My Kerry bumper sticker at the Bristol NASCAR race

[auburngrad82]

My significant other and I went to the NASCAR Busch series race in Bristol, TN this week and we had an interesting experience with the parking lot personnel. First, it's the first NASCAR race I've been to in 20 years and we only went because her company sponsors Kyle Petty's car.

That being said, when we were in line to leave the parking lot the attendants saw my Kerry sticker and told me that if I didn't remove the sticker then I would not be allowed to leave until everyone else was gone. I said fine, I'll just sit here AT THE FRONT OF THE LINE AND BLOCK IN THE 5000 CARS BEHIND ME. I sat there for about 3-4 minutes while they had their backs to me and then I said screw it and drove around them.

I'm going to e-mail the management of the lot, Bristol Motor Speedway, and NASCAR and let them know that because I chose to exercise my freedom of speech rights, their little redneck attendants chose to hold up several thousand vehicles that were trying to get home, many of whom I'm sure are Bush supporters.

Oh, and when I got home I put two new stickers on my truck. One says "Stop Mad Cowboy Disease" and the other says "If you're not outraged you aren't paying attention."

Let there be no doubt who I support.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. You were darned right to do that

and I hope you follow up with the letters. The only thing I would have done differently would be to get the names of the idiots who did that so I could name names.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

2. Way to stand up for youself!

:yourock:

[unblock]

3. bizarre, not allowing you to LEAVE

you would think they would WANT you to leave.

anyway, preventing someone from leaving for no good reason constitutes an illegal arrest or detainment.

[Guaranteed]

20. Yup, pretty damned illegal. nt

[coalition_unwilling]

31. I'd be consulting a lawyer to file a lawsuit

NASCAR has "deep pockets". Make 'em fork over for violating your civil rights. Certainly seems like a prima facie torts case.

Any attorneys on DU care to comment?

[democrank]

4. Glad you took a stand.

Don`t cower. That`s what these thugs expect of us.

[luaneryder]

5. I live in Mountain City

and am aware of the mindset you have experienced. They took your moey and let you IN the raceway, but wouldn't let you out; DUH! I would have done the same as you and drove around the idiots (only I would have never gone in the first place). I can't take any more of the tiny mind set and backassward atitudes and am selling my house. I also saw one of the MADCowboy stickers on the road the other day; gave them a thumbs up.

[cynatnite]

6. Would love to see one of those here in Kingsport

Wouldn't it be nice. I've seen three Kerry/Edwards stickers out of probably a dozen shrub/dick ones. We've came pretty close to moving a couple of times and it may still happen with some of the bass ackwards attitudes around here.

Cyn

[ChipperbackDemocrat]

8. Way To Trade Some Paint, Son!!!!

Rubbin is Racin' and you rubbed 'em good!

The average NASCAR fan is white, southern, working class and sure as hell not in the top 1% of incomes.

The average NASCAR fan most likely lives in some of the poorest states in the Union per capita.

The children of the average NASCAR fan goes to a school whos funding is among the lowest in the Union per capita.

Most of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Garage is supporting President Bush, yet the fans of every car in that garage have been hurt by his policies.

Why people vote against their economic interest never ceases to amaze me.

[no name no slogan]

27. You gotta read "What's the Matter With Kansas"

Great book on the subject on what you exactly described.

Fed up with the "loose morals" of Hollywood's "liberal elite"? Vote GOP, give them a tax cut! Angry about "wimmens libbers" murdering innocent fetuses? Vote Republican, and send your job to China instead!

The socially conservative working-class voter has been sold a bill of goods by the Wall Street conservatives. Unfortunately, the Democrats have been slow to fight back, especially on economic matters. Instead, we've bought into the corpo-friendly agenda of the DLC, which leaves little difference between our party and the GOP.

And when the economics are nearly identical, all that's left is the social issues. And that's where the Repubs have done their greatest work.

It's still not too late for us, but we have to start uniting behind populist economic policies: restrictions on "Free Trade" agreements, a mandatory living wage, health care for ALL, REAL laws against anticompetitiveness, and no more tax cuts for the rich.

When this party returns to an economic program geared to Main Street instead of Wall Street, we'll start winning elections by margins too great to steal.

[Racenut20]

7. But, as irritating as that was You still saw a GREAT race !!!!!

Anytime you don't need those Bristol tickets, Cup or Busch race, just let me know. LOL

[LiberalVoice]

9. Wow that pisses me off.

I would have done what you did. Althought I probably would have been a much bigger smart ass about it and give them a nice big Fuck You as I drove away.

[Shopaholic]

11. Call the media in Bristol and let them know what happened to you

someone has to want to cover this story!

[girl gone mad]

10. I can't believe that happened..

I would have called 911, but I'm just an average sized female.

[MaineDem]

12. The track will deny it - notify the sponsors

I can hear them now.

NASCAR is very concerned with image. I'd blast this off to their PR people, to the track's PR, to whichever network carried the race! I wouldn't even mention at first which candidate was involved, just the fact that it was a political sticker that caused all this.

I assume you didn't get this person's name? Any witnesses? Did you happen to take his picture?

I know the management at New Hampshire. I'd be on the phone to them on your behalf immediately if this had happened there. They work very hard to make sure their employees treat the "guests" properly. (They gave them the Disney training - no joke.)

Sponsors! Make sure you get this out to the sponsors. It's their money that funds this. They don't want this int he media.

This is totally unacceptable. I hope you pursue it.


Edited for typo and to add the sponsors. Make sure you notify all the sponsors, including Nextel!

[auburngrad82]

13. My letter to Bristol Motor Speedway, NASCAR, Food City, etc

I just wanted to make you aware of some problems that we experienced when trying to leave after Friday night's race. As I was waiting in line to exit Lot C (next to the church north of the track) I was stopped by the young men that were directing traffic out of the parking lot. I was told that if I didn't remove the John Kerry sticker from my bumper that they would not allow me to leave. Keep in mind that there were several thousand people waiting in line BEHIND me to exit as well and I am sure that many of them were Bush supporters. I refused to remove the bumper sticker and the young men turned their backs on me and I eventually got tired of waiting and drove around them.

I have been going to NASCAR events for about 20 years and support many of the companies that sponsor NASCAR races and cars. We were at the race as guests of Georgia Pacific who, as I am sure you are aware, sponsors the Petty Racing Team car of Kyle Petty. This was a very negative experience for us and I have decided that I do not need to support NASCAR and/or their sponsors any more if they treat their fans this way.

It is every American's right to voice their opinions. When people associated with your organization attempt to bully or coerce paying fans in order to silence them then you are violating a basic American freedom, that of Freedom of Speech. These actions are historically associated more with dictatorships and military states than with democracies. I am very disappointed in Bristol, Bristol Motor Speedway, and NASCAR. The heart and soul of NASCAR are the fans. The events of this weekend has soured my family and we will no longer consider ourselves NASCAR fans.

[tandot]

14. great letter, auburngrad82

Maybe you should send a similar letter to your local newspaper and inform the media about what happened.

They are all Fascist a**holes :mad:

[auburngrad82]

15. I sent it to the Bristol newspaper as well as

Bristol Chamber of Commerce, and Tricity Chamber of Commerce

[WoodrowFan]

24. nice letter

very nice letter. please let us know how they respond.

[wackywill]

16. The parking lot attendants

can be glad I wasn't driving. I would have run OVER the assholes. I've noticed in the past that people usually move out of the way of an accelerating vehicle.

[auburngrad82]

17. They WERE doing the "Boot Scootin' Boogie" as I drove by

I drove around them but they were moving quite fast to get out of the way. I have a Dodge Ram extended cab and it's big enough that in close quarters you make damn sure you aren't in the way.

[lectrobyte]

18. Dodge Ram? That explains it then, they were offended by

the display of female "private part" symbolism. Especially on a pick-em truck.

http://www.columbia.edu/~gwo2001/dodge.html

But seriously, I always thought the Tri-Cities were a bit friendlier than that.

[progressivebydesign]

21. Too bad you don't have a friendly law firm to CC: that letter to

just to shake those morons up a bit.

[mmonk]

19. You're right to take a stand

against the madness. They can't really justify their actions and really call themselves Americans or patriots. Everyone who acts in this manner needs to be called un-American to their face and an enemy of the constitution.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

22. Redneck Nazis Strike Again!

:puke:

[lectrobyte]

23. Way too harsh. We ain't all Nazis, or even Republicans for that matter...

[auburngrad82]

25. I've received a couple replies

I've received replies from Food City, who sponsored the race, and from the Bristol Chamber of Commerce. They both forwarded the e-mail to Bristol Motor Speedway, so now they have three e-mails from me and haven't replied yet.

On a funny note, before the race started they played two Springsteen songs ("Born in the USA", of course) and one John Mellencamp song. I guess they haven't heard that the Boss and the Cougar are dissin' the prez.

[drdigi420]

26. what do you expect from ppl that are entertained

by a bunch of rednecks driving around in a circle

I prefer racing that involves turns in BOTH directions, placing the drivers' skill as a factor in the outcome

[lectrobyte]

28. Well, I expect folks to be polite and reasonably civil, be it

"rednecks" or whatever, downtown NYC, Paris France, or Bristol by-God Va. As a former resident of the Tri-City area, I expected better of my hometown area, especially folks in the "entertainment" business. I still don't get why everyone in a relatively poor part of the country are such rabid Republicans (I spent like an hour arguing with my "redneck" brother in law after ask why he was supporting Bush when the Repubs are doing everything they can to cut his overtime pay that he depends on to make ends meet).

[auburngrad82]

35. It's the message

The republicans have been very good at disenfranchising lower middle class white people with their message. They believe everything they hear and the republican party will tell them anything for the votes.

If they just stopped and thought for a minute about what the republicans have actually done to make their lives better, or thought about the contradictions behind supporting someone like the governator (pro choice, pro gay-rights) then they might wise up.

The Democratic party needs to come together and educate America about our history and our platforms. People need to know that WE do tax cuts too, but ours are aimed at normal people rather than the rich. They need to know that we are not against religion but against turning the government into a religious state. They need to know that we are serious about defense and fighting terrorism. Most people don't know (or believe) that a homeland security bill was placed before congress in January 2001 and the republican congress killed it.

We need to quit defending ourselves and educating potential voters. I'm sure we'd hear a lot of comments like "I didn't know that".

That's what we should be aiming for.

[Catherine Vincent]

29. Unbelievable!

You should have ran over their stupid asses (just kidding). But good luck with the email to the management, they probably won't do much. They're more than likely * supporters. Good luck!

[Killarney]

30. I would go nuts

call the management of the company, call every media outlet in your area (TV, print, etc) and get this story out to show how weasley these people are. Hopefully the little fuck will get fired.

[noamnety]

32. I would have just sat there

And called 911 to report a hostage situation. Them holding you somewhere against your will until their demands are met technically makes you a hostage, right?

That would have been pretty interesting once the police showed up.

Maybe you can still file charges, even though you took evasive action and escaped. :)

[girl gone mad]

33. You should e-mail Keith Olbermann.

He covers these kind of stories on Countdown. I've seen him interview a man who was kicked off of a plane for wearing an anti-Bush shirt (he was a republican), and a person who was harrassed by the FBI or Secret Service for being a potential protestor.

Also, if his producers contact NASCAR, I'll bet you'll get an apology real quickly.

[auburngrad82]

37. I just e-mailed him

Let's see if it gets picked up.

[theHandpuppet]

34. What is it about NASCAR?

I was in line at the county courthouse this morning, dutifully waiting to pay my personal property taxes, when I casually noted a guy also in line sporting full NASCAR fashion: a cap emblazoned with the number "3" and a Dale Earnhardt shirt, cowboy boots.

Didn't think much about it until I left the courthouse and headed back to my car, when I espied what must have been this guy's SUV parked outside: a Dale Earnhardt license plate, an American flag fluttering from either side of the vehicle, and a bumper sticker on the rear wondow which read, "Union Worker for BUSH". (What union worker in his or her right mind would be a Bush supporter??!!!)

The irony is this guy's GOPmobile was parked right outside the local Kerry/Edwards campaign office. I made sure to stop inside, make an extra donation in honor of the Dale fan, and picked up an extra bumper sticker of my own.

What the hell is it with NASCAR? Does it poison people's minds or what?

[auburngrad82]

36. Another response

Bristol Motor Speedway replied that they are not associated with the parking lot next to their stadium. I did send an e-mail to the owners of the lot and replied to BMS to let them know who owned the lot.

[auburngrad82]

38. A response from Bristol Motor Speedway

BMS originally said that since the lot was not owned by BMS they couldn't do anything about it. They have replied a second time and say they know the owner of the lot and will discuss the situation with him.

Still no reply from the lot owner or management.