Guys. I am infuriated and appalled and disgusted. The other day was the Daytona 500, a race I don’t generally watch, but which my husband did for years. He was a *huge* NASCAR fan when we first met, and he couldn’t understand why I typically had a book out. Circles, dude. They go in circles. Unless you’re invested in the individual racers – which I wasn’t – it can be SUPER boring. I know there are a bazillion people who disagree with me, and please don’t @ me – I’m thrilled that people have a thing they love, but…it’s just not something I do.
ANYWAY. What got me so upset is that, at the end of the race, there was a HORRIFIC crash. Ryan Newman’s car hit the wall, flipped, was hit by another car on his driver side, and crossed the finish line upside down and on fire. Like I said, I’m not typically a NASCAR watcher, but…it looked bad. *Really* bad. So, as with so many others – I scrolled through social media, trying to find out if he was going to be ok. I knew he had a family, and was devastated for them – I cannot imagine what it must be like to be a racer’s wife. I could not do it. I couldn’t.
As I was scrolling, I started seeing something AWFUL in my twitter feed. People who were saying that this happened because of a “Trump curse” and that it was his fault that Newman crashed, and so on. Here’s the thing – I *detest* Trump with every fiber of my being, the horrible way he’s treated people is completely unacceptable to me. Stiffing contractors, making fun of people, blocking aid that got people *killed* – nope. Can’t stand him or the policies he pushes. But here’s the *other* thing – anyone claiming that he had some responsibility for that accident? IS AN ASSHOLE. I may not like the guy or what he stands for, but putting the blame for this crash on his shoulders is ridiculous and ALSO unacceptable. If I wouldn’t tolerate it from him, I’m sure as hell not going to tolerate it from anyone else.
Is this really what we’ve become? Yes, I saw so many others trying to uplift his family, and asking for thoughts and prayers. But in what world is it ok to level this accusation on ANYONE? And don’t lay out the “that’s what democrats do” BS on me, either – I *am* a democrat. I, and so many others, stand on the platform that hate is not ok, whether it’s coming from the White House, or over the interwebs. And of course, I got crap from a few people (NOT dems) for saying something about it – it was Trump fans, actually. Which was…weird. There was one gentleman, though – his profile is a MAGA 2020 hat, so…there’s that – who tweeted this to me:
Thank you, sir. May more of us find this spirit in our hearts over the coming months, and realize that we truly ARE more alike than we are different.
Also: As I was typing this, a brief statement was given that Newman is in critical condition, but that the doctors don’t expect any of his injuries to be life-threatening. For him, for his family and his crew, for his friends and ALL his loved ones – I am thankful. I wish him well in his recovery.
Share this:
Still More Words 