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January 21, 2005
Jade's Blog Bugs Some
Jade Gurss, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s public relations person, has his own blog. When I first heard about Jade's blog I figured it would just be mostly Junior related entries. But it is much more than that. Jade is none to thrilled with the war in Iraq or the current administration and he does not hesitate to make his opinions known on those topics. Anyone who knows me knows how much I like people who aren't afraid to express their opinions even if some people don't like what they have to say. So in spite of the fact that I'm not particularly a fan of Junior, I read Jade's blog all the time, especially since he is an excellent writer.
If anyone is familiar with the typical Nascar demographic one might know that most Nascar fans have conservative beliefs and are most likely to be Republicans. So not surprisingly, Jade's blog entires that are critical of the situation in Iraq or the President do not get a good reception with a lot of people. Now I have no problem with people disagreeing with Jade in relation to his opinions, even strongly, but what's amazing to me is that based on some of the comments, some people feel that Jade should stop writing what he wants to write about in his own personal blog because he has opinions that are different than most of his readers. That bothers me. This is Jade's personal blog and therefore he should have the right to blog about whatever he wants.
I've discussed here before that I don't understand why some feel so offended by opinions that are different from their own. I just can't wrap my mind around why some people are so intolerant and close-minded that they can't even bare to read opinions that they disagree with. Personally I like to read different viewpoints and opinions. I may not agree with everything that is said but it gets me to think. Jade's blog is often very thought provoking and I think that is a very good thing.
What's even scarier though is the impression that I get that some feel that since Jade's opinions are in the minority, at least as far as the Nascar community goes, he should shut his mouth. Well, just because someone has an unpopular opinion or are in the minority about how they feel, doesn't mean that they don't have the right to express those opinions. Being part of the majority doesn't always make one right. When it comes to opinions everyone should be able to state how they feel without fear of taking heat for it as Jade is now.
There is no question that most people who came over to Jade's blog, at least initially, did so because they were fans of Dale, Jr. So some of those people feel misled because the blog isn't all Junior or all racing all the time. Well, it's the off-season so there isn't always going to be something related to racing or Junior for Jade to blog about. Not only that but I suspect that part of Jade's goal might be to try and expose some people to some new ideas that they might otherwise not read about if not for his blog. That is also a good thing.
What's funny to me are the people who think that Jade would get no hits to his blog if not for his status as Junior's PR person. No doubt that helps get him a lot of traffic but a well-written blog will have readers even if it's written by a nobody. If I can get hits on my blog and I have no connections to anyone of importance than so can anyone else. But the idea that because everyone is Junior or race fans so Jade should cater to those people and what they want to read about is ridiculous. Jade should be writing about what he wants to write about and what he feels is appropriate, regardless of what his audience wants.
I've got to give Jade a lot of credit for speaking his mind. Regardless of who he might be or who he might be connected to it takes some courage to take a stand on issues related to politics. I think that is especially true when the majority of people in Nascar most likely have opinions that are so different from his. I hope he continues to blog about controversial topics no matter how much it might bother some.
Posted by silverdsl at January 21, 2005 08:02 PM