Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

SoylentNews is powered by your submissions, so send in your scoop. Only 19 submissions in the queue.
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.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @03:51PM (12 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @03:51PM (#1006338)

    It's none of those things; they're all smokescreen. It's pure basal human competitiveness.

    It's well established in psychological studies that people of all ages are perfectly content until they see what someone else has. Some are inspired to work harder. But many are agitated and won't rest until they feel they're "justly" compensated, which is always many times over the perceived wrong or loss, and often includes retribution, often violent. All based on perception, which is 5% fact and 95% imagination and exaggeration.

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   +1  
       Flamebait=1, Insightful=1, Informative=1, Total=3
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   1  
  • (Score: 5, Informative) by DannyB on Thursday June 11 2020, @06:54PM (11 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday June 11 2020, @06:54PM (#1006511) Journal

    It's none of those things . . . [and other racist claptrap]

    Yeah, I guess that's it. It is the black people's own fault for all the bad things that have happened to them since they were emancipated by Lincoln.

    It's their own fault that they made white people put up signs: "No Colored!" or "White Only"

    It's their own fault that the rules were that non-white people must sit at the back of the bus.

    They should be inspired to work harder!

    It's their own fault that people won't give them fair and equal opportunities for employment. "But many are agitated and won't rest and feel they're 'justly' compensated'"

    It's their own fault their children had to attend separate public schools.

    It's their own fault that landlords wouldn't accept them as tenants.

    I could go on and on about a long list of injustices that these people are rightly "agitated" about. But yeah. Go on. Blame the victims of your racism.

    --
    A 'midden heap' is a reserved area of memory that the Java GC simply refuses to service.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @08:21PM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @08:21PM (#1006575)

      and believe you can dupe the entire world with the simple word game. Some progress indeed.

      YOU are liable for the harm YOU do, no matter which forefathers "started it first!!!11" some centuries ago. Do grow up already.

      • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday June 11 2020, @09:31PM (2 children)

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday June 11 2020, @09:31PM (#1006604) Journal

        Nothing you said made any sense except the "Do grow up already". I understood the meaning of that. But nothing else you said. What word games? started it first?

        --
        A 'midden heap' is a reserved area of memory that the Java GC simply refuses to service.
        • (Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @09:48PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @09:48PM (#1006608)

          Very little of what you write makes any sense at all, but you're probably experiencing dementia, which is sad.

        • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @11:18PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @11:18PM (#1006651)

          "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it." -- Upton Sinclair

    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @09:45PM (6 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 11 2020, @09:45PM (#1006607)

      So are ALL white people at fault?

      • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Friday June 12 2020, @02:21AM (4 children)

        by MostCynical (2589) on Friday June 12 2020, @02:21AM (#1006737) Journal

        if they stand by and let bad things happen, yes.

        To be completely clear, if anyone stands by and lets bad things happen then they are "at fault", as they are condoning and therefore complicit in the behaviour.

        One of the great tragedies is how easy it is to go about your life and pretend nothing is wrong - from Nazi death camps just outside town that "no one knew about", to beatings in an alley where everyone just keeps walking past, individuals prefer to 'stay out of the way' and keep themselves safe, because it takes effort to stand up for changes (see all the ridicule heaped on Greta Thunberg here on SN and elsewhere)

        --
        "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
        • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday June 12 2020, @04:46AM (3 children)

          by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday June 12 2020, @04:46AM (#1006769) Journal

          To be completely clear, if anyone stands by and lets bad things happen then they are "at fault", as they are condoning and therefore complicit in the behaviour.

          Really, mate? No exceptions? Ummm... lemme see.

          You're letting the Chinese do bad things to Uyghurs and Tibet and do nothing about, aren't you feeling guilty?
          Reeducation camps in North Korea? How can you sleep at night?
          Saudis' war on Yemen? Crime against humanity [theglobalist.com], no less.

          --
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
          • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Friday June 12 2020, @05:41AM (2 children)

            by MostCynical (2589) on Friday June 12 2020, @05:41AM (#1006772) Journal

            donate or support [saveuighur.org] whichever [lionsroar.com] of the issues [borgenproject.org] or problems [rescue.org] you can, as befits your conscience and your means.

            And/or write to your elected representatives, foreign ministers, or whatever and ensure they know you care (and you vote)

            And vote for parties that have appropriate policies [greensmps.org.au]

            --
            "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
            • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday June 12 2020, @08:29AM (1 child)

              by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday June 12 2020, @08:29AM (#1006796) Journal

              And vote for parties that have appropriate policies [greensmps.org.au]

              Fucking idealists. I vote for them every time and they manage to shoot themselves in the foot.

              E.g. last election, they could have promised the Queenslanders to make them individual energy producers by subsidizing up to 50kW solar per household (that's about 300-350sqm worth of PV-es) and TAFE courses for local youngsters to become solar panel installers, on a program over some years. But no, they wanted a crusade against coal, with nothing in return for any Queenslander [abc.net.au].
              At AUD1/Watt PV installed [solarmarket.com.au], the same generation capacity would cost half the proposed 1-gigawatt coal plant in Collinsville [afr.com] and it would put money directly in the Queenslanders pocket. For the rest of the money - that's $1B, 10x the SA battery capacity [wikipedia.org], Musk should be happy to install it and the Chinese businesses will salivate abundantly at the prospect.

              --
              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
              • (Score: 3, Interesting) by MostCynical on Friday June 12 2020, @10:12AM

                by MostCynical (2589) on Friday June 12 2020, @10:12AM (#1006806) Journal

                true, really no better than the GST wreckers [wikipedia.org], but better to have some ideals, rather than none [liberal.org.au]

                --
                "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
      • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 12 2020, @06:34AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 12 2020, @06:34AM (#1006782)

        DannyB provided an accurate description of structural racism. Black people are harmed by the system while white people benefit from institutional racism. Most white people never asked to be the beneficiaries of structural racism. White people are afforded the benefits, white privilege, whether they ask for it or not. I am white. I did not ask for white privilege. I receive the privilege whether I've asked for it or not. White privilege means that I am afforded opportunities that are not available to black people, solely on the basis of my race.

        Black people are not asking that I apologize because I am white or that I am the beneficiary of white privilege. Black people are asking that white people like me acknowledge that structural racism exists, that there is not equal opportunity for white people and black people. Black people are asking that white people like me call for systemic change so that black people receive the same privilege that I receive as a white person. Black people are asking that I stand with them to call for equal opportunity.

        I do not apologize for being white. I did not ask to be white. It just happened. I do not apologize that I have benefited from white privilege. I did not ask for my white privilege. It just happened. I do acknowledge that the system is unequal and does not afford black people equal opportunity. I am calling for the system to change so that black people are granted the same privilege that I receive as a white person. I am only culpable and would only need to apologize if I promote or tolerate the continuation of institutional racism, being fully aware that it exists.