Sean Taylor RIP

[SD_Eagle5]

Article made some good points about how fast people are to make assumptions, but the writer comes off sounding like he's just trying to make excuses when he gets to the paragraph about the machete.

[Rome]

eugene robinson is one of the most respected and best op ed writers in the country...do you have to agree with him definitely not...but to attack his piece as hyperbole and claptrap shows that he hit a nerve and perhaps some self evaluation is going on here and thats a good thing

LOL

Could you be more condescending?

[reese125]

Article made some good points about how fast people are to make assumptions, but the writer comes off sounding like he's just trying to make excuses when he gets to the paragraph about the machete.

Christ. The machete thing is getting blown out of proportion anyway. Its irrelevant to him being a targeted victim.  Alot of people have weapons under the mattress, under the bed, in the closet whatever for protection. So, because his was bigger than the avg Emeril steak knife, theres reason to believe theres more to the story?

[ice grillin you]

Article made some good points about how fast people are to make assumptions, but the writer comes off sounding like he's just trying to make excuses when he gets to the paragraph about the machete.

well measured honest response

i agree with cole about the machete tho...im not even sure machete is the proper term for what it was....but even so whats the big deal...he had a weapon in his own bedroom to protect himself...i mean if he had had a gun would that have been different?

[phattymatty]

3 people detained

http://www.miamiherald.com/1246/story/326903.html

[phattymatty]

David Aldridge, one of the best I've seen so far...

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/david_aldridge/20071129_David_Aldridge_____Time_to_stop_all_the_dying.html

[rjs246]

Great article. Obviously I'm quoting the part I most agree with, but the reason this article is so good is because it present both sides passionately and ties them together:

I'm angry that people cry about Sean Taylor's death because he was an outstanding football player, as if his death has extra meaning because he had great closing speed. This is not about sports.

We have buried 200 Sean Taylors in this city this year. We don't know what would have come of their dreams and hopes. They deserve our tears, too, for they may have been anonymous to you, but they weren't to their mothers and fathers, their best friends and lovers, their teachers and mentors.

I'm angry that, as of 2004, according to the Centers for Disease Control, homicide is the No. 1 cause of death among black men ages of 15 to 34. I'm angry that the Justice Policy Institute found more black men in prison than in college.

I'm angry that young brothers who like school and want to learn are accused of "acting white," and have to make the awful choice of sticking with their education or sticking with their boys. It happened to me when I was 5. I've never gotten over it. How does one mend a heart broken by those who look most like him?

I'm tired of nodding in agreement as I did yesterday when Brian Westbrook talked about how he has to be extra careful these days, because he knows that, all-pro or not, he's a target when he steps off the field, and his celebrity provides no shield.

"I feel as though everybody's vulnerable, to a certain extent," he said. "You have to watch the company that you keep. You have to watch the situations that you put yourself in. . . . You can't put yourself in a situation where your friends are doing dirt or bad things, and then you hang around those people. 'Cause at some point, karma catches up with you."

Absolutely terrible headline, though. Stop all the dying!

[Rome]

That's a Pulitzer Prize caliber column right there.  Seriously.

[ice grillin you]

yeah i read that yesterday and again its all true but it glosses over the main problem and that is the squalor that a huge % of blacks have to live in

these kids didnt go to murder sean taylor they went to steal

everybody gotta eat

in only a few small cases do people murder just to murder...and its these cases where i have no sympathy for the killer...if someone accidentily bumps into you or looks at your girl and you kill them thats one thing...but for the most part these violent crimes take place because these people have neither money or hope

in the end its not enough to say lift yourselves up this has to stop...it doesnt work that way...you think someone living in a rat infested home with no money to eat and limited to no job opportunities who wasnt given a fair chance at an education cares about a let rise up brothers call....rise up and do what?...its a neat and correct idea but its lacks logic and realism

[paco]

well youre beyond any help...but perhaps it will cause some people to rethink their thought processes in certain times...

No, sir.  You are obviously the pigheaded racist beyond any help.

Sean Taylor wasn't a victim of the socioeconomic/racial divide.  He was a winner - one of the lucky ones.  He took the road through prep school into a major college program.  He was drafted #5 and was making millions and millions of dollars.  He had a long-time girl and a baby, which he loved.

Unfortunately for him, he was also a dimwit.  He put himself and his family in jeopardy by not taking the proper precautions to protect his house after a break-in.   Forget any of his other run-ins with the law or on-field lack of sportsmanship.  He made a fatal mistake.

I mean... seriously...  The guy spends a whole paragraph justifying the machete under Taylor's bed.  That should have been clue enough to anyone that it's a fluff piece written by a master of rhetoric.

In summary:

Sean Taylor:  When keeping it real goes wrong.

As for the part I bolded, I was talking to my buddy who is a skins fan and brought up that exact point... how his inaction put his family in danger.  His response, a sarcastic "Yeah, he definatly deserved to die".  I slammed my head on the desk pretty hard after that.

[ice grillin you]

i slam my head into my desk when people go looking to blame a guy who just died for not protecting his family...why even go there...i dont see any reason to do it period but cant you at least wait till hes in the ground before trying to disparage him

why is it even a discussion?

"you stupid dead guy what were you thinking"...why not instead say "damn i wish he had a gun in there or had turned on his alarm and hed still be alive...instead its "what farging idiot he put his damn family in danger"

why?

[phattymatty]

i agree with this.  if he has a gun people call him a thug.  if he doesn't than he's not doing enough.  there's no point in arguing about it.

[rjs246]

There's a difference between brandishing a gun to resolve a dispute about a car and keeping one in your bedroom to protect your family.

EDIT: Sean Taylor was on probation, so owning a gun was not an option. Understood. My point remains the same outside of this discussion. Owning a gun does not make one a thug. What you do with that gun is the determining factor.

As far as this goes...

in the end its not enough to say lift yourselves up this has to stop...it doesnt work that way...you think someone living in a rat infested home with no money to eat and limited to no job opportunities who wasnt given a fair chance at an education cares about a let rise up brothers call....rise up and do what?...its a neat and correct idea but its lacks logic and realism

You're effectively removing ALL blame from the people who commit these crimes and removing all blame for anything that comes from making poor decisions. And no matter how much you huff and puff and about it, you'll never convince me that that is a valid way of looking at things.

Refusing to assign blame and responsibility for people's actions is absolutely ridiculous and shows a detachment from reality that is hard to fathom.

[ice grillin you]

i agree with this.  if he has a gun people call him a thug.  if he doesn't than he's not doing enough.  there's no point in arguing about it.

right not just that but has anyone thought that perhaps he didnt have a gun cause it would have violated his probation...in which case he was making an honest effort to turn his life around...

personally if my house gets robbed a week before and i have general concerns for my safety im not having a gun in there...at the same time im not gonna go around and scream at how taylor is a dumg farging thug who put his families life on the line...like you say is he a thug or is he not?...shtein andy garcia released a statement calling taylor a hero for protecting his niece...thats good enough for me

altho we could start ripping taylors girlfriend for being in a house without a gun and an alarm turned on...how she wasnt protecting her child...stupid bitch

[ice grillin you]

You're effectively removing ALL blame from the people who commit these crimes and removing all blame for anything that comes from making poor decisions. And no matter how much you huff and puff and about it, you'll never convince me that that is a valid way of looking at things.

Refusing to assign blame and responsibility for people's actions is absolutely ridiculous and shows a detachment from reality that is hard to fathom.

i blame anyone who kills or hurts another person...im just sick and tired of wealthy people sitting at their laptops sipping a brandy telling all these other people what to do...as if david aldridge has any idea what its like to live in the ghetto...i want to fix all the killing and make a better life for the bottom run of society not run around blaming them...

show me an individual crime and sure ill blame someone...the punk who killed st should go to jail for a long time...but as i said this is all much bigger than that