Jason Whitlock column on Taylor

[BrudLee]

FOX Sports on MSN - NFL - Taylor's death a grim reminder for us all

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...

[MTK]

damn that's a powerful article

[SmootSmack]

Very similar to Deion's points on NFL Network

[BringBackJoeT]

I don't know if someone already posted this today, but below is what the Washington Post said in today's paper on Sean's murder, and their editorial echoes in part what Whitlock said.

washingtonpost.com

[Slingin Sammy 33]

Wow. Jason does a fantastic job articulating what Deion was trying to say on NFLN.

[warriorzpath]

Sorry if anyone shares this guy's viewpoint, but it is ridiculous to use this to compare hip hop to the KKK. And to call KKK the parent organization to the Black KKK, which he uses as a name for hip hop, is offensive.

What the hell is going on? Is Sean Taylor's death, an excuse for self-righteous journalists to state their social opinions on varying subjects? These articles seem to be more about social commentary and less about Sean Taylor.

[wilsowilso]

Originally Posted by warriorzpath

What the hell is going on? Is Sean Taylor's death, an excuse for self-righteous journalists to state their social opinions on varying subjects? These articles seem to be more about social commentary and less about Sean Taylor.

I hope Sean Taylor's death will spark as much social commentary as it can. Seems like many people don't really care about the great social problems of the times that we are living in until something happens close to home and in this case it hits close to home to a large group of people. It's really always been that way and change only happens when enough people say enough.

[warriorzpath]

Originally Posted by wilsowilso

I hope Sean Taylor's death will spark as much social commentary as it can. Seems like many people don't really care about the great social problems of the times that we are living in until something happens close to home and in this case it hits close to home to a large group of people. It's really always been that way and change only happens when enough people say enough.

I actually agree, but some of the stuff coming out of these reporters' mouths are a bit reaching in trying to create a link to Taylor's death.

I get a sense when I hear some of this stuff that Taylor committed a crime or was guilty of something.

[DynamiteRave]

Originally Posted by warriorzpath

Sorry if anyone shares this guy's viewpoint, but it is ridiculous to use this to compare hip hop to the KKK. And to call KKK the parent organization to the Black KKK, which he uses as a name for hip hop, is offensive.

What the hell is going on? Is Sean Taylor's death, an excuse for self-righteous journalists to state their social opinions on varying subjects? These articles seem to be more about social commentary and less about Sean Taylor.

I can understand where the article's coming from. As a Black female, I know that some Black people, especially on the lower socioeconomic ladder love to blame other people for their problems or the problems of the ghetto and crime in general. But all the guy's trying to say is that if we want to change and stop all this violence and negativity, more specifically, Black on Black crime, we can't look to blame and point fingers or wait for it to go away. We have to take action and do something about it.

Makes enough sense to me.

[DynamiteRave]

Originally Posted by warriorzpath

I actually agree, but some of the stuff coming out of these reporters' mouths are a bit reaching in trying to create a link to Taylor's death.

I get a sense when I hear some of this stuff that Taylor committed a crime or was guilty of something.

I don't think they're making him seem guilty at all. I think they're making him look like a victim of a senseless act of violence. And that violence can occur to anyone, rich or poor.

[warriorzpath]

Originally Posted by DynamiteRave

I don't think they're making him seem guilty at all. I think they're making him look like a victim of a senseless act of violence. And that violence can occur to anyone, rich or poor.

Some are suggesting his past, upbringing, and those he associated with - are direct and indirect causes to his death.

[DynamiteRave]

Originally Posted by warriorzpath

Some are suggesting his past, upbringing, and those he associated with - are the blame.

I've read that too. Like he couldn't escape his past and I think they're not giving ST enough credit. He wasn't some hardcore drug dealer or some thug. He ran with the wrong crowd for awhile and made some bad decisions. Every kid does that. He was 24 not 44. Anyone in the media who criticizes him for making stupid juvenile decisions, when he actually WAS a juvenile, is pretty hypocritical cause everyone makes bad decisions sometime in life.

[sportscurmudgeon]

This is not a new message or theme from Jason Whitlock. Examine his body of work and you'll see this thesis running through a lot of it.

And as Matty noted above, it is a powerful piece. Whitlock's columns on this kind of thing always are.

[warriorzpath]

Originally Posted by DynamiteRave

I can understand where the article's coming from. As a Black female, I know that some Black people, especially on the lower socioeconomic ladder love to blame other people for their problems or the problems of the ghetto and crime in general. But all the guy's trying to say is that if we want to change and stop all this violence and negativity, more specifically, Black on Black crime, we can't look to blame and point fingers or wait for it to go away. We have to take action and do something about it.

Makes enough sense to me.

I think that's where I find fault in the article. He lists a lot things wrong with a big part of our society. But where does he list any solutions and ways to deal with all of this? Like the old saying goes - if you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

[dgack]

Just like Deion, what Whitlock is saying may be true, but it doesn't mean it's relevant or appropriate right now.

I read the following post by WaPo's Eugene Robinson on their forums and I thought it summed up my feelings perfectly about 90% of the "analysis" that journalists have been spouting in the wake of Sean's death:

A 24-year-old man, a professional athlete in his prime, is gunned down as his fiance cowers in fear and their young daughter sleeps -- it's hard to imagine a more tragic story. Period. I hope you agree that all who mourn Redskins safety Sean Taylor's passing should resist the temptation to fit what little we really know about his life and death into some kind of familiar narrative about race and pathology.

Asked about Taylor's sudden and awful death, Coach Joe Gibbs said simply that life is fragile. Others have not been so modest, or so wise. They recount Taylor's past "troubles" and try to make him emblematic of Young Black Men in general -- the mean streets, the parasitic friends, the casual violence, the weapons, the beefs, etc., etc. This is argument, not explanation. It's lazy and wrong, and it drives me up the wall.

Do me a favor: If you have to impose an off-the-shelf narrative on Sean Taylor's death, pick something other than the Young Black Men story. How about the Molded into Violence narrative -- the story of how Taylor, like other professional football players (Pat Tillman, for example) was rewarded all his life for the ability to create sudden, explosive havoc on the football field, leaving opponents battered and broken; so why should anyone be surprised that he died a violent death? Or make it into a story about South Florida, where bizarre, brutal crime is almost an art form. Those are bogus narratives, too, but at least they provide a little variety.

Better yet, don't try to make Sean Taylor's life and death into any kind of cautionary tale at all. He was a complicated man. He loved his family, he was a loyal friend, he didn't like talking to the media, he hit as hard as anyone in the National Football League, he doted on his daughter. He had "turned his life around," they say, as if navigating the shoals of career, fatherhood, love and maturity were a simple matter of taking a few GPS readings and heading, um, thataway.

Here's what we know -- at this point, all we can possibly know: Life is fragile. And Sean Taylor was just 24.