[lbo-talk] Race Fans & War

[John Thornton]

Hopefully the US Grand Prix held in Indy in June will be a little 
different. Since it is an international event, more so than the 500, I 
guess there is a chance. I do not recall pro-war prayers last year. There 
was a prayer but it was of the "keep everyone safe and lets hope it ends 
soon" nature. I could have done without it but it was no more offensive 
than any christian prayer to me. The US GP held the last weekend in Sept. 
just weeks after 9/11 was a little different. Literally thousands of 
anti-Saddam t-shirts being offered for sale by local street vendors, many 
with offensive racist cartoon images and slogans but to the credit of the 
people who came to see the race none were sold that I ever saw and nobody 
wore one either. The street vendors appeared to have just as many of their 
vile t-shirt and hats at the end of the event as they did at the beginning. 
I like to think they lost money buying that crap with the hopes that people 
would flock to buy them. It didn't happen. It was disappointing to see that 
crap on sale but heartening to see that there seemed to be no market for 
it. I'll be disappointed to see to many overt pro-war attire being worn but 
The events seem to attract slightly different crowds or else they temper 
their nationalistic, racist tendencies when they have a greater number of 
guests from overseas.

John Thornton


>Went to the Indy 500 on Sun, first time in 22 years (I'm an Indy native), 
>and enjoyed the spectacle for the 20 laps I saw before the rain fell and 
>tornado warnings were issued. (The race resumed about an hour after we 
>left, and turned out to be the most competitive one in ages.) What I did 
>not enjoy was the mass nativism and pro-war hollering that took place, 
>egged on by some minister who gave a pro-war prayer before the green flag 
>was waved. There were countless t-shirts that celebrated US firepower & 
>chauvinism, eagles & missiles & fighter jets set against the Towers in 
>flames. Ugly, busy designs (like black velvet paintings of Elvis), and 
>they were everywhere. When a quartet of fighter jets flew over the track, 
>animal-like screams filled the air and receded when Jessica Simpson began 
>singing the Anthem, only to rise again once she reached, "Oh say does that 
>Star Spangled . . .". It was nerve-shattering, a perfect horrorshow all 
>'round, and I trust indicative of how many "mainstream" Americans feel. 
>Even the poverty-racked neighborhood we parked in near the track had 
>pro-Bush bumperstickers and pro-war signs and flags in the yards. Mostly 
>white poor, with some Mexican families mixed in. Run-down houses with 
>cardboard in broken windows, countless children running around while 
>heavily-tatooed shirtless men drank beer and smoked weed in the driveways. 
>I don't know if any of these people plan to vote, but I didn't get the 
>impression that if they do, it'll be Kerry.
>
>DP
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