写于阿布扎比站事件之后 - 拉提菲
“大家好，”
“近期我有意地远离了社交媒体，为的是等待末场大奖赛的风波稍微平息。”
“我在阿布扎比的退赛，引发了一系列的情况，而这些情况又引起了广泛讨论。私信和公开评论加起来，我的社媒总共收到了上万条消息，大部分是支持鼓励的，但也不乏仇恨辱骂的言论。”
“我一直在想，怎样才是回应这件事的最佳方式呢？我该当作无事发生吗？还是选择发声，给自己带来更大的麻烦呢？毕竟社媒的现状让人悲哀。”
“这不是一份官方声明，不是提前写好的，而是我的心里话。我希望这些话能引发社会对网络暴凌的讨论，对事件当事人所受影响的讨论。我要对这些行为说不，通过社媒仇视、辱骂、暴力威胁他人，是不能被接受的。”
“回到比赛周。当方格旗挥动的时候，我就已经能想到社媒上会是怎样一番景象。我下意识地觉得要把Instagram和推特卸载几天。会有这样的反应，也正说明网络世界能是很可怕的。”
“随之而来的仇恨、侮辱、威胁，对我来说甚至一点也不意外。因为这就是现代人的生存现状。我对负面评论早就习以为常，相信所有在国际舞台上的体育人也都是。这些无时不在的审视的目光，好像也成了生活的一部分。”
“可这样的事已经发生太多次了，没有一项运动能够幸免。只需一个错误的时间点，一个小事件也能改变整个事态。而这时，这项运动的所谓'粉丝'们，就会露出自己的阴暗面。其实真正让我震惊的，是这些言辞之极端，是口吻偏激的仇恨言论、辱骂、甚至对我的死亡威胁。”
“回顾这场比赛，我觉得我唯一需要为DNF而道歉的，是我的车队，而我当场也这么做了。之后的所有事，就完全不在我的掌控之中了。”
“有人会说，比赛没剩几圈了，你还拼这个没意义的完赛名次干什么？但是对我来说，不管是为了冠军，为了领奖台，为了积分而拼搏，还是跑在最后一位，我都会全力拼搏直到冲线。在这点上，所有的车手都和我一样。即便有你不理解不赞同，我也无所谓。我尊重你的立场。但有人利用这些，煽动仇恨、侮辱，和暴力威胁。不仅是针对我，还针对我身边最亲近的人。这些人，不是真的爱这项运动。”
“好在，我对自己足够笃定，也被历练得够久，久到能很好地处理消极情绪。但负面评论依旧很刺眼。我也不免地感到，就连一百条积极的评论都中和不了一条恶评。”
“大家有自己的想法，都很正常。而运动员，作为公众审视的焦点，脸皮也会变厚一些，但我上周收到的很多评论，真的严重越界了。我不禁想，如果是其他人受到这样程度的攻击，他们会有何反应？这些少数人的一时嘴快，凭什么要由别人来买单？”
“上周的事情让我明白，我们应当共同携手。一起阻止这些行为，一起支持当事人。我可能改变不了他们。也许他们之前怎么对我，之后就仍然如此，甚至会用这段话来做文章。但我知道我该回击，不能再沉默。”
“对于始终支持我的人和粉丝们，我衷心感谢。读到你们的信息，我很感激。知道有那么多人支持我，我很开心。”
“体育的本质是竞争，但体育也应让我们团结，而非日渐分隔。如果我的分享，我的敦促，能帮到哪怕一个人，那就是值得的。”
“新年将至，我诚挚盼望这段阿布扎比站后的经历能给大家以思考。而我的新年计划，就是努力去推动一些改变。愿人人都多一分善意吧！”
“祝愿大家节日快乐，平安健康，期盼2022与大家一同回归赛场的时刻。”
Nicky
原文
A MESSAGE AFTER THE EVENTS OF ABU DHABI
2021-12-21 Nicholas Latifi
Hi everyone,
I’ve purposely been staying away from social media to kind of let things settle down from the events of the last race.
A lot has been made of the situation that came about after my retirement in Abu Dhabi. I’ve received thousands of messages to my social media accounts – publicly and via DMs. Most have been supportive, but there’s been a lot of hate and abuse, too.
I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to go about handling this. Do I ignore it and carry on? Or do I address it and tackle the bigger issue that is sadly a reality when you use social media?
This isn’t some scripted statement, but rather me speaking my mind in the hope that this maybe sparks another conversation about online bullying and the drastic consequences it can have on people. Using social media as a channel to attack somebody with messages of hate, abuse and threats of violence is shocking – and something I am calling out.
Going back to the race weekend, as soon as the checkered flag dropped, I knew how things were likely to play out on social media. The fact that I felt it would be best if I deleted Instagram and Twitter on my phone for a few days says all we need to know about how cruel the online world can be.
The ensuing hate, abuse, and threats on social media were not really a surprise to me as it’s just the stark reality of the world we live in right now. I’m no stranger to being talked about negatively online, I think every sports person who competes on the world stage knows they’re under extreme scrutiny and this comes with the territory sometimes.
But as we’ve seen time and time again, across all different sports, it only takes one incident at the wrong time to have things completely blown out of proportion and bring out the worst in people who are so-called ‘fans’ of the sport. What shocked me was the extreme tone of the hate, abuse, and even the death threats I received.
Reflecting on what happened during the race, there was really only one group of people I needed to apologize to for the DNF: my team. I did that right afterwards. Everything else that followed was out of my control.
Some people said I was racing for a position that didn’t matter with only a handful of laps remaining. But whether I am racing for wins, podiums, points or even last place, I will always give it my all until the checkered flag. I’m the same as every other driver on the grid in that regard. To the people who don’t understand or don’t agree with that, that’s fine with me. You can have your opinion. But to use those opinions to fuel hatred, abuse and threats of violence, not only to me, but to those closest to me as well, tells me these people are not true fans of the sport.
Thankfully, I’m comfortable enough in my own skin, and I’ve been in this world long enough that I can do a pretty good job of just letting any negativity wash over me. But I know I’m not alone in thinking that a negative comment always seems to stick out more – and can sometimes be enough to drown out 100 positive ones.
People will have their opinions, and that’s fine. Having a thick skin is a huge part of being an athlete, especially when you are constantly in a position to be scrutinized. But many of the comments I received last week crossed the line into something far more extreme. It concerns me how somebody else might react if this same level of abuse was ever directed at them. No one should let the activities of a vocal minority dictate who they are.
Events in the last week have made me see how important it is to work together to stop this kind of thing happening and to support those on the receiving end. I realize I’m unlikely to convince those who acted in this way towards me to change their ways – and they may even try to use this message against me – but it’s right to call out this kind of behavior and not stay silent.
To all the fans and people that did have my back during this whole situation, I want to say a huge thank you. I’ve seen and read a lot of your messages and they are much appreciated. It’s nice to know I have so many people supporting me.
Sport is by its very nature competitive – but it should bring people together, not drive them apart. If sharing my thoughts, and highlighting the need for action, helps just one person, then it was worth it.
As we look forward to the New Year, I truly hope my experiences after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix help reinforce that message, and my New Year’s resolution is to look at ways I can support that process. Just be kind everyone!
I want to wish you all happy holidays, stay safe, and I look forward to all of us getting back on track in 2022.
Nicky
