Living with Dud

And other adventures on the SCCA sidewalk of life

We'll call him Dud. If you are a member of the Sports Car Club of America, you've met him. He is a composite, a conglomeration, a mixture, a pile. Dud belongs to the species racerus arrogantus imbecilis and he represents all that is ugly/vain/stupid about the SCCA, which means that Dud is a very large composite/conglomeration/mixture/pile. You can't swing a bent connecting rod without hitting a Dud at most SCCA events. There's Dud the arrogant driver, Dud the lordly steward, Dud the angry registration bureaucrat, Dud the power hungry corner captain, Dud the rules twister. Duds to the left of us, Duds to the right, Duds everywhere.

Or maybe they just seem to be everywhere. Maybe their diseased personalities reek so pervasively that we mistake the odor as the norm. Maybe we think that because the stench from their putrefying intellects is so overwhelming that it must define everything.

Not true, of course. It has been my pleasure to meet hundreds of good people in SCCA. The non-Duds. They are the people who are there to ensure a safe event, to have fun, and to help their fellow member have fun. They show good judgement, they do a good job and when someone does make a mistake, they clean up the mess without recriminations. They treat you decently because that's just how they are. The good people predominate in SCCA.

But good gawd we have a lot of Duds, or at least enough of them to pollute the SCCA landscape with their toxic, wanker attitudes. I liken then to dog piles on life's sidewalk. We have to be very careful where we step.

How to meet Dud

If you haven't met Dud -- which means you are very new to the SCCA -- here are a few ways to do it.

Express an opinion counter to Dud's. Because Duds were born omnipotent and all knowing, they have little truck with someone foolish enough to disagree with them. They are mystified that anyone could be so stupid as to not see the righteousness of their proclamations. But just because they don't understand doesn't mean they aren't quick acting. If there is a Dud lurking about, you will soon find out.

Be the messenger of bad news. Bad news, in this instance, is anything Dud doesn't agree with, or perhaps notice of a Dud mistake. Because your opinions are by definition stupid, and because Duds do not make mistakes, they will quickly descend upon you to set you straight.

Ask the SCCA leadership to justify an action. This will bring Duds to your location from every conceivable direction. Many (but not all) of the SCCA's leaders are Duds and most Duds aspire to be leaders if they aren't already. Dud's are superior beings and need not stoop to communication with the unwashed, so merely asking for an explanation will identify you as a non-Dud and, therefore, the enemy.

Be rational in your thought processes. You can do this, but only if your end result is Dud approved. If it isn't, if your rationality causes you to disagree or be the bearer of bad news, look for a Dud to quickly loom over your life.

Defend yourself if attacked. Duds go on the offensive at the least provocation. And they stick together. Defend yourself against one of their assaults, poke holes in their strategy, or show the world their stupid and/or unethical behavior, and other Duds in the vicinity will rally to the cause. Which is to beat you down and into submission.

Refuse to knuckle under. If you don't quickly learn both your lesson and your place in Dud's universe, expect never ending waves of Dud assaults. Dud will never forgive you. He will always be lurking, waiting for the moment to strike.

Now, that's only a small list of the ways you can meet Dud. There are many more. But even in that small group you can see a pattern emerging that sets the non-Dud apart. It's called individuality. Duds abhor the individual and they fear the nonconformist. Rigid conformity is Dud's best friend. It makes his world seem safe and warm and predictable. The contrary idea spoken by an individual with a backbone absolutely terrifies Dud because it lets a little of the outside world shine into his moldy environment. He will fly into fits of rage. He will plot and sputter. And then he will come for you.

Dud's weapon of choice

Dud will use whatever SCCA power he has, or thinks he has, to make your life miserable. He'll jerk you around at registration or hassle you in the tech barn. But his primary weapon is the ad hominem assault based on distortion, information manipulation and outright lying.

Because he can seldom win by relying on the facts, Dud is quick to abandon reality for more familiar turf. Dud insults you and takes what you say out of context. He will provoke you with vile conduct and when you respond he will conveniently forget his own behavior and complain loudly about yours. He will seize upon any small flaw in your argument, enlarge it to Biblical proportions and use it as absolute proof of your unfitness to live. He spreads malicious gossip, tells lies and bullies. He enlists other Duds in the assault and when they pile on he proclaims that what he says must be true, because there are others saying the same thing. Before long you will discover that you are the cause of polio, killed JonBenet, wrecked the Exxon Valdez and designed the Edsel.

Can the Dud infestation be eradicated?

Duds infest SCCA like rats on a New York wharf. They permeate the very fabric of SCCA life. You will find them primarily in positions of authority because that gives them another weapon in their personal wars on reality. Getting rid of them is next to impossible because they are determined, they are many and they are fanatical in their devotion to themselves.

It would take a concerted effort by the good people to expunge them and that is unlikely to happen. Most of the good people just don't take SCCA that seriously. SCCA is only a part of their lives, not the be-all and end-all obsession it is with many Duds. The good people don't require power in SCCA to validate their existence. They're comfortable enough with who they are and don't need to live in an alternative universe.

So the good people go about their lives, being careful where they step when they venture onto SCCA's sidewalk. That's good, because once you get Dud on the bottom of your shoe, it's hell to get him off. And the stink will drive you crazy.

Intro        Board of Directors         How does the BoD get away with such behavior?     
    The SCCA Dud          Questions the BoD will not answer     Does the BoD really have anything to hide?

SCCA Essays