this isnt even mentioning the effects of sports in colonized nations. We are reading Fanon over in the theory comm, come join us, this is a bit of what we read last week. heres some of Fanons (a casual soccer player himself) thoughts on sportsball.
But the youth
commissioners in underdeveloped countries often make the mistake of imagining their
role to be that of youth commissioners in fully developed countries. They speak of
strengthening the soul, of developing the body, and of facilitating the growth of
sportsmanlike qualities. It is our opinion that they should beware of these conceptions.
The young people of an underdeveloped country are above all idle: occupations must be
found for them. For this reason the youth commissioners ought for practical purposes to
be attached to the Ministry of Labor. The Ministry of Labor, which is a prime necessity in
an underdeveloped country, functions in collaboration with the Ministry of Planning,
which is another necessary institution in underdeveloped countries. The youth of Africa
ought not to be sent to sports stadiums but into the fields and into the schools. The
stadium ought not to be a show place erected in the towns, but a bit of open ground in the
midst of the fields that the young people must reclaim, cultivate, and give to the nation.
The capitalist conception of sport is fundamentally different from that which should exist
in an underdeveloped country. The African politician should not be preoccupied with
turning out sportsmen, but with turning out fully conscious men, who play games as well.
If games are not integrated into the national life, that is to say in the building of the
nation, and if you turn out national sportsmen and not fully conscious men, you will very
quickly see sport rotted by professionalism and commercialism. Sport should not be a
pastime or a distraction for the bourgeoisie of the towns. The greatest task before us is
to understand at each moment what is happening in our country. We ought not to
cultivate the exceptional or to seek for a hero, who is another form of leader. We ought to
uplift the people; we must develop their brains, fill them with ideas, change them and
make them into human beings.
yes this is a transparent attempt to get people more interested in fanon
honestly the BEST place to start is the wretched of the earth IMO, he lays out the path to decolonization and discusses the many potential pitfalls, but im not the Fanon expert hes written a lot. we are on 4 chapter now, but I will literally respond to every discussion comment as long as I am on this site and we can have a convo about any part of the work.
this isnt even mentioning the effects of sports in colonized nations. We are reading Fanon over in the theory comm, come join us, this is a bit of what we read last week. heres some of Fanons (a casual soccer player himself) thoughts on sportsball.
yes this is a transparent attempt to get people more interested in fanon
What would you recommend as a good starting point with Fanon?
I’ve got very little knowledge about anti-colonial theory but I’ve been trying to educate myself.
honestly the BEST place to start is the wretched of the earth IMO, he lays out the path to decolonization and discusses the many potential pitfalls, but im not the Fanon expert hes written a lot. we are on 4 chapter now, but I will literally respond to every discussion comment as long as I am on this site and we can have a convo about any part of the work.
Thank you very much.
I’ll have a look for that later.
Where is this quote from?
chapter 3 page 137 The Wretched of the Earth. thanks for asking, i forgot.