from government intervention and regulation.  Yet the private sector has no qualms about using the public sector as a major source of income through government contracts.  

It is even more galling that these champions of the private sector in times of crisis-and these seem to come with increasing regularity- have no pangs of conscience in allowing the public sector to bail out the private sector "in the name of the nation"....

This idea of privatising profits and allowing losses to be borne by the public purse has traditionally been the unspoken catechism of the banking sector so it was somewhat surprising to see a new variant of this in the world of soccer or football as it is known outside the USA.

The newly (re)elected president of the Union of European Football Associations or UEFA, Michel Platini came out today blaming the increase of hooligan in European Stadiums on a lack of policing on the part of the public authorities, and therefore reiterated calls for a European sports police force to ensure that hooliganism doesn't take over the stadiums. 

Now part of his argument is that the rise of nationalism with its ugly sisters racism and extremism are not really the responsibility of Football as stadiums are the stage for undesirable acts but not the cause.

It would perhaps be harsh to blame these "isms" on Football, but they are all part of a tribalism that was present in the very nature of supporter groups when it was city against city or even intra-city.  As always, part of the "acting out" took place under the perceived protection of mob psychology and safety in numbers often leaving the perpetrators immune to prosecution.  

Recently, after many years of benign antagonism there has been a marked increase of verbal and physical abuse in stadiums which has been either ignored or even defended as part of the game.  

The first line of defence has to be the clubs and their stadium security stewards.  Mr Platini however seeks to put the blame for this increase in undesirable behavior on trends within society as a whole that are merely being manifested in football tribalism, and are therefore not Football's responsibility.  

Hmmm.

This year the poster child of UEFA, the English Premier League sold the television and marketing rights for even more obscene numbers than the already ridiculous prices paid in the past

.From that comes footballers earning hundreds of thousands of dollars per week, and yet the public sector should stump up for increased policing of stadiums in a time of austerity budgets for the public sector.

I know Panem et Circenses was a means of keeping the masses distracted from the actual stresses of life.  They were however financed essentially by the public purse and as such were part of the socio-political fabric of the state which served the purposes of the political elite.

The modern version of the games, especially in their global extravaganzas such as the World Cup and the Olympics are incredibly profitable for the organisations that run them, but are often ruinous for the host nation.  They require massive investment in infrastructure and security and yet the "games" negotiate tax breaks in the host countries as part of the selection process.

A classic example of private profits and public losses.

And now Monsieur Platini would like the public sector to provide security and oversight of Football stadiums throughout the season with an ever increasing plethora of leagues and competitions.

I might be too harsh and he intends to have UEFA pay for this public service.

I wouldn't bet on it.