OK to Insult NASCAR Fans

Posted on March 7, 2007

The Leftist double standard is endless. You are not allowed to look crosseyed at a black or a homosexual but you can insult white NASCAR fans all you like, apparently.

Some Democrat lawmakers speaking in the legislature of Washington State recently described NASCAR fans as “toothless, white trash rednecks” and said of them “These people are not the kind of people you would want living next door to you. They’d be the ones with the junky cars in the front yard and would try to slip around the law.”

Another high-powered intellectual in the State house — the Speaker, in fact — implied that NASCAR identity Richard Petty [above] looked like a drunken felon, saying “You mean the guy who got picked up for DUI?” In fact, Mr. Petty does not drink alcohol.

Details here Did anybody notice any of that wicked prejudice or stereotyping there?

There is a video of the wonderfully “enlightened” comments here. Those guys sure know how to set an example for us all.

You can imagine the endless caterwauling in the press if a Republican had said something similar about (say) the NBA.

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Comments

25 Responses to “OK to Insult NASCAR Fans”

  1. Neil on March 7th, 2007 8:10 am

    If NASCAR folks were a protected group then this would have been “hate speech.” What a joke.

  2. Totally conservative dude on March 7th, 2007 8:13 am

    You’re completely right…but at least blacks and gays can change those attributes if they choose.

  3. Sirocco on March 7th, 2007 9:24 am

    Of course Seaquist’s remarks are offensive and deserve criticism. No one has argued liberals don’t make offensive remarks, and Seaquist’s surely qualify.

    No, the argument has been that such remarks are made quite frequently by _nationally prominent_ conservatives (like Coulter, Malkin, Limbaugh and Co.), folks who are ate the core of defining what it means to be a conservative. Seaquist is barely notable within the state of Washington (which is where I reside), and no one would confuse him with being a central distributor of liberal views.

    Coulter’s and Seaquist’s remarks were both offensive. Trying to equate the two in terms of significance is an exercise in disingenuity.

  4. Robert on March 7th, 2007 10:06 am

    NASCAR: Fast cars for slow minds.

  5. Winston Delgado on March 7th, 2007 10:14 am

    Yeah, being a NASCAR fan is totally the equivalent of being black or gay…
    If the world makes you confused and angry it’s probably because you don’t understand what’s happening. Maybe instead of babbling about your neurotic fears you could try taking a walk. It might calm you down and help you to start thinking clearly.
    I mean, do you really believe you are in danger of someone trying to keep you from praying or watching NASCAR or waving the flag or whatever else you enjoy doing as an American? I’m a white, straight male and even I understand the difference between being a fan of a sport and being born homosexual or as an ethnic minority. Get a grip.

  6. Tammy on March 7th, 2007 10:32 am

    Maybe we should make them go to “sensitivity training”.

    Hah! Fat chance.

  7. Glib Fortuna on March 7th, 2007 11:37 am

    Sirocco–

    Your argument falls apart:

    http://patterico.com/2007/03/05/5901/leftist-hate-speech/

    “Prominent liberals” including members of the media have a long history of what you imply doesn’t exists on the same level on the Left.

  8. Joe on March 7th, 2007 11:37 am

    Ted Kennedy, he would never drive drunk either, he is one of the North’s finest white people.

  9. psmarc93 on March 7th, 2007 12:55 pm

    I expect this will post will soon come down to a name calling free-for-all with slurs against NASCAR fans and slurs against … well those who aren’t NASCAR fns. Personally, I my gay partner adores NASCAR and we have weekly NASCAR parties for all our liberal, democratic gay buds that love it too. NASCAR doesn’t make them good people, they were that before, but it doesn’t make them stupid either. Let’s ALL show a little respect, ok?

  10. Jim on March 7th, 2007 1:00 pm

    NASCAR hasn’t been the same since big money got into it. It was better when the fellows were runnin’ “shine”, and then racin’ on the weekends. And yes I are a Double-Wide livin’ Blue Collar watchin’ Shotgun totin’ Give you a Hand and only expect a thanks PROUD father of a daughter who sang the National Anthem at the local tractor pulls Redneck. What city folk need to understand, and I think Hank Jr. said it best, “We say Grace, and we say ma’am. And if you ain’t into that, we don’t give a damn ’cause Country Folk Will Survive” (my paraphrase)

  11. PatD on March 7th, 2007 1:21 pm

    Here in Washington, the state, NASCAR has an ongoing campaign to get the citizens to fund a new racing venue for them. Some people like the idea but most are pretty sour on the concept and stuff gets said during the debate which may not appear all that PC.

  12. Jared Childers on March 7th, 2007 1:26 pm

    I’m trying to find a source that provides a precise context and setting for these quotes. Do you have anything?

  13. legaleagle on March 7th, 2007 2:52 pm

    I’m trying to find a source that provides a precise context and setting for these quotes. Do you have anything?”

    Now THAT’S a damn good idea. I have no indication whatever what was being discussed or whom the individual in question was talking about. But we’ll just have to accept on faith that some obscure state legislator was tossing out a gratuitous insult to all NASCAR fans, won’t we? Of course, it ultimately doesn’t matter anyway. The real point of this laughable nonsense is that ridiculing someone’s status as a NASCAR fan is the same as calling them a ni**er or faggot.

    Best of luck with that effort.

    Oh, and speaking of Jared Childer’s excellent point about context, I like the part where the question, “You mean the guy who got picked up for DUI,” is somehow transformed into an implication that Richard Petty looks like a drunken felon. I mean, is anything supposed to take this crap seriously?

  14. Dom on March 7th, 2007 3:46 pm

    NASCAR isnot specific to whites, there are blacks and latinos that watch it.
    You should embrace this unity.

    It proves that stupid people come in all colors, and don’t know how to turn right.

  15. Dom on March 7th, 2007 3:47 pm

    Just kidding, don’t spill your Pabst blue ribbon.

  16. RedneckJoe on March 7th, 2007 3:52 pm

    White trash is as white trash does. What’s NASCAR?

  17. Railroad Stone on March 7th, 2007 5:20 pm

    Yes, it is okay to insult NASCAR fans. It’s also easy and fun.

    You see, your ‘white’ is protected by law, but the ‘trash’, you’ll have to defend on your own. Best of luck.

  18. Sirocco on March 8th, 2007 8:27 am

    Glib Fortuna,

    And the breakdown of that Patterico post can be found here.

    The short summary is many of the instances Patterico cites are from comedians, etc. Those cited from people who could legitimately be named “leaders” of liberal thought are typically years old. You could find far more examples than this in just one month of Coulter columns.

    Leagaleagal,

    The Seaquist quote is genuine. The greater context is a debate over WA providing funding for a new NASCAR track in Kitsap county (near Bremerton). Some further discussion of the matter may be found here.

  19. Lisa on March 8th, 2007 10:44 am

    Why was the NASCAR fan standing in the frozen juice aisle with a glazed look on his face?

    Because the orange juice said “concentrate”.

  20. Very Liberal on March 8th, 2007 11:14 am

    Hello All,

    My tag says who I am, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t think you all are absolutely right.

    I grew up around NASCAR there are plenty of liberals who love NASCAR, so please don’t return the stereotype that the cretins of Washington state propagated.

    It would and should qualify as hate speech. Just substitute black or latino as one reader suggested, and everybody would jump all over the speaker.

    Maybe a good strategy would be to ask the ACLU to make a position statement regarding these remarks by legislators.

  21. Railroad Stone on March 8th, 2007 6:10 pm

    Uh, Very Liberal, you’re missing a big difference. People CHOOSE to watch NASCAR. If I can’t take the piss out of that, what else is protected? Is “American Idol” a belief system which I should have to respect? What about dwarf tossing or competitive eating? Should denigration of these sacred rituals be an offence under law?

    Yes, substituting Black or Latino would qualify as hate speech, but nobody suggested that except you. I have said some very nasty things about mosquitoes, and if you substituted the word Black or Latino into those truly hate-filled utterances, I would and should be regarded as racist, but what idiot would try to do that? I could turn the Gettysburg address into the communist manifesto if you let me substitute enough words!

    Jesus, you really are a NASCAR fan.

  22. Rightmom on March 8th, 2007 7:14 pm

    I would tell #3 that Coulter is not an elected official and you just showed your ignorance by dismissing the man’s power of just being in Washington state. Coulter as a unelected American can say what ever the hell she wants however when white elitest liberals on the coasts of America denigrate those of us who live in the vast red of the best country in the world is it any wonder I/We hope that the coast gets a large dose of Global Warming and is flooded.

  23. Kelly on March 8th, 2007 7:42 pm

    What did you mean ” a black “? Maybe I am reading it wrong. Maybe you could have said a black person. Just my two cents.

  24. loraine on October 15th, 2007 1:28 pm

    I love NASCAR. Just got back from the Charlotte Race this past weekend. I can truly
    say the people at these races are by far some of the nicest people I’ve had the
    pleasure of meeting. Call it redneck or whatever, NASCAR Fans know how to have fun
    without robbing, mugging, fighting, and having run-ins with the law. It goes to show
    these far left liberals as usual KNOW nothing. I challenge any of them to come to
    Orangeburg, SC at SCSU and attend one of their home football games. The citizen’s
    have to lock the doors and stay off the streets. The people who attend these games
    rule and trashes the street. It’s definitely not safe. Can you imagine if you have
    the same amount fans in Orangeburg that they had in Concord? Orangeburg would look as
    if Sherman made a return trip through the south.

  25. loraine on October 15th, 2007 1:36 pm

    Hey wait a minute here. My dad looks like Richard Petty. So is the Speaker saying
    that my dad would look like a drunken felon also? Be careful what is being said. My dad
    was a God fearing hardworking man before he died. Now I tell you I take offense if
    someone looked at my dad’s picture and made that remark.

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