Lewis Hamilton

[AriettyHomily]

Why isn't he more celebrated. An incredible achievement, 91 wins, equalling MS and it's so low key on the news?

@ItsAlwaysSunnyOnMN

Black people have to behave in a very particular way to be accepted, especially when they are successful

I think this is the crux of it.

Is that a picture of James Hunt oh yes he was a lovely guy

indeed. I reckon Hunt would have been an absolute obnoxious nightmare.

But a lot of people have a nostalgia for the F1 of the 1960s/70s. I get why drivers of that era seem more skillful as the cars had less electronics etc but no way would I want to see the level or death and injury back. And the drivers would definitely have been just as arrogant and driven to win as they are now.

And I'm not convinced by Ron Dennis's "ethnicity isn't important" comments - that gets said by white people who think they aren't unconsciously biased. There's plenty of stuff out there to read about how ethnicity is important when you are black because it defines your whole experience (I am not paraphrasing this well!). Dennis may have insisted on a professional appearance and a buzz cut for all his drivers etc but his definition of professional is rooted in a white (and pretty elitist) view of professionalism and how the sport should look to sponsors (same as the issues over women being expected to treat their hair because afro hair isn't neat or professional looking).

When Ron said “ethnicity is irrelevant”, he wasn’t referring to racism in society or in motorsport.

He was referring to the fact that he had employed Lewis because he was the most talented young driver to emerge since Schumacher, not because of the colour of his skin.

@OudRose

Black people have to behave in a very particular way to be accepted, especially when they are successful.

"He's this, he's that. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I just don't like him!"

It's the same old 'know your place' attitude. Yawn!

Indeed. He's stepped out the box of "How. Successful. Black. People. Should. Behave. For. A. White. Audience. To. Accept. Them."

The vast majority of successful sportspeople of all races share a lot of the behaviours described on this thread as reasons for why Lewis Hamilton is not celebrated. LH could win 10 World Championships, and some people will still say it's because he always had the best car, and not the best driver

As people have recently had their eyes opened through BLM to how Black people in general are treated, it's not a great leap for people to then make the connection that Black celebrities are also perceived in this same way, despite being rich and famous.

And there we have it. If you criticise someone who is black you must be racist, it couldn't possibly be because they're just a dick.

When all you have is a hammer....

If ever there was a time a slow handclap emoji was required, this would be it

@itsovernowthen

If ever there was a time a slow handclap emoji was required, this would be it

Agreed. Which is why I replied instead.

@jdoejnr1

And there we have it. If you criticise someone who is black you must be racist, it couldn't possibly be because they're just a dick.

When all you have is a hammer....

Of course you can just be a dick whoever you are. And Hamilton has done plenty of dickish things in the past. But some of the criticism of him is for attributes/actions that other drivers also have/have done or for not fitting the same visual image as other drivers (when he is the only non white F1 driver). That is when unconscious bias kicks in and when you get the idea that successful black people have to behave a particular way to be accepted. It's a similar concept to women being described as aggressive when a man behaving the same way would be ambitious and go getting.

This threat is about Lewis Hamilton not drivers as a group. Your clearly reading far too much into the comments.

Is that the bloke that comes from the Stevenage ghetto that drives cars faster than anyone else.
I think he is celebrated lots by people who love petrol head things

It was the american accent that did it for me.