Hamilton: Schumacher's accident "happened for a reason"
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Sure Michael’s family will be thrilled to read/hear about that.
To be fair to him, he’s saying that because he seems to believe that he will make a recovery. And I assume he says it due to his religious beliefs. Still a stupid thing to say, but not as callous as it will undoubtedly be portrayed.
Well, isn’t this what most people of faith say whenever… anything happens?
I doubt there’s anything malicious behind the statement, it’s just not the way I would have worded it.
I don’t see anything wrong with what Lewis said. Maybe the phrasing could have been different, but at least Lewis is honest about his faith.
I really hope people dont come down on Lewis like a ton of bricks for making this statement. I’m religious and I know exactly what Lewis is trying to say. I also believe that accidents like Schumacher’s happen for a reason.
Nice of the Telegraph to focus on the one thing that Lewis said that could be seen as insenstive or badley worded when taken out of context.
I’m no fan of Hamilton’s, but I can’t help but feel that he receives far more than his fair share of scrutiny and criticism sometimes and this is a good example.
As a Christian, I get annoyed when people say ‘[such and such] happened for a reason’. We have free will – no-one forced Schumi to go skiing, and it is certainly illogical to put so much emphasis on this happening in order to ‘show his character’. An accident is an accident, and (like all true fans of the sport) I wish Schumi a full and speedy recovery, and I wish the media would leave him and his family alone, and that people would stop sticking their oar in (in whatever way they do it)…after all, Schumi retired from motorsport, but also from such a public life, so he could spend more time with his family.
Free will is a great excuse for everything abnormal that happens.
And there is nothing wrong with what Lewis said. Many believe that everything happen for a reason, so i don’t see any issue with his statement. But i suspect if Alonso say anything like that people will find it deep and meaningful.To be honest, if someone said to me my illness which causes incredible pain “happened for a reason” or said the same about my mother’s brain tumour I would be sick to my stomach. I have zero problem with faith but it’s the height of ignorance (and arrogance) when someone says that you’re suffering is happening for a reason (and hints at some unproven guy in the sky doing it all). I don’t mind philosophical comments about his strong character or his resilience or whatever but this is disrespectful.
I have no problem critising any driver so I’m a bit baffled by any insinuation that Lewis is getting a hard time just because he’s Lewis. If someone says something really insensitive when someone is fighting for their life they’re going to get stick for it- that’s just the way it is.
Basically, just everything Peter said.Hey now, hold yer horses everybody. The exact thing he says is “I feel like everything happens for a reason”. Now, personally it’s one of my pet peeves when people say that, but I don’t think it’s at all insensitive. It’s just a way some people have of saying that they want to focus on what can be done positively now, rather than dwelling on the bad. Now, I may feel that the “things happen for a reason” thing is a back-asswards way of looking at causality on the world, but there’s no ill will in it. And besides, it’s hard to dispute that everything does happen because of identifiable reasons.
Here’s what Lewis said from that very video:
Going into this race weekend, as a team who used to have him as a driver – and as a young driver who watched him through his early days and his championship wins – we’ll carry him through and Formula One will carry him through the whole season.
I’m in touch with his people, so I’m fortunate enough to get a first-hand understanding. We’re all waiting for him to wake up and show these positive signs.
He’s a legend in this sport. He’s achieved so much – a very motivated individual… I feel all things happen for a reason. I think that this is an experience that will really show his character and depth and even more so than any other experiences he’s had.
It’s obvious from that how much respect Lewis has for Schumacher and how much he wants him to recover and get back to his family. In this context, his ‘all things happen for a reason’ comment is clearly something Lewis is saying to try and reassure himself as well as the fans that there will be a positive and happy outcome from this tragic situation.
The fact that the Telegraph would ignore the blatant positive sentiment that Lewis is attempting to make in his answer and focus on the one part of the it that they could spin into something that makes Lewis sound insensitive or stupid and run it with such a misleading and headline as ‘Lewis Hamilton: ‘Michael Schumacher’s accident happened for a reason” is actually pretty poor in my opinion.
When one of my Mum’s friends lost her son in a tragic accident at about six or seven years ago, she was, quite understandably, completely devastated and it affected her horribly for a number of years. But I’ve spoken to her a number of times since then and she herself has said to me many times that she feels ‘everything happens for a reason’. People grieving or suffering loss or uncertainty naturally turn to things that bring them comfort, and for many people that is either their faith or a sense of divine destiny. I, for one, don’t really see how that can be considered a negative thing at all.
As for Hamilton himself, there’s no debating that he has been one of the most polarizing and controversial figures in the sport since he joined the grid in 2007. Whether people don’t like him for some of his on-track actions, off-track comments or (unfathomably) the persona he has online through his Twitter and Instagram accounts, it seems that there are plenty of people who are happy to criticise Lewis for whatever reason they can. While I agree that Lewis has done things worthy of criticism (there’s a reason why I’m not a fan of his myself) I do think it’s the case that both the media and the fans are more likely to kick a fuss up about something Lewis may have said or done – no matter how trivial – than they are of probably any other driver on the grid.
I think that Telegraph article is a prime example. Had it been, say, Rosberg, Magnussen, Alonso or even Vettel who had said the same thing as Hamilton, I doubt that the Telegraph would have run a story on it with such a provocative headline.
I can totally understand why people would want to take comfort from the idea that when bad things happen to good people, there is ultimately some greater good which is being served.
“To be honest, if someone said to me my illness which causes incredible pain “happened for a reason” or said the same about my mother’s brain tumour I would be sick to my stomach.”
That’s fair enough, if they address you in particular you have every right to respond with anger. I would do the same, and I also find the comment generally rather annoying. But he hasn’t approached any of the people suffering (Schumacher or his family), he said it off-handed as part of a much longer response to a journalist.
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