I recently came across an article by Ishaan Tharoor titled “Why I Won’t Cry for You, Argentina.”
The cringe, cliché title aside, the article feels more like a rant than a coherent argument. It’s closer to a mess-i read than anything else.
Still, I’d like to share some reflections on it, because there’s more going on here than merely a fan breaking up with his former love.
Tharoor writes that he’s “a lifelong fan that has fallen out of love,” but who fell in love for almost all the wrong reasons, attempting to rationally justify the emotions felt for a team by invoking social, economic, and political factors.
The 1986 quarterfinal against England is politicized, framed by Tharoor as revenge for the Falklands War. Maradona, according to Tharoor, did a great job cheating because England deserved it. When a “global south” country wins against a “colonizer,” anything is permitted.
But as soon as a “global south” country joins the ranks of the classical libertarians, leaning less towards leftist abstractive hippies, then they’re no longer permitted to win. They should lose to other “global south” countries.
Not only that, but you have to have a clear political stance, according to Tharoor, and this stance has to be left-leaning, just like in the case of Maradona, who met Fidel Castro. Otherwise, you’re not worthy of love. Tharoor seems to also not care much about “questionable lifestyle” decisions. And keeping your life personal, like in the case of Messi, seems to be super duper bad for him. How dare you prefer to protect your privacy. You should instead be on the streets fighting for causes to make Tharoor happy.
The “global south,” for Tharoor, is a term associated with poverty, struggle, and self-imposed inferiority. A fetishized victimization of an internalized feeling of oppression that should continue to remain so.
The moment a country becomes more successful, better economically, then they become prima donnas, part of the capitalist and corporate establishment. The “global south” should remain just that: poor and helpless.
It seems that, according to Tharoor, in order not to feel any guilt, the best way to go about doing things is by immigrating from a “global south” country to a “global north” country to thrive there. Then, you can freely criticize “right-leaning” presidents, and write rage-bait articles about “global south” countries that should no longer be worthy of your love.
That’s what the “global south” is there for for Tharoor: an abstract concept where people should continue to suffer, and through which Tharoor can vicariously feel better about himself.