EDGEWATER -- I was watching the coverage on the news about the recent tragic death of race driver Dan Wheldon thinking how ghoulish a society we’ve become. Yes, we all are stunned and saddened when these horrible things happen but we, also, demand faster cars in the races, more tricks during airplane shows and other such things that eventually lead to someone dying trying to entertain us.
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Courtesy photos / Defending Indianapolis 500 champion Dan Wheldon was killed Oct. 16 in the 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He was 33 and left behind his wife and two small children.
Wheldon died from injuries shortly after a collision at the on 16 October 2011, at the age of 33.
Then I recalled when I was about 12 my Mom and Dad’s best friend was a stock car racer(yes, I’m that old). His daughter was my age and parents decided we were old enough to attend a race. The people in the stands were at first grumbling about how boring the races were that night because there were no crashes. I was appalled at even my tender age to think that was all they came to see, not the skill of the drivers or the souped up cars.
After the first crash of the night, we kids mostly didn’t watch the races for fear we might see her dad crash and maybe get killed. So the ghoulishness has been going on for many years and is just ramped up with new technology.
Frankly, I think any person in such a dangerous profession like race car driving has no right to stay in it when he has a wife and kids. Now two more babies are without a dad and for what? How do you tell them he died unnecessarily? Yes, Wheldon loved the sport and his job but it can’t be worth leaving your family alone. Surely he could have found something else to do to make a living and live to enjoy watching his sons grow up.
Frankly, I think any person in such a dangerous profession like race car driving has no right to stay in it when he has a wife and kids. Now two more babies are without a dad and for what? How do you tell them he died unnecessarily? Yes, Wheldon loved the sport and his job but it can’t be worth leaving your family alone. Surely he could have found something else to do to make a living and live to enjoy watching his sons grow up.
I assume partly he thought it would never happen to him. Isn’t that how we all feel? If the demand for these sports wasn’t there would the races persist? I think not.
I have friends who never miss a race, camp out on the field tailgating and socializing with other fans. They would miss racing but I bet they would find something else to get excited about like spending time with their kids, maybe? We need to reassess our priorities.
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