Also, clearly the LTA haven't offered anything, which puts them in the clear and does make the switch seem a bit more genuine.

given his new allegiance it will be interesting to see who he supports during the lions tour and the ahses!

I don't accept that those words are sufficient and I doubt Phil does either (though I'll leave him to speak for himself, obviously!) BUT I'm prepared to give anyone a chance to prove that they have grown up and maybe that with some better influences around them, their attitudes have changed.

I've always thought the best way to deal with racists (and similarly with other forms of prejudice) is not simply to condemn them with no chance of redemption but to let them see that racial harmony is a) possible and b) a very positive force for good.

This is especially true if you accept (you might not, obviously) that narrow-minded views, especially among the young, are usually a function of where someone has grown up (eg. people of other races will seem more 'different' to someone who has grown up in a virtually all-white area or someone who grew up in an area where different ethnic groups kept themselves to themselves than they will to those from areas where everyone mixed happily from a young age) or the views of older relatives or the views of one's childhood peer group. I doubt there are many people who can truthfully claim that they didn't have at least one childhood/teenage view that doesn't shock them looking back or never used a word they didn't fully understand that they wouldn't dream of using now.

Condemning people's extreme views may well be necessary sometimes but it's not the way to change those views - if anything, it's likely to entrench whatever created those views in the first place. Clearly you can't let people get away with abuse (in that sense, the range of actions the ATP took after Eastbourne seems to me to have made sense) and clearly there may come a point when it's obvious that nothing is going to change, but I'm hoping that's not the case here yet.

I'm with Steven: redemption is possible (and desirable), and I wouldn't wish to foreclose options. Which isn't to say I'll be an immediate and unconditional fan, but that I'll be keeping a hopeful watch and wishing him well if he's genuinely trying for change.

Madeline wrote:

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I'm with Steven and Spectator - people *can* change, I have personal experience of that, and I'll give him a chance to prove he means it.

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Given that only a few months ago he was still abusing his opponents in a vile manner there doesn't seem to be much indication that he has changed.

Madeline wrote:

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I'm with Steven and Spectator - people *can* change, I have personal experience of that, and I'll give him a chance to prove he means it.

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This reminded me of that Man in the Mirror song. 

*Wipes tear from eye*. For Michael's sake, I'm going to give Brydan a chance.

Make that change, Brydan.

 

 

-- Edited by Maza1987 on Friday 17th of May 2013 12:42:47 AM