'I began to realize it after my 40s'

Bicycle 

From 1968 to 1982, I lived for 14 years in a desolate, poor village. I was 4 or 5 years old when my father, who worked as an electrician at the Forestry Department, brought home a rusty, three-wheeled bicycle with a bent wheel that his supervisor, who was being transferred elsewhere, had gifted him. I rode that old bike constantly for 1 or 2 years. The other children in the village would constantly ask, "Let me ride it too, let me ride it too."  

I loved that little toy very much. When it became thoroughly bent and twisted, and the welds at the joints cracked, it was tossed aside.  

Between 1975 and 1980, there was only one two-wheeled bicycle in our 50-household village. We, the children of the village, would rent that bike from its owner for 25-50 Kuruş and ride it for 30-60 minutes.  

Another one of our entertainments in the village was to get inside huge truck tires that had been discarded because they were worn out and roll around. One person would curl up inside the tire, and another person would roll the wheel down the hill. Sometimes, there were very dangerous consequences. In cases of excessive speed, we would sometimes be thrown out of the wheel and fall. Once, I also fell out of a tire in a rocky area and split my head open. 

From 1975 to 2023, I always looked with envy at those who traveled by bicycle. 48 years later, last summer, I bought a mid-quality bicycle and rode all over the city for hours. I both satisfied my childhood longing for a bicycle and lost 5-6 kilos.  

Many people I know closely found it strange that I went here and there by bicycle. I still haven't been able to solve the reason for this. Sometimes I don't understand the Turkish people. The common refrain of most people was: "Brother, how stingy you are. Are you going everywhere by bike just so your money doesn't get spent? Can one ride a bike at this age, etc.?" 

I tried to explain to people who make such judgments that people in developed, wealthy countries like Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, etc., go everywhere by bicycle from age 7 to 70, but I could not foster an opinion. Especially in the Netherlands, I saw people on bicycles everywhere. Very beautiful paths had also been built for them. 

Nowadays, many of our people want to go even a distance of 1 kilometer by car, bus, taxi, or motorcycle. Dozens of students at the school where I work in Ankara go even to their homes 500 meters away by shuttle or bus. No one walks.  

I reside in a 4-story building. Almost all of the residents of the 16 apartments use the elevator even to go 1 floor down or 1 floor up.  

People who stay so far away from sports, exercise, and walking then whine, "I have high blood pressure, I am overweight, I have diabetes, I have high cholesterol." 

Two days ago, my 13-year-old, sharp-witted student stopped doing the experiment and answering questions in class. I said, "What happened?" With a cocky tone, he said, "I am a diabetic. My blood sugar dropped. Can I go outside?" My mind could not grasp that one could have diabetes at this age, but I said, "You know best, my boy." 

As a result, our settings are deteriorating day by day… 

FOOTBALL IS HARMFUL TO THE BODY 

When I was a child in the village, I also chased after a plastic ball a little. During my high school and university years, due to the influence of my environment, I would support Fenerbahçe, follow the news about it, and watch the matches as an amateur.  

After my 40s, I began to realize that football is mentioned alongside concepts such as "dirty money, mafia, commerce, reputation, politics, hunting for voters, becoming a member of parliament, landing tenders, laying down the law, gambling, betting, loan sharking, theft, stupidity, and stupefaction." For the last 15 years, I have not watched a single match, and I have never followed publications related to these topics.  

I am not a doctor, but through my reading, I have learned that football is contrary to health, as harmful as smoking, dangerous, and an activity that shortens one's lifespan. I realized that football players have short lifespans, that deep damage occurs in their brains, and that most of their bones are broken.  

There is a football field within 100 meters of the house where I have lived for 10 years. I also observe that 99 percent of the people who come as spectators to the matches held here every two weeks are rude, quarrelsome, lumpen types. Healthy, balanced people never enter environments intense with violence and swearing. 

I WONDER WHAT THE DIYANET SAYS ABOUT THIS?

Criticizing the Diyanet (Presidency of Religious Affairs) in Turkey is a major crime. 99 percent of society treats those who criticize the Diyanet as "irreligious, infidel, traitor, antichrist, devil." 

I am not a religious scholar. I have no intention of speaking against the Islamic religion. I just want to direct a question to the Diyanet. I would like it to be on the record, even if they do not answer. 

Dear President of Religious Affairs Prof. Dr. Ali Erbaş, 

Is it appropriate for the Islamic religion, hadiths, sunnah, morality, decency, and ethical values for Diyanet personnel to receive salaries from the massive resources consisting of taxes collected from alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, betting, lotto, tourist hotels where gambling is played, customs duties on imported alcoholic beverages, TV channels that broadcast lewd content, and goods produced in Israel? 

Ali Özdemir 

Educator-Writer 

News Source: 12punto