Spurrier: Take that damned flag down

Where is the SportsJournalists.com NASCAR nation on this. Surprised they are not out in force as they have been when it has been brought up in previous discussions.

There were a lot of unhappy people when I suggested that NASCAR should ban the flag at their races.

 

Personally, I'm glad this thread has remained a civil discussion, unlike some past threads here.

 

Well, FWIW, I think it's a bit of a different animal when you're discussing the state government flying the flag on the peoples' land vs. Joe Redneck waving it of his own accord.

/not trying to start a flamewar

 

As someone who isn't fond of the Confederate flag, I've found a pretty effective strategy for reasoning with those who fly it.

If I'm driving and see that somebody boasts the Rebel flag on his car, I pass them and calmly show him my middle finger.

Surprisingly, this tends to piss them off, and I'm not sure why. On occasion, both of us will wind up on the side of the road and the flag-flyer will mention (in a not-so-polite way) that I've offended him.

I explain that I'm merely extending a gesture of international goodwill -- in much the same way that Goose did in the first battle scene in Top Gun. "Greetings," Goose once said atop that MiG.

The bird has been a sign of friendship for as long as I can remember, so why get all bent out of shape over my heritage?

 

Indeed. My forebears carried the bird proudly into battle. We fought for the right to flip the bird at will. Don't you know about the bird? Everybody knows that the bird is the word. Sometimes, I just flip off inanimate objects.

OK, getting kind of loopy now, and no, I haven't been drinking. At work finishing a story.

I loathe the rebel flag, but I think it's fine that one sees the rebel flag at NASCAR events. For one thing, it's protected free expression under the First Amendment. Secondly, it reminds onlookers just what complete fucking tards many NASCAR fans are. That, I feel, is socially useful...quite unintentionally, of course.

Nothing washes down a jar of paste like an ice cold Bud.

 

+



Not the worst idea in the world

 

Living here in my part of the South, the flag is almost like a brand, like Polo or Tommy Hilfiger is for others. If you have a rebel flag, you know that person is a fishing, huntin' good ol' boy. He might or might not be a racist. In fact he might be a swell guy.

I think a lot of people who fly the flag don't think about the negative connotations, or don't think it offends anybody.

Which, of course, is the point.

I've always wanted to do a sociological study on bumper stickers on pick-up trucks. Why do Southerners spend so much time trying to define themselves and let people know who they are through bumper stickers? "I'd rather be fishing/hunting" "I love the NRA" "Proud to be a Southerner" "3", etc. It's part of some deep-seeded need to be heard. Why can't they just be satisfied being themselves? I don't know. I'm rambling. I'll shut up.

 

It's the core NASCAR demographic that you discribe and exactly why they should be the group leading the anti confederate flag charge.

 

The flag is a major reason why NASCAR has an image problem among many minorities.

 

It goes beyond minorities. NASCAR's unwillingness to deal with it was part of reason that NBC walked away.

 

And it's why no matter what many would have you to believe, that many people don't like guys who make left-handed turns at 200-plus mph. I like NASCAR but the image of many of the drivers turn me off.

 

Some fishing, huntin' good ol' boys....