Exactly this - it's the laziest defence imaginable

So unless footballers actively seek to harm themselves commercially and professionally (by withdrawing from all major tournaments) they don't really believe it?

It puts the responsibility to solve a problem on people who are not responsible for it - there are lots of causes I support without doing so financially or harming my career - I do not follow that logic that this means I don't really care.

Most of these players have risked a backlash from a percentage of their own club and national team fans to support this cause, for no obvious personal gain.

Yup if you want change you have to be serious about it, that may not be fair but its life.

Dr King and his followers understood that, they went to gaol many times and risked beatings etc. I am not suggesting our players do that but they could start to put pressure on the football authorities and ramp it up if they don't get any action.

If they are not prepared to do that then why should the rest of us bother.

Edited by Badger11 (21 Sep 2021 3.19pm)

One more point

I'm not sure that being underpaid and working countless hours in a hospital is indication that you're appreciated. Let's take a look at CEOs and see who's path to the top is made easier and who does or doesn't have a problem getting there despite their abilities..

Edited by BlueJay (21 Sep 2021 3.26pm)

Yeah let's take a look at CEOs, the majority will tend to be white straight males. 92% of the population is white, its just basic maths isn't it. Let's see who are CEOs in China, India, Thailand, Ghana, Turkey etc o yeah diversity only matters in western countries doesn't it.

To be clear, I believe social media companies should and could do a lot more to help - my point was that footballers shouldn't have to harm their own pockets for people to believe they're serious.

Wealth is a bigger factor.

If you've got rich parents you can attend higher achieving schools, where you'll likely get more support and be surrounded by higher achieving pupils who lift each other up.

You'd be able to get into better universities, and get by without the need of part time jobs.

Parental subsidies will be able to assist in allowing wealthier graduates to get on intern schemes rather than graduate schemes, where due to the lack of wage, you'll be exposed to a greater level of experience rather than doing grunt work.

That will then put you in a much better position to get the top jobs.

On top of that, if your parents/social group have better jobs, they'll be able to pass on experience as to how best to navigate difficult situations and office politics.

No matter what your ethnicity, you'll be starting at an advantage if your parents are wealthy and successful.

Despite saying all this, I think that a parents primary goal is to work hard to provide a future for their children. If they want to put the investment in they should be able to. Otherwise you just start a race to the bottom. That's not to say society should do more to help people level up.

People are born with massive advantages but in this country it still doesn't stop anyone else achieving what they want. Let's face it most people don't achieve what they want because they're neither intelligent or talented enough and unless you was blessed with good looks then you will more than likely live an average life.

Just because other countries aren't as diverse as us doesn't mean we shouldn't be.

I don't believe in quotas for quotas sake. It should be achieved on merit. One of the problems Britain seemed to have going into the 70's were that all the top jobs were reserved for an old school tie clique who didn't necessarily have the skills to be in their positions. If we'd kept a more global outlook then maybe we would have had quite the decline that we did.

If you look at the Premier League we have created the best league in the world by taking the best talent from all around the world.

Also, if people want to promote a strong sense of community values that keep people on the straight and narrow, then it is important to include people. On the Fever Pitch - Rise of the Premier League show Les Ferdinand talks about how he couldn't go to football matches as a kid due to racism. These stories get passed on from parent to child and create an idea that people aren't part of their community based on their race, religion, or origin. This isn't limited to race or religion, I've seen people from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the north of England, working class backgrounds (who are all white) all make statements about how they are excluded from society. Gestures and action are required to break that preconception. Strong parenting is required, but they can't do this alone, especially if that parent has experience historic discrimination.

As a online community, we aren't helping the situation when claims like "they are diluting the gene pool" aren't helping the situation. All it does is assist in pushing people further to the fringes.

As a nation we have excellent values, both historically and in the present day. Some people want to slander our past, but in reality we've always been ahead of most of the the world in terms of equal opportunities, tolerance, and equality.

Christianity does have some real positive welcoming values too. When people mention that we are a white christian country, they are often saying it when they are talking about excluding people from our country because they don't think people from different backgrounds can fit in. That view is country to Christian beliefs, said by people who aren't Christian.

Fact is, that if you are a successful, progressive society, then people will want to come to your country. If you want people to stop wanting to come here, the only real way is to become a regressive state. This isn't to say we shouldn't have controls on allowing people to enter the country - although those entry conditions should be down to ability, and not race or religion.

On top of that, you've pretty much listed all of the developed world as places people go to.... where else would you expect them to go?