Kaufman: Some Want Noose Stories to be True

The pundits didn’t care. They couldn’t lose the political edge. The second wave of reactions was extremely irksome. Like the recent Oakland noose hoax CNN also fell for, they desperately wanted the Wallace story to be true. 

“No noose is good news” is a common refrain I‘ve recently read and heard, but does everyone agree? I do, and you probably do, but do Al Sharpton, Jemele Hill or the ESPN blowhards?

I was on the road last week and didn’t follow the ephemeral Bubba Wallace drama, yet received a chorus of texts from people saying “Can you believe this?” No, I couldn’t. It seemed odd, because access to NASCAR garage areas is restricted; hate crime claims are almost never true; and despite what progressives think, this is not 1876, 1926 or 1956.

So as the story played out, using experience guided by intelligence, I assumed there was no noose and was relieved to confirm that assumption

However this was not the reaction from many media quarters. They clearly were disappointed, since they want to believe this kind of “racism” is ubiquitous in 2020 America. Psychological studies also show certain brains are programmed to believe concepts like “systemic racism” or lynchings are as common as a century ago. We call it confirmation bias.

Authorities thoroughly investigated the report of a noose allegedly found in the garage of Wallace, a supporter of Black Lives Matter. The Department of Justice and 15 FBI agents descended on the scene. 

A day later, both organizations thankfully discovered the “noose” was an innocuous rope — hanging since October 2019, before it was Wallace’s garage — used to pull down the door.

The entire ordeal was handled perfectly. With #IStandWithBubba painted on the infield, NASCAR drivers showed their support by pushing Wallace’s car to the front of the field at Alabama’s Talladega Speedway. Any sane person — black or white — was pleased. The NBA and NFL, constantly caught in racial debacles, should take note.

The pundits didn’t care. They couldn’t lose the political edge. The second wave of reactions was extremely irksome. Like the recent Oakland noose hoax CNN also fell for, they desperately wanted the Wallace story to be true. 

Yahoo Sports, which in recent years has become as left-leaning and virtue signaling as ESPN, kept their (fictional) lead article up for almost 48 hours, then spent two more days “unpacking” the story — as if it’s complicated.

Hill ignored facts and played the race card as expected, saying the not-noose was “a disgusting reminder of who this sport is for.” She added “It. Was. A. Noose. They just don’t believe it was directed at Bubba Wallace.” Love the one-word sentences, Jemele.

NBC, which has its own ongoing duplicity on racial issues, brought in Sharpton, an expert in racial hoaxes and hucksterism (was Jussie Smollett unavailable?), to discuss “hate crimes”. 

“Even if they did not know that Bubba Wallace was going to use that stall, why was a noose in the stall?” Sharpton said. “Clearly, from what we just saw from Bubba Wallace, it does not seem he, who is the victim and possible target in this matter, seems to be satisfied with this.”

Despite what many muse, Wallace is not guiltless. Rather than thanking magnanimous drivers, fans and NASCAR’s due diligence, he fanned the flames by indulging CNN’s Don Lemon.

I didn’t dare search, but I hope fatuous blockhead Lebron James — he of his own racial hoaxes — avoided chiming in.

Meanwhile, the New York Times was busy concocting its own misinformation campaign. Rep. Cheney has questions. Let’s cut the crap and get answers to more serious matters this week. 

 

A.J. Kaufman

A.J. Kaufman is an Alpha News columnist. His work has appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Florida Sun-Sentinel, Indianapolis Star, Israel National News, Orange County Register, St. Cloud Times, Star-Tribune, and across AIM Media Midwest and the Internet. Kaufman previously worked as a school teacher and military historian.