D.I. COLUMNIST
Straight Talk
I
am no prude, and I really
do try not to be excessively
judgmental, so when NHRA
Funny Car driver Alexis De-
Joria dropped a couple of F-bombs
during a post-run, live interview on
Fox Sports 1 a few weeks back, I’ll
confess to being a little surprised,
but certainly not offended. Regret-
tably, I’m prone to doing the same
thing myself at times so I’m inclined
to just chalk up DeJoria’s cursing to
a heat-of-the-moment transgression
and assume she’ll try to avoid re-
peating it in the future. Just like I do.
However, I also have to admit to
being more than a little discour-
aged by a steady chorus of fans
who quickly chimed in via Face-
book posts (that great democratizer
of public opinion), declaring that
not only were they not offended but
felt more drivers should do more of
the same. And I know I may come
across to some as just an out-of-
touch curmudgeon, but I couldn’t
help but think their reaction was
just another sad example of the
coarsening of America.
Supporters of DeJoria’s spur-
of-the-moment obscenity—legally
defined as an act, utterance, or item
tending to corrupt the public morals
by its indecency or lewdness—claim
it merely reflects her passion and
her “realness,” as a competitor. That
may be; however, I don’t recall any
of the heroes of the past—the Ed
McCullochs, Connie Kalittas, Shir-
ley Muldowneys and Al Hofmanns
of the sport—the drivers and crew
chiefs held up by these fans as shin-
ing examples of true, tough competi-
tors not afraid to speak their minds,
being known for the swearing they
did while being interviewed in live-
mic situations.
Now I realize that given the
chance most of those legends proba-
bly could swear a blue streak to rival
any grizzled sailor or longshoreman,
but the thing is, they lived and raced
in an era when it was decidedly not
cool to do so on TV, or on the radio,
or over the track’s P.A. system. It just
wasn’t polite, or smart, or acceptable.
Unfortunately, though, cursing and
swearing has practically become the
norm these days. In fact, unless you
deliberately avoid con suming any
newspapers, television
shows, movies, radio,
and without question
the Internet, it’s diffi-
cult to go an entire day
without hearing or see-
ing at least something
that would’ve been con-
sidered questionable, if
not downright offensive, not all
that long ago.
According to a 2006 poll de-
scribed by the L. A. Times, 74 per-
cent of American respondents said
they encountered profanity in pub-
lic “frequently or occasionally,” and
about 66 percent said they thought
people were swearing more than
they did in the mid-1980s. This
remains significant because none
other than famed newspaper colum-
nist Judith “Miss Manners” Martin
explained the long-term problem popular culture, domi-
nated by entertainment
and news media, must
inevitably and invari-
ably evolve simultane-
ously to better represent
the times.
It’s a dynamic ad-
dressed three years ago
by Tracy Grant, then senior editor
for newsroom recruitment and de-
velopment at The Washington Post.
“A decade or two ago, we tried very
hard to avoid using the word ‘hell’ if
we didn’t have to,” he said. “I think
we’ve moved beyond that now. And
five years from now, lord knows
what we’ll be saying.”
It also begs the question; if an
obscenity or profanity becomes so
pervasive to become part of the pop-
culture fabric is it no longer obscene
or profane? In other words, does
stemmed not from the offensive
language itself, but from the fact
people who were offended by it
weren’t speaking up in objection.
“Everybody is pretending they aren’t
shocked,” Martin pointed out, “and
gradually people won’t be shocked.
And then those who want to be of-
fensive will find another way.”
I think we’ve reached the point of
no longer being shocked. We may
still be occasionally offended in 2017,
but can even the most pious among
us truthfully say he or she remains
shocked by foul language? I don’t
believe so. The thing is, we all know
society evolves, attitudes change,
and words—including vulgari-
ties—rise and fall from favor. And DeJoria’s expletive still bear that
kind of linguistic baggage or does
it merely reflect modern sensibili-
ties? And if that’s true, is it people
like me who need to adapt and is
it the fans who encourage similar
outbursts who are merely exhibiting
modern morals? Maybe, but if so,
I still think it’s a sad development.
Along somewhat similar lines
I want to commend the racers—
and perhaps even more so NHRA
management—for stepping up the
competitive fire this year both at
and away from the track. For years
now, fans and media members alike
have been calling for more emotion
and rhetoric beyond niceties and
sponsor plugs from the straightline
racing crowd and this season they’re
finally delivering.
It’s still not quite the WWE, but
the JFR vs. DSR rivalry of the mega-
teams certainly has heated up, the
Pro Stock guys have literally been
fighting in the pits and in the Top
Fuel ranks it’s Leah Pritchett versus
Steve Torrence versus Shawn Lang-
don versus, well, just about everyone
out there. The young lady seems to
have adopted a take-no-prisoners
stance and finally has a machine
under her to back up the attitude. It
all adds up to a much more compel-
ling championship equation.
And whether contrived or not
(sometimes yes, sometimes no, I
suspect), kudos still belong to the
NHRA brass for at least letting
things happen with minimal inter-
ference. Maybe they’ve finally real-
ized like the rest of us, that the cars
are not the stars. Awesome, yes, but
it’s the men and women on the track,
warts and all, that fans relate to and
admire even more.
Finally, I want to officially add
my voice to the heartfelt outpour-
ing of congratulations extended to
Clay Millican upon securing his first
NHRA Top Fuel win after going to
eight previous finals in 253 prior
national events—the longest wait
for victory among currently active
nitro dragster drivers. That it came
in his home state of Tennessee at
Bristol Dragway, and on Father’s
Day, less than two years after los-
ing his 22-year-old son, Dalton, to a
tragic roadside motorcycle accident,
seems as fitting as it was poignant.
I was there to witness and record
Millican’s remarkable IHRA Top
Fuel run from 2000 to 2006, when
he won 51 national events and five
straight championships after finish-
ing second overall in his rookie year.
So for his NHRA winless drought
to extend nearly 10 years came as a
surprise to me, if not to Clay, who al-
ways exemplified the great character
traits of optimism and perseverance,
even when facing unimaginable per-
sonal adversity. It feels good even for
me to know Clay and his team are
officially NHRA winners from here
on out. They deserve all the credit
they receive.
DI DI DI
DI DI DI DI
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54 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
Issue 122
By Ian Tocher