Whither Racing?

a racing flag

I used to have a friend, he came out to me in 1987, he was the first (semi-) openly gay person I knew (although not, it turned out, the first gay person I knew, since later a couple of people I knew in high school came out).  He has nothing to do with racing, which is the theme of thing week's Self Help Radio, but as I thought about racing just now, having to write this blog entry, I thought about racing flags, like the one pictured above, & I remembered how this friend once told me & my buddy Joe (who also knew he was gay), he told us this:

"I don't like the word flag.  I don't know why."

My friend Joe started laughing & said, "It's because it sounds like fag!  You don't like being called fag!"

My gay friend said thoughtfully bit his lower lip, "No, that's not it."

But try as he might, he couldn't put his finger on his aversion to that word.

People become friends because they have something in common, & I did have a lot in common with my friend, & one of those things - which, even though I haven't spoken to him in years, I would bet is true - is that we both never attended any sort of race.  Not any track & field-type competition, not a car race, not even a horse race.

What!?  I live in Lexington, Kentucky, & I haven't gone to a horse race?!?  It's true.  Something about the "sport" makes me uncomfortable.  Actually, a lot of things.  I've spoken with people who work in the field & they assure me that (they always say "in their experience") the horses are treated with respect & love, but then there are articles like this one: "The Ugly Truth About Horse Racing," which have a journalistic objectivity that those invested in the horse racing world can't really have.

It makes it hard for me to actually motivate to go see a race - even if I could probably walk to the nearest track from my house.  I became vegetarian because I didn't want animals to have to die for my survival; I'd hate to enjoy the brutal treatment of animals for entertainment.

Nevertheless - without celebrating or going into specifics - Self Help Radio tomorrow morning will be about racing in general.  It's on from 7 to 9am on the 88.1 fm frequency if you're in Lexington, & online at wrfl dot fm.  (& you don't have to race to a radio or computer to hear it if it's on too early - I'll put it up on my website later in the day, promise!