Recent news from F1 concerning the upcoming Grand Prix race in Las Vegas sounded like an article from the Onion. The area where the cars are stored, worked on and (sometimes) impounded will not be referred to as the paddock.
If you’re familiar with auto racing you’ve probably heard the term before. It’s borrowed from the equestrian world and refers to the area normal spectators like you and I aren’t allowed to go. But why on earth would Las Vegas want to avoid using this term?
Turns out paddock is not a little-known sex act (my first guess). The truth is a bit more macabre.
Unfortunately, the scumbag that shot and killed hundreds of concert goers in 2017 was named Stephen Paddock. So now there are people in Las Vegas who are under the impression the facility constructed for the race teams (aka the Paddock Building) was named for this worthless bag of skin. Seriously?
If anything deserves to be remembered from that tragic event it’s the victims.
I don’t want to see any reminder of the son of a bitch who committed this heinous act. Erase him. Forget him. Do not allow him to have another minute of airtime. The fact his last name happens to be a noun is unfortunate. I guess we should be glad his last name wasn’t Straight, or Track, or Pitts.
Sometimes renaming innocuous things in the name of sensitivity just attracts more attention. Going out of our way to avoid using a simple word allows this bastard to continue to harass us—from beyond the grave. And that’s just not right.
Agree 100%