radioguy

so this weekend, a black guy qualifies for a nascar event for the first time in 20 years and a girl dunks a basketball for the first time ever in the NCAA tournament. these two stories are all over espn and other news outlets. now my question is: why is it such a big deal?

to me, pointing out an individual that's different (either sex or race) that did something that other people have already done seems kinda assinine to me. it makes me think that those people are different and that they finally did something great. i am a white male, so i can't identify with the possible race or sex relationships that can be involved in an achievement like this. i just think that if everybody is trying to treat everyone the same, why would this be such a big deal? i guess i'm just confused...

Elphaba

I don't understand how a person's skin color makes a difference either. Tiger Woods would be an example of that irrelevance in golf. Women achieving a physical skill in a sport dominated by men does strike me as a different kettle of fish. Biologically and physically there is a great difference between men and women (duh), with the physical advantage ordinarily given to men. Women successfully competing against men in a physical sport is worthy of notice in my opinion.

djtestudo

The NASCAR thing is an "important" achievement because that is a sport with a reputation of being very southern and "good-ole-boy"-esque, so a black man qualifying for a race for the first time in a long time is notable in that sense.

The girl dunking is more important because of what was already mentioned: the basic physical differences between the genders.

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Rodney

Like djtestudo said... as far as NASCAR is concerned, it's a cultural milestone. NASCAR has been about as southern/white/good-old-boy as any nationally-known sporting league could be; many of the early NASCAR drivers got their start running moonshine in hopped-up cars, trying to stay ahead of the law. It really was how big-time stock-car racing got started.

There was a black driver 20 or so years ago; don't remember his name, but they did a movie about him. NASCAR heroes like Richard Petty _did not want him there._ But he had a career in NASCAR. After he left, nobody else black tried it for a while, because it was still pretty hard for a black man to get established; they weren't particularly welcome, couldn't get the sponsors, etc.

That's the real significance. Not that it's a special achievement for the black guy, but that it's one of two things that the news isn't overly saying:

1) Either NASCAR has calmed down on the race thing, and that's laudable; or
2) NASCAR hasn't calmed down on the racism, and a black guy is once again trying to make a place for himself in a southern white cultural bastion, which means he has a set of big ones; or
3) Some of 1 and some of 2; maybe there's more acceptance of minorities now, but it's still not that easy.

Racism is alive and well throughout this country, in some areas and institutions more than others. It's comforting to thing otherwise, but not true.

lurkette

Dammit, had a nice reply all typed out and now I don't feel like making it all pretty again.

The gist:
Stories like this only serve to reify the differences that exist. By making a big deal out of these "milestones" they're just highlighting the existing inequalities, and painting these anecdotes as "progress" instead of directing our attention to institutional structures that tend to keep these differences in place.

Now quick, hit "enter" before the cat walks across the keyboard again

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squirrelyburt

It's too bad people, and the media, feel they need to exploit the difference in race, sex or creed. Abilities and the person are what matter.

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ncgti

Part of what NASCAR is doing is trying to reach out to the black audience. I believe that their attendance numbers are starting to go down, so they see this as an opportunity to go after an untapped demographic that has not been attending races.

I'm in the automotive performance business and Bill Lester is impressive in front of the press. If I had the money I would sponsor him - hands down, no questions asked.!!

Poppinjay

If you're thinking about Wendell Scott, that's not entirely true. Richard Petty and some other big names frequently helped Scott out with tires and factory parts on the down low.

To be sure, there were some people who absolutely did not want him as a part of NASCAR, but most of the brass, and some of the other teams, the Jarret team in particular, were supportive. For those who weren't he usually threatened to kick their asses. He was not frequently taken up on that offer.

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The_Jazz

I think that this (NASCAR) is one of those one of those stories designed to make us pat ourselves on the back. There's obviously a long way to go, but it's a step in the right direction.

As far as the dunk goes, it's sort of like Sergei Bubka's resetting the pole vault record over 20' in 1991 or 1992. He'd done it in practice and everone knew that it was only a matter of time until he did it for real. That doesn't make it anymore impressive. You could also equate it to Joan Benoit winning the marathon at the 84 Games in LA - some woman was going to do it, but it hadn't been done before (ok, not a perfect analogy since she wasn't even the first woman to dunk in a game for TN).

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nukeu666

everyone needs some spice in life once in a while...and these 'firsts' are a good way to give it to the public

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MikeSty

*shrug*

What really has been nagging me is all of the attention given to the boy with "autism" who came into a high school hoops game and played like mad. IMHO, the kid probably had the talent all along. Maybe his autism isn't as crippling as everyone wants it to be.

analog

The big deal is extraordinary accomplishments. People like to recognize those who break barriers normally untouched by those in their field. A black NASCAR driver, or a female who dunks a basketball, are milestones no one else- at least not for a very long time- has reached.

Put it this way: you've got the "most points in a single game" record for basketball, that a basketball fan can surely recite to you- if that record was broken, you're damn sure gonna here about it. Same thing with most yards thrown/received/run in football, or best batting/pitching in baseball... they all have established caps that no one seems to be able to break... but then sometimes someone does, and that's news.

This is no different- they're accomplishments in areas where the line of accomplishments has now been pushed back a bit.

ash

in some aspects i agree with making milestones, its great and everyone loves them for it, i think its the media getting you to talk about sex and race issues for cheap. it cost them nothing for the story and all they wanted is to beat the issue into the ground by airing it all day just to get you to talk about it.

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dlish

can anyone tell me which white man has scored the most points in an nba game? just curious..cos i doubt it'd make the same headlines that these two stories have made if it were ever broken.

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Boo

A quote form a movie called "The Edge":

"What one man can do another can do"

I do not know the originator though.

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Gilda

Pete Maravich, 68.

The reason it wouldn't get news is because it's not a breakthrough achievement. All of the records were held by whites up to the late 50's early 60's, when guys like Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, and Oscar Robertson started getting in regularly. There's no "white barrier" to break in basketball, so it isn't news.

Progress isn't necessarily when you have the first person of group X to do A. That's a milestone, the first step in real progress. Real progress is when people from group X do A so routinely that it's no longer news, such as women astronauts. It's no longer news because there are almost always women on board space shuttle flights.

The two achivements in the OP are news. It's yet to be seen whether they'll be anomalies or signs of things to come. Firsts matter, but they matter far more when they're part of trend, and not a temporary blip.

Gilda

blar

well when steve nash won mvp that did make alot of headlines

in my opinon i think it made more then it usually does because of his race

the media feeds of gender and race issues like those.