More Strides than Rides said:I was pretty negative, wasn't I.
The right rebuttal to my post is, just like you ask, "What would you do about it?"
But the answer is frustrating: I won't do anything. Even if I tried, I couldn't do anything. The only thing I can do is spend money one way or another. I am not a part of any organization, team or club. I am not a stakeholder in any way. I've posted before about trying to avoid brands with disreputable sponsorships, but all that really amounts to is not buying Powerbars.
Not to get all nihilist, but none of us matter. The closest we can come is to influence the stakeholders, which is incredibly difficult to do: either they are not interested in us (by which I mean message board opinions), they are not interested in our money, or are so fossilized in their beliefs that they won't change anyway.
(None of this is directed at you, just generally airing grievances.)
The above poster was correct in anchoring any discussion around the goals for cycling. Globalizing the sport means alienating its current hardcore base. Growing the sport means alienating some fans who want the sport all to themselves. Revolutionizing the sport means changing what anchored its hardcore fans for so long (look at Cookson's proposed reforms and the reactions for examples of all of these). Cleaning up the sport means stopping investment in all of those until it is cleaned up right (and also threatening the job security of its leadership if cleaned up right, so it will never happen).
I forget what point I was trying to make. I've also just put myself into a negative and existential train of thought.
Maybe I'll edit tomorrow with something more useful.
Let me try and explain my thoughts some further.
I'am under no illisuion that I matter in the sense that how I post will change cycling.
Cycling being clean or not is outside your, mine and most of us' influental circle..
To me it is more a matter of principle.
The moment that I only post that nothing ever will change and that no ideas will do any good, is the moment I don't care any more...
I've not reached that point yet, but when I do, I will probably not post in the Clinic anymore..
Because If i don't care, there is also no point for me to call out riders, criticize authorities etc..
I'am not holding this personal stance as a marker for how you or others should post or percieve things here.
It is a personal principle. But that doesn't mean i can't try to infuence the discussion towards what to me is interesting.
I'am also fond of discussion, and I do think that discussion is more interesting and relevevant the moment you are open to possibilities, even though things might seem out of reach. If everyone is just being in agreement with each other discussion becomes trivial and irrelevant to me.
You mention your post in the "nobody's innocent" thread -I did see that.
It is hard to do your "shopping" in the world without indirectly supporting things you may not support in you mind. But on the other hand boycot of dubiousness leads to more dubiousness in the sense that controversy might be hidden to the consumer.
So why cast your vote if it doesn't matter..?
Well, maybe it matters to us personally, and this may be the core of my post. If at least in my mind I'am performing thought experiments (channeled out via postings) as to what might constitute a better approach to anti-doping then I can look back and say that I didn't just lay down or refused what might be solutions of validity. Same as I strive to in my "real" life....
In that sense it maybe maters because I feel better with my "naive" postive self.
To be clear I am only exlpaining my own opinions and beliefs here.
I am not saying that I'am perfect and all you others are just negative or should see things the way I do.. What matters to one does not necessarily matter to others. Also do I realise that I'am probably not the one in ownership of the most realism here. Nor am I always able to live up to my own standards of what I would like to think of myself.
Now this post ended up being a lot about myself, and maybe other posters.
Usually I don't like things being so, but I thought it the best suited approach to explain my opinion on the matter. I'am not interested in a discussion of posters per se. Most of the time I don't think that leads anywhere good.
I like things being about content rather than about posters.
So in conclusion I was attempting to clarify my "whining"
So excuse me if it came across longhaired and/or judgemental.
That was not my intent by any means.
Now I didn't adress the points you raised in relation to Roberts post above.
But this post is already too long, so that will be another time..