The end of their career
by hakmao, 5 April 2008
Today is Grand National day. The National is a spectacle for the entertainment of toffs–with the side benefit of fleecing the proles–which has an added frisson of expectation, which comes with the prospect that one or more of the ‘participants’ will ‘end their career’ during or after the race. During the 1999-2000 racing season, it is claimed that:
247 horses were raced to death; that’s one horse out of every 31 who took part in National Hunt rules events. The victims either died or were killed following injury or were destroyed because they were not thought to be worth further investment because of their poor performance. Of those who died, 58 horses died off-track as a result of injuries they sustained during the race itself, and 98 horses died prematurely during the season as a result of unknown causes. Ten horses collapsed and died on the course, including five who died during the race itself, and 39 were said to have “pulled up lame” or finished the race lame.
<cliche=”alert”>Still, at the end of the day, full credit to them, if you are going to make an omelette you have to break a few eggs–or legs.</cliche> It could be worse–the ‘participants’ could be pigs.
Saturday 5 April 2008 at 8:15
Still, at the end of the day, full credit to them, if you are going to make an omelette you have to break a few eggs–or legs.
Yeah, but where’s the omlette?
Everyone knows that the only legitimate sport is professional wrestling.
Saturday 5 April 2008 at 22:10
Toffs? Chavs? How can you tell the difference?
Sunday 6 April 2008 at 2:03
with reference to the chav/toff question…
It’s quite easy really. Chavs are lumpens. They are not working class. They are classless. For Marx and Engels the term ‘lumpenproletariat’ was opposed to ‘Proletariat’ and not ‘the working class’. The term ‘working class’ is not a historical subject; it is a synchronic subject (i.e. something studied at a particular period, without considering the past or future) whereas the terms proletariat and lumpenproletariat are diachronic subjects (i.e. studied through their historical development). If we view Chavs as being lumpens then they are not part of the working class and should be seen as an outgrowth from specific capitalist forms of development. Our modern world delivers us our own lumpen forms as it does deliver us our particular toffs. Anyway toffs are easy to spot - they post at Harry’s Place and wear top hats and capes.