Bubba Wallace
I don't want to trivialize any discussion of nooses in America because as we all know, nooses have a symbolic connotation due to the history of lynchings of black men in the South back in the days of Jim Crow. Yet, this week's story of Bubba Wallace and the "noose" that he found in his assigned race car garage at Talladega invites a great deal of satire.
Watson, who I guess is the only African-American NASCAR racing driver, was at Talladega for their annual race when a "noose" was discovered hanging in the garage which was assigned to him and his car. This just in the wake of Wallace having convinced NASCAR to ban confederate flags. (Racing is a big deal in the South.)
The timing couldn't have been worse-or better- depending on your point of view. With the whole country on edge in the wake of the Minneapolis incident, NASCAR was turned upside down. Demonstrations of solidarity with Wallace poured in, and all the other drivers made a show of embracing Wallace on the track. Given what they thought had happened, the show of support was commendable.
What's more, the FBI sent in 15 special agents to launch an investigation for hate crimes, and there were promises of justice being brought to bear. All of this would have been fitting and proper had there really been a noose. But there wasn't. Yesterday, the FBI announced there was no hate crime. In fact, the "noose" was just a circular rope used as a handle to pull down the garage door. Furthermore, investigation revealed that the device had been there since last October before Wallace was assigned the garage.
All in all, a classic piece of investigation by America's Premier Law Enforcement Agency-and they didn't even need a FISA warrant to figure it all out.
Of course, the FBI knows that the great majority of noose sightings today tend to be hoaxes. This is not to accuse Wallace of intentionally manufacturing a hoax, a'la Jussie Smollett, but noose sightings generally turn out to be unfounded.
I am reminded of the case of the green noose found in the library of UC San Diego several years ago (2010). It was discovered by a black student, and the result was that the campus was turned upside down. The chancellor and vice chancellor led a protest on campus in which the chancellor declared something to the effect of, "Not on our campus".
All well and good until the school uncovered the real culprit. No, we never found out her name, but she penned an anonymous apology to the campus via the school newspaper, pointing out that a friend had showed her how to tie a noose, that she fiddled with it in the library, and then absent-mindedly walked off forgetting all about it. The young lady also informed her readers that she herself was a minority. The girl was reportedly suspended.
If there is a legitimate noose incident put up by some KKK-type, I will be the first to condemn it. It is the last thing our society needs at this time-or any time. We also don't need fake noose stories-either manufactured or sloppily interpreted.
2 comments:
Exactly. You said it much more intelligently and calmly than I was wont to do. (In my own blog, I said basically: "Stop crying 'racism' at the drop of a...non-noose. Shut up and drive. Just like the white guys do.")
I'm with you re condemning racism. But I'm also sick of the "professional race baiters" in media operation since the late '60s. Wallace appears to be a victim of the black media culture he grew up in: trained for a knee-jerk reaction to even PERCEIVED racism---regardless of facts. I'll say it again: If you want to be an integral part of NASCAR, then shut up and drive, just like all of the other drivers do. Stop calling attention to yourself with your made-up victimhood.
The noose was in the garage in 2019 Bubba Wallace was not using the garage at that time the "noose" is a prop to fuel the unrest against historical and military monuments. I believe Wallace about as much as I believe pigs fly ever hear of propaganda? This was a prop to keep promoting propaganda to fuel riots, vandalism, and other crimes such as the burning of businesses and to keep race relations alive. Like one would see in a well-orchestrated effort to inflame racial tensions justify unlawful behavior and promote the undermining of the foundations of our country. If Bubba is so fearful then maybe he should return to the land of his ancestors and start a NASCAR type racing over there.
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