NASCAR bans confederate flag from all events.

[mikewhitney]

Taliban

Thanks for fact checking.

[JimL]

No Jim, what is happening is lawless. These protesters have no right to tear these statues down. If you don't want them there is a political way of doing it. We have them on camera and they should be arrested for destruction of government property.

That much is true, but not the point.

[Whateverman]

The great majority of those confederate statues were put up in response to the civil rights movement long after the Civil War. The Old South and it's treason over slavery will not rise again and needs be obliterated. Removing the statues isn't obliterating the history of this country, ugly as it was, it's just the states and organizations recognizing it for what it was and ending the homage paid to it.

No Jim, what is happening is lawless. These protesters have no right to tear these statues down. If you don't want them there is a political way of doing it. We have them on camera and they should be arrested for destruction of government property.

You're both right.

[Catholicity]

I can tell you, KG and I went to a Texas Roadhouse, and there was a white man wearing a confederate flag hate dating a Black woman. Well, he said "I never thought I'd see that in a million years." I then explained to him they were likely from one of the more rural counties in our state but to many in the more rural areas the confederate flag genuinely means "states rights." and "southern pride" FYI I am not for parading it, but I'm against censoring it. That said, I do think it necessarily should be displayed at an event as large as NASCAR races at the moment.

[Catholicity]

Isn't this the act of religious revolutionaries like ISIS? Do we have our own ISIS operating among our state governments?

I don't think you have ISIS but there are two extremists that want a race war. Both of them need to be arrested and tried for disturbing the public peace, destruction of property, assault, you name it.

[MaxVel]

An oversight on my part very quickly corrected.



"The left" would do well to denounce them, and try to bring order. I think those in the leadership of "the left" are afraid to incur the wrath of their own fringe.



I was actually quite surprised how hard JimL, for example, DEFENDS the extremist left nuttery, and I really don't see any of "the left" correcting him, or pointing out how nutty the fringe has become.

I've actually contemplated starting a thread asking "the left" here where they draw the line.

A more cynical view would be that they're quite happy for the extremists on their side to attack their enemies for them.

Of course, this would apply to some on the political right as well.

[MaxVel]

After racer Bubba Wallace calls for it, NASCAR bans confederate flag from all events. Wallace drives a car with the insignia "BLACK LIVES MATTER."
www.cnn.com/2020/06/10/us/nascar-bans-confederate-flag-spt-trnd/index.html

Watch NASCAR take an even steeper dive into obscurity as it's core support turns to entertainment that doesn't attack their identity and core values. I think someone once said 'Get woke, go broke'...

[JimL]

Watch NASCAR take an even steeper dive into obscurity as it's core support turns to entertainment that doesn't attack their identity and core values. I think someone once said 'Get woke, go broke'...

Fine by me, never liked the sport anyway. I always found it boring. But I don't think their core support is going anywhere, anymore than it would in football over the players taking a knee in protest.

[Bill the Cat]

Fine by me, never liked the sport anyway. I always found it boring. But I don't think their core support is going anywhere, anymore than it would in football over the players taking a knee in protest.

Exactly. JimL wants everyone unemployed that doesn't think like him.

[JimL]

Exactly. JimL wants everyone unemployed that doesn't think like him.

Not at all what I said, you just can't take your confederate flag with you anymore, Bill.

[Bill the Cat]

Not at all what I said, you just can't take your confederate flag with you anymore, Bill.

I don't own one, and I think they are stupid. Plus, I don't prefer NASCAR either, but that's beside the point. If the owners at NASCAR think this is a good idea, then they will reap the consequences. They already have a problem with attendance as it is.

[MaxVel]

I don't own one, and I think they are stupid. Plus, I don't prefer NASCAR either, but that's beside the point. If the owners at NASCAR think this is a good idea, then they will reap the consequences. They already have a problem with attendance as it is.

Yeah. Tell your core audience that they are racist hicks, and a symbol they value is no longer allowed. That's a great business plan.

[JimL]

I don't own one, and I think they are stupid. Plus, I don't prefer NASCAR either, but that's beside the point. If the owners at NASCAR think this is a good idea, then they will reap the consequences. They already have a problem with attendance as it is.

Nascar, though hard to believe, is the leading spectator sport in the country. I think they'll be just fine without the confederate flag.

[MaxVel]

The trend has been downward, for some time now.

'They'll be fine' is just your ignorance speaking, JimL.

The Talladega race lost a LOT of viewers in one year.

But it was the television ratings from Talladega — one of NASCAR’s most famous tracks — that were most eye-opening. The race delivered a 2.85 national rating on Fox, with 4.7 million viewers. The same race in 2017, a week later but also on Fox, had a 3.5 rating and 5.9 million viewers. That is an 18% drop in ratings and a 20% drop in viewership, but it gets even more grim. The 2016 race at Talladega had a 4.0 national rating, with 6.7 million viewers. So in just two years, the race lost two million of 6.7 million viewers — a 30% plunge. (The same race 10 years ago drew nine million viewers, incidentally.)

Lost 5 million viewers between a high in 2005 and 2018. Their main viewer demographic (by far) is over 55. Those folks are attached to their traditions and their cultural roots/ Things like flags.

[Bill the Cat]

Nascar, though hard to believe, is the leading spectator sport in the country. I think they'll be just fine without the confederate flag.

No it isn't. Not even close. In order for it to surpass the NFL and MLB, you have to add EVERY OTHER non-NASCAR division, including Formula 1, in motorsports.