Barry Jive wrote:it's real shitty that "dead guy shoulda known better" is the first reaction from people anytime anything bad happens, is all

Bill McNeal wrote:I think what surprises me so much about this whole thing is that so many people have such strong opinions one way or the other. I've seen the video and, while I don't know anything about car racing, dirt track racing etc., I just don't see how you draw any sort of conclusion from that video. It happens in a split second, Ward runs out on the track, the first car sort of avoids him, and then Ward moves towards his intended target, Stewart, in the turn and all hell breaks loose. Stewart may have done something knowingly and intentionally to make his car hit Ward, or he could have tried to spray mud on him, or he got spooked because some dude was running at him while he's racing and gunned his engine, or probably thousands of other things could have happened that led to Ward getting hit.

td11 wrote:imo, absolutely nothing is "cut and dry" about this situation

Bill McNeal wrote:I think what surprises me so much about this whole thing is that so many people have such strong opinions one way or the other. I've seen the video and, while I don't know anything about car racing, dirt track racing etc., I just don't see how you draw any sort of conclusion from that video. It happens in a split second, Ward runs out on the track, the first car sort of avoids him, and then Ward moves towards his intended target, Stewart, in the turn and all hell breaks loose. Stewart may have done something knowingly and intentionally to make his car hit Ward, or he could have tried to spray mud on him, or he got spooked because some dude was running at him while he's racing and gunned his engine, or probably thousands of other things could have happened that led to Ward getting hit.

td11 wrote:imo, absolutely nothing is "cut and dry" about this situation

Youseff wrote:I watched the video once and thought he swerved to hit him. You are an idiot if you think that betrays any political ideology.

Youseff wrote:I watched the video once and thought he swerved to hit him. You are an idiot if you think that betrays any political ideology.

jerseyhoya wrote:

Youseff wrote:I watched the video once and thought he swerved to hit him. You are an idiot if you think that betrays any political ideology.

"hope he goes to jail for at least a decade. he won't cause he has lots of money, though."

I dunno. There's a case to be made that your post is a bit ideological-ish.

And I didn't say ideology was definitely acting as a lens through which people were judging Stewart's guilt or innocence. It was just a weird pattern I noticed. So I posted about it, and threw out a few reasons why it may be the case.

phillychuck wrote:

Youseff wrote:I watched the video once and thought he swerved to hit him. You are an idiot if you think that betrays any political ideology.

Is your opinion "strong" in the sense that you feel compelled to defend why your impression is undoubtedly correct? If not, I think your reaction is completely apolitical. I watched it once and my primary reaction was shock. I really didn't think much about who to blame, except that it did cross my mind that the kid should have stayed in his car, that leaving it was pretty risky. I was thinking along those lines not to fix blame, but to see how the tragedy might have been avoided.

momadance wrote:I find it fascinating that on a sports board people have made a judgement based on one video, on a dark track, recorded from the grandstands. Yet, we need to see almost every single high-def close up angle on an instant replay to make a judgement on at the plate or on the goal line.

td11 wrote:

momadance wrote:I find it fascinating that on a sports board people have made a judgement based on one video, on a dark track, recorded from the grandstands. Yet, we need to see almost every single high-def close up angle on an instant replay to make a judgement on at the plate or on the goal line.

i'm sure people would be poring over all available HD replay angles of this tragedy if they were available...

BigEd76 wrote:If Dale Jr or Jimmie Johnson had done it, there wouldn't be as big of an outrage. It's because of Stewart's on- and off-track history that fans immediately assume he did it on purpose

Youseff wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:

Youseff wrote:I watched the video once and thought he swerved to hit him. You are an idiot if you think that betrays any political ideology.

"hope he goes to jail for at least a decade. he won't cause he has lots of money, though."

I dunno. There's a case to be made that your post is a bit ideological-ish.

And I didn't say ideology was definitely acting as a lens through which people were judging Stewart's guilt or innocence. It was just a weird pattern I noticed. So I posted about it, and threw out a few reasons why it may be the case.

fair

phillychuck wrote:

Youseff wrote:I watched the video once and thought he swerved to hit him. You are an idiot if you think that betrays any political ideology.

Is your opinion "strong" in the sense that you feel compelled to defend why your impression is undoubtedly correct? If not, I think your reaction is completely apolitical. I watched it once and my primary reaction was shock. I really didn't think much about who to blame, except that it did cross my mind that the kid should have stayed in his car, that leaving it was pretty risky. I was thinking along those lines not to fix blame, but to see how the tragedy might have been avoided.

nah I was scratching the sleep out of my eyes, lounging on a Saturday morning and typed my first impression. I haven't watched the video again, and hopefully I can avoid it. I've probably watched a thousand or more sports plays where my initial, strong reaction was proven wrong by the replays. there's more than a decent probability that could be the case here too.

Barry Jive wrote:it's real #$!&@ that "dead guy shoulda known better" is the first reaction from people anytime anything bad happens, is all

SK790 wrote:Next time you see someone who has crossed the street at a poor time just run em over. They Shoulda known better.