This past weekend saw Americans all across the country make peaceful, and very public, displays of protest by kneeling. It was a show of solidarity for NFL whitelisted player Colin Kaepernick, who has used the protest to up the profile of racial inequalities still very much alive in our country. From the very beginning of this protest, the white-supremacist-in-chief Donald Trump has openly bragged about Kaepernick’s inability to receive gainful employment because Donald Trump is not simply a white supremacist, he’s also a fascist who would love nothing more than absolute control over everybody and everything. Coming to Trump’s defense was the announcement over the weekend by “several NASCAR team owners,” that they would fire anyone in their employ who dared peacefully protest during the playing of the National Anthem. White supremacist in chief used his bully pulpit to claim victory.
[Record scratch]
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the son of legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Sr., and comes from a long line of racers. He’s one of the most popular drivers on the circuit.* He had this to say Monday morning.
Not unlike the way our traditional media handles red states versus blue states, it is frequently forgotten that while there may be a lot of politically backward thinkers watching and participating in NASCAR, that does not speak to the millions of NASCAR fans and participants who likely find racism and totalitarianism considerably more abhorrent than men kneeling in protest of injustices. Earnhardt Jr. has been particularly consistent in his criticisms of our current administration, supporting immigrants and immigration as an American ideal back in January when Trump enacted his Muslim Ban.
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*He’s been voted NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver 13 consecutive times.