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posted by martyb on Thursday June 11 2020, @01:27PM   Printer-friendly
from the A-See-Change dept.

Many sources are reporting what we can read at ABC News,

NASCAR banned the Confederate flag from its races and properties on Wednesday, formally distancing itself from what for many is a symbol of slavery and racism that had been a familiar sight at stock car events for more than 70 years.

The move comes amid social unrest around the globe following the death in police custody of George Floyd, an unarmed black man in Minneapolis. Protests have roiled the nation for days and Confederate monuments are being taken down across the South — the tradtiional fan base for NASCAR.

[...] The issue was pushed to the fore this week as Bubba Wallace, NASCAR's lone black driver, called for the banishment of the Confederate flag and said there was "no place" for them in the sport. At long last, NASCAR obliged.

"The presence of the confederate flag at NASCAR events runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors and our industry," NASCAR said. "Bringing people together around a love for racing and the community that it creates is what makes our fans and sport special. The display of the confederate flag will be prohibited from all NASCAR events and properties."

[...] The move was announced before Wednesday night's race at Martinsville Speedway where Wallace, an Alabama native, was driving a Chevrolet with a #BlackLivesMatter paint scheme. Wallace got a shoutout on Twitter from several athletes, including NBA star LeBron James, for using the paint scheme in the race.


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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday June 11 2020, @03:24PM (6 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday June 11 2020, @03:24PM (#1006319) Journal

    Yes, there are people who are easily offended.

    That does not remove that fact that there are also people who actively and with purpose try to offend other people, perhaps everyone. They are not looking to offend the easily offended. They are looking to offend anyone they can. (example: Fred Phelps)

    Then there are those who (perhaps unwittingly) offend everyone by selfish pursuit of their own interests (pharma-bro Martin Shkreli).

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @04:33PM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @04:33PM (#1006387)

    There is a difference between Phelps who actively tries to agitate others. And seeing the confederate flag as something part of your history, heritage, and identity that is not inherently racist even if that history has some blight. I have seen that flag used more as representing a rebel and heritage than a racist looking to provoke like Phelps.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by DannyB on Thursday June 11 2020, @07:02PM (3 children)

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday June 11 2020, @07:02PM (#1006521) Journal

      What I don't get is that it is a "rebel and heritage" that is nothing to be proud of. Not any more than the fact that my country's ancestors captured and enslaved people and brought them to this land. I can have pride in my country and its flag, despite his history having blemishes. But what's with the rebel thing? To be in rebellion of anti-slavery and anti-racism? That sounds pro-slavery and pro-racist to me. As for heritage, it is not my heritage (that I know of), but if I knew for a fact that it were, it is not something I would be proud of. I would want to abandon the symbols of that and be unified in being proud of my heritage as an American and display an American flag.

      Thus, I have some weak inclination to assume the worst of people who seem just a wee bit too proud to use such symbols.

      --
      A 'midden heap' is a reserved area of memory that the Java GC simply refuses to service.
      • (Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @08:18PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @08:18PM (#1006572)

        Kaepernick says you shouldn't be proud of the American flag either. He made a point of refusing to stand for it and all his buddies want you to do the same.
        As another example, you say you're glad you don't have Southern ancestry because that absolves you of a bloodline whose ancestors SINNED against blacks. BLM says ALL white people are guilty. You too, my friend. But I did nothing against black people, you say. But look at your skin: you are white.

        • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday June 11 2020, @09:42PM

          by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday June 11 2020, @09:42PM (#1006606) Journal

          you say you're glad you don't have Southern ancestry

          I said that whether I have Southern ancestry is unknown. I also said that if I did, it is not something I would be "proud" of.

          that absolves you of a bloodline whose ancestors SINNED against blacks.

          I thought I said something about "my country's ancestors captured and enslaved people and brought them to this land". So I do recognize the evil done in the past by ancestors.

          I don't blame people for what their ancestors did.

          I didn't choose to be white. I don't think it makes me better than anyone else. Or worse.

          I am able, unlike some here, to recognize real injustices done in the past against recognizable groups.

          As for being proud of the American flag. There are things in American history that I don't think we should be proud of. One of them is how we enslaved black people. And how we (or Southern people) treated them for the next 100+ years after that. But there are also other things America has done which are not exactly good things. And they span quite a range of time.

          Terrible things in our past history, like NTSC.

          --
          A 'midden heap' is a reserved area of memory that the Java GC simply refuses to service.
      • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 12 2020, @12:59AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 12 2020, @12:59AM (#1006694)

        ... the fact that my country's ancestors captured and enslaved people and brought them to this land.

        WTF do you mean by "my country's ancestors", and where, pray tell Danny Boy, is "this land"?? If you're an "American" (USA), you're clueless (again) and offensive.

        I'll help you, read this BEFORE you reply: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_slave_trade [wikipedia.org]

        Then I'd love to know why people like you are so proud and full of yourself to denounce your own ancestors.

        My history book tells me that my ancestors never had slaves, and fought against slavery. But then, to be fair, they were a bit north of the Mason-Dixon line.

    • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Friday June 12 2020, @02:28AM

      by MostCynical (2589) on Friday June 12 2020, @02:28AM (#1006738) Journal

      even Rolling coal [autoblog.com] is political.

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