When can we reasonably expect the “cyclist gets banned from tour de france after committee finds athlete installed enteric oxygenation device in the saddle” headline?
Maybe we'll finally start addressing real unearned privilege: genetic. Pro sports players didn't do anything to earn the genetic makeup which accounts for a significant portion of their ability, yet they aren't asked to acknowledge it and take steps to reduce its impact.
>Pro sports players didn't do anything to earn the genetic makeup which accounts for a significant portion of their ability, yet they aren't asked to acknowledge it and take steps to reduce its impact.
Big Harrison Bergeron vibes here.
"In the year 2081, the 211th, 212th, and 213th amendments to the Constitution dictate that all Americans are fully equal and not allowed to be smarter, better-looking, or more physically able than anyone else. The Handicapper General's agents enforce the equality laws, forcing citizens to wear "handicaps": masks for those who are too beautiful, loud radios that disrupt thoughts inside the ears of intelligent people, and heavy weights for the strong or athletic."
Isn't the point of pro sports to find and admire those incredibly genetically-gifted people? I think trying to inject some kind of pure meritocratic framework into it fundamentally misunderstands the point of sports. To me in a way it's like appreciating a beautiful landscape.
I agree! That's why I watch sports too. But the same arguments you're seeing about X privilege today will come into discussion once genetic editing is more advanced. Instead of rich parents paying for SAT prep, they'll be paying for brain power, height, etc.
Whether your parents paid for it you were born with it, you didn't earn it. We need to re assess why privilege is a bad thing or we need to get ready for an interesting future.