The last racist on the planet

I have often said that if you look for racism or sexism you will find it. The noose in the garage of NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace at Talladega proves my point.

The FBI sent a team to investigate and discovered it was simply a pulldown rope that was long and had been fashioned into a noose at the end, which was used as a handle to open the garage door. It had been that way since last year, long before the garage assignments for the last race.

However, the initial discovery sent shockwaves throughout the mainstream media which seems intent on proving that systemic racism exists in this country despite a civil war, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution; the Civil Rights Acts of 1866, 1870, 1871, 1875, 1957, 1960, 1964, 1968 and 1991; the Voting Rights Acts of 1965, and the amendments in 1970, 1975 and 1982; the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987; the Fair Housing Act Amendments of 1988; the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and the Voting Rights Act of 2006.

Though imperfect, no country on earth has done more than ours to create equal opportunity and justice for all. It should be a source of pride for all Americans. That is why this country is one of the most desirable places to live in all the world. That is why so many immigrate here, legally and illegally.

I do not know Darrell "Bubba" Wallace, Jr. I'm quite sure he is a nice person and a great representative of Richard Petty Motorsports. It has been many years since I have covered NASCAR, but I have the distinction of being the first woman admitted to the garage and pit areas of NASCAR, which had been a male bastion.

Once admitted, I found the people in NASCAR to be among the nicest and most accepting of all the sports I was privileged to cover.

Recently, Wallace led a campaign to ban the use of the Confederate battle flag on anything at NASCAR events. The stars and bars as it was called had long been a symbol of the South. It was a part of many state flags in the region and was displayed at NASCAR events, thought to be a fitting symbol for a sport that was Southern grown. As someone who grew up near Atlanta I can tell you that, to many, it stood for all that is good about that region.

Surveys in 2015 and 2000 showed that the majority of Americans thought the flag to be a symbol of Southern pride rather than racism, 57% and 59% respectively. However, in survey results from only the South, 75% of whites thought it represented pride, while 75% of blacks thought it represented racism. In short, it represents many things to many people, but it is just a symbol and design. What thinking person would willingly offend another over a design on a piece of cloth?

It would surprise most people today to learn that only a very small percentage of soldiers who fought and died in the Civil War owned slaves, though slavery and its economic impact on the South certainly had much to do with it. Nevertheless, the young men who fought that war were told it was about states' rights, just as many who have becoming willing pawns for the leftist group Black Lives Matter were told it is about equal justice.

It is curious that this whole summer of demonstrations and rioting stemmed from the tragic death of George Floyd at the hands of a veteran police officer. I’ve not met or heard of anyone who thought that the officer who caused his death should not be prosecuted. There was no debate about that. Unfortunately bad things happen. That's why we need the police.

Most police officers are kind, decent, selfless people and they deserve our support. Bad cops exist, but I haven’t heard anything from the mainstream media, which has become a tool of the left, talk about the reason they do. Police unions, in most cases, won't allow them to be fired and the Democratic Party is in bed with the unions.

Try as we may, we will never rid the earth of discrimination. However, those who discriminate are little people, who, lacking any real accomplishments, want to feel superior to someone else. They are little people and should be ignored.

Meanwhile, the rest of us need to get on with life, go back to work and love our neighbors.