Friday, November 2, 2012

Lamenting Motorsports – Part 2

Glenn Burke played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics during the late 1970’s... (Source: gaygamesblog.blogspot.com)
So, after all it is the Twenty-first Century right?

Hence after laying dormant for two months originally in thee all consuming NoFenderz Wormhole Vortex galaxy, the bright white Aurora ‘Gaytastica finally manages to break free of that nebulous black hole...

DATELINE: Seattle, 2011
Upon watching a documentary on August 17th (the encore presentation) upon an ex-MLB player named Glen Burke who was basically ‘Outed (Ostracized) from playing this professional sport for openly displaying his Gayness...

Thus, I felt compelled to finish scribbling what I’d begun as the fourth part of my Lamenting Motorsports Trilogy, now having decided to move it into the number two batting slot - as I’m overly dismayed at the thoughts of four states: Maine, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington ALL having 2012 ballot initiatives to repeal Gay Rights, most audaciously the premise to allow Gay Marriages; Oh My Freakin’ Gawd!!! We DON’T want that do we? BE AFRAID! BE VERY VERY AFRAID!

Upon this naivety over what’s still a Taboo subject today, right? As at least two current NFL players have the ‘Kuhunas to not only talk about the subject but SUPPORT Gay Rights!


And thus, in a different lifetime, when I was still a fastidious reader & longtime subscriber to Sports Car International, (which was a BRILLIANT Magazine back in the day! Along with my subscriptions to F1 Racing and Racecar Engineering...) I recall reading a story about a potential Formula One Gay racecar driver – whom I’ve forgotten the name of, upon having given the magazine to my friend Marco, who’d asked me if there were any Gay drivers in F1? To which I really wish I could remember who F1 Racing or Sports Car International; as HELL! I cannot even recall which of these two wonderful magazines it was? (Although I’m leaning towards SCI...)

Yet ‘Juan of them wrote about this dashing figure, who I think was from the 1960’s, as I even recall the article saying he was married ‘Way-back in the early ‘90’s when I read the article - as trying to ‘Goggle this proved virtually Fruitless, albeit I did pull up an interesting link described as the Ricky Bobby treatment...


Yet, since refining my search keywords I ran across the following answer for a lone openly gay F1 driver – reputedly being a one Mr. Mike Beuttler who died from AIDS related complications in 1988. While I won’t mention a past champagne drinking Gran  Primo Piloto whose named “popped-up!” Or some silly gossip about another applying suntan lotion to one of his male buddies...

And my thoughts upon the subject were further flamed whilst reading the New York Times Saturday profile upon Russia’s openly Homophobic bashing, explicitly one lone voice in the Siberian wilderness named Nikolai Alekseyev being openly crusaded...


But back to the aforementioned Messer Burke who I’d never ever heard of before, who at a somewhat slightish six foot-plus (6’ 0-2”) inches and 200lbs frame could dunk a basketball when standing flatfooted double handed underneath the rim of said hoop! And was expected to eventually make his way into the NBA, yet chose to play in the B-I-G leagues, nee Major League Baseball instead. Having first been signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers before being traded to the cross-town rivals, the Oakland A’s before ultimately being ousted from MLB due to his sexual preferences...


Thus, I can only ask; why is the United States so openly Homophobic? As does it really matter who marries who?

Masked Men Attack Crowd at a Gay Bar in Moscow


Thus, in the immortal words of Rodney King;
“Can’t We ALL Get Along?”

Or in the words of U2 Front man...

‘Bono:
Am I buggin’ You Man?
I DON’T mean to bug you man
Ok Edge; Play the Blues!
(U2: Silver & Gold; Rattle and Hum, 1988)

To continue reading, see; Lamenting Motorsports – Part 3