Thank you for elaborating on this. I've been thinking about this a lot recently and the people who choose to ignore politics because it makes them uncomfortable. Your examples are a great reminder of the privilege many of us are fortunate to benefit from, that others do not.
As Charles Bukowski put it-I guess the only time most people think about injustice is when it happens to them. We as humans don't stand up for the things we feel are wrong and yeah running is political as well because there are underlying factors which doesn't get seen how it impacting running as you explained in 2 scenarios.
Take for example Rajpaul Pannu. He was raised by single mother. With all the people he is competing at all these races, almost all are native American- they don't have to deal with all kind of financial, emotional and multiple other things as well. He is an immigrant, so he has almost double the load and also a huge shout out to her mother the way she managed & raised him even though she had to a lot of things on her own and Rajpaul brother keeps on showing up at races competing with tenacity with the best with balancing his teaching job as well.
Zach, thank you for posting, and I believe that you are 100% right. Running is about public health policy, and therefore, political. Ours is the simplest and most basic of sporting endeavors. It should be inclusive, but the barriers continue to grow. The cost of shoes/equipment and races is certainly part of it. However, it's also about the lack of parks and other green spaces in urban areas. Other issues, such as personal safety (especially for women), pollution, and general lack of a public health infrastructure, continue to create "political" barriers. It's what keeps running from becoming more available to all socio-economic classes.
Thank you for elaborating on this. I've been thinking about this a lot recently and the people who choose to ignore politics because it makes them uncomfortable. Your examples are a great reminder of the privilege many of us are fortunate to benefit from, that others do not.
Well said, Zach!
Beautifully put. Thank you for this.
Thanks for saying what you believe!
As Charles Bukowski put it-I guess the only time most people think about injustice is when it happens to them. We as humans don't stand up for the things we feel are wrong and yeah running is political as well because there are underlying factors which doesn't get seen how it impacting running as you explained in 2 scenarios.
Take for example Rajpaul Pannu. He was raised by single mother. With all the people he is competing at all these races, almost all are native American- they don't have to deal with all kind of financial, emotional and multiple other things as well. He is an immigrant, so he has almost double the load and also a huge shout out to her mother the way she managed & raised him even though she had to a lot of things on her own and Rajpaul brother keeps on showing up at races competing with tenacity with the best with balancing his teaching job as well.
Well put
This was great Zac
Zach, thank you for posting, and I believe that you are 100% right. Running is about public health policy, and therefore, political. Ours is the simplest and most basic of sporting endeavors. It should be inclusive, but the barriers continue to grow. The cost of shoes/equipment and races is certainly part of it. However, it's also about the lack of parks and other green spaces in urban areas. Other issues, such as personal safety (especially for women), pollution, and general lack of a public health infrastructure, continue to create "political" barriers. It's what keeps running from becoming more available to all socio-economic classes.
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