Originally Posted by
smootness
Part of the reason this took off as quickly as it did is because it played into the stereotypes people have of NASCAR, its fans, and the south in general. It was too easy for a whole lot of people to believe it happened; I would venture so far as to say that there are plenty of people who wanted it to be true so they could dogpile. That is a problem. I don't have an issue with what the media did until it was proven false. Now you have many continuing to say things like, 'It was a noose, and even if it wasn't directed at Bubba Wallace, it is a problem.' Based on what we now know, it really isn't a problem.
There is no doubt there are people on the other side who are just as bad or even worse, who either do have serious prejudice (we all have some level of prejudice) or at the very least want for people to go too far so they can point and laugh. They are too quick to dismiss any incident as being a hoax or inconsequential.
Both are bad, and both should be called out. If there had been a noose in Bubba Wallace's garage, it would be despicable and my guess is that at least 80% of people would be disgusted by it. The fact that I can't confidently say a higher % is a problem. But since there wasn't, everyone should agree that it was nothing and either apologize or at least move on. My guess is there are at most 80% of people willing to do that, and the fact that that number isn't higher is a problem.