Sean Taylor's death a grim reminder for us all (weapon, suspect, crime)

[ArizonaBear]

Fox Sports article (broken link)

There's a reason I call them the Black KKK. The pain, the fear and the destruction are all the same.
Someone who loved Sean Taylor is crying right now. The life they knew has been destroyed, an 18-month-old baby lost her father, and, if you're a black man living in America, you've been reminded once again that your life is in constant jeopardy of violent death.

Jason Whitlock article

[spunky1]

That was definately a well-written and thought provoking article however I think his reference to a "black KKK" is inflammatory.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by spunky1

That was definately a well-written and thought provoking article however I think his reference to a "black KKK" is inflammatory.

I suspect that was Whitlock's intention. It certainly caught my attention.

[Berkshires413]

Originally Posted by spunky1

That was definately a well-written and thought provoking article however I think his reference to a "black KKK" is inflammatory.

But, c'mon... let's be real.... Bill O'Reilly has said things equally inflammatory... and you probably kept on painting your toenails as you were watching.

And as far as this unfortunate story of Sean Taylor goes - all I can say is that is obviously tragic.

But....this ain't Joe Namath's NFL anymore - where a bad night meant waking up with an empty bottle of Wild Turkey and a blonde who's name you didn't catch at the autograph signing the night before.

According to a segment I saw on ESPN, many professional athletes carry... or own a gun for personal protection. Which, hey, I have no problem with... but it surely is a sign of the times...

ESPN - OTL: Athletes and Guns - ESPN

[ayannaaaliyah]

This is a tragic ending to another young life. Jason needs to sit down somewhere, even though some of the things he says I agree with, he just "goes a bit to far".

Obviously Sean was young but not one that was mixed up in crime or socializing with the wrong crowd. If that was the case, then more than likely he would have been in possession of a weapon to protect himself, his family and his home. Because his only form of protection was a machete, then I would venture to say that he was on the path to becoming a "man".
He wasn't hanging out at strip clubs parading around with a "crew" of friends. So I think it is unfair for the media to focus on his few shortcomings that occured when he was still on a path to realizing his dreams.

I do hope that they catch the punks that committed this senseless crime. I have a feeling that they were just as scared and never came face to face with Sean, otherwise the home would have been robbed and the girlfriend would have probably been shot too.

[johndoeboy]

The NFL is strict, they dont let players have guns at now time. That is sad because if he had a gun when they broke in he could have shot back.

[spunky1]

Originally Posted by ayannaaaliyah

Obviously Sean was young but not one that was mixed up in crime or socializing with the wrong crowd.

Actually he was still on probation from an assault charge in 2006. I think the article is factual if somewhat hard to take.

[saganista]

Like many in the NFL, Taylor was a quasi-thug. The game itself is based on violence, aggression, and intimidation. Once you reach the professional level at that sort of thing, what sort of crowd do you expect to have hanging around? By many accounts, Taylor had turned something of a corner since the birth of his child and was cleaning up his act. All well and good, but I believe Mike Tyson had a few such moments of revelation as well. The circumstances here do make this an entirely senseless and tragic event regardless of who was victimized by it, but the effort (quite noticeable here in the DC area) to turn him into some sort of icon for a great guy martyred is a bit of a stretch at best...

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by saganista

Like many in the NFL, Taylor was a quasi-thug. The game itself is based on violence, aggression, and intimidation. Once you reach the professional level at that sort of thing, what sort of crowd do you expect to have hanging around? By many accounts, Taylor had turned something of a corner since the birth of his child and was cleaning up his act. All well and good, but I believe Mike Tyson had a few such moments of revelation as well. The circumstances here do make this an entirely senseless and tragic event regardless of who was victimized by it, but the effort (quite noticeable here in the DC area) to turn him into some sort of icon for a great guy martyred is a bit of a stretch at best...

Tyson is past age 40 and still has yet to turn his life around-----he got busted here in Arizona a few months ago and had to serve a day in Joe's jail.

[Moth]

Mr Whitlock better hope that the killer does not turn out to be white or Latino.