FIFA president Gianni Infantino's initial statement from the primary
World Cup public interview has stood out as truly newsworthy, which
is all well and good. "Today I have extremely unmistakable inclinations,
today I feel Qatari, today I feel Middle Easterner, today I feel African,
today I feel gay, today I feel handicapped, today I feel a traveler laborer,"
Infantino said. "Obviously, I'm not Qatari, I'm not a Middle Easterner, I'm
not African, I'm not gay, I'm not crippled. In any case, I feel like it, since I
understand being segregated, to be harassed." Then he refered to his own
story about growing up the child of guardians who had emigrated from
the unfortunate south of Italy to Switzerland, as well as the way that as a
kid he was tormented for his red hair and spots. Taking everything into
account, this one will be difficult to beat. Infantino might have implied his
words as a token of fortitude and consideration, yet they seemed to be
cumbersome, vulgar and hostile. One experience as an oppressed minority
(Italian migrants in post-war Switzerland and - - I surmise - - messes with red
hair and spots) isn't something very similar to the separation and experience
of different minorities. Particularly when you end up being white, male, European, nondisabled and hetero.