Posted on 01/06/2007 5:47:26 AM PST by indcons
"Wrong place at the wrong time."
Who knew the wrong place to be on New Year's Eve was at a party welcoming in the new year? Who knew the wrong time to be murdered was now – when people are so callous about death that it's almost as if we're asking the victim, "Just what did you do to get yourself murdered?"
There are many words to describe the senseless killing of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams. Unfortunate. Heartbreaking. Sad. But here's the one word we can't use in describing such a death: Unexpected.
Over the past 12 months, three NFL players have been shot, and in the past couple weeks, police discovered one NFL player, Bears defensive lineman Tank Johnson, had enough weapons in his home to mount a terrorist attack. University of Miami lineman Bryan Pata was shot to death at his apartment complex in November. In Denver alone, three notable athletes have been shot since 2003 – Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joey Porter, Denver Nuggets guard Julius Hodge and now, tragically, Williams.
One unavoidable commonality about these episodes of gunplay: all of the athletes are black.
It leads to an inevitable question from all of us, but particularly mainstream America: Why do black athletes often seem to find themselves either holding a gun or staring down the barrel of one?
Real talk for a moment.
Contrary to stodgy opinions, young men have a right to go out. They want to hang with their peers. They want to talk to women. They want to show off a little of their success. Nothing wrong with any of that – as long as they're careful.
Who they're with, what time they're out and what they have is only a small part of the issue. The larger problem here is the one no one is ready to openly discuss.
While America is generally a violent place, no culture in this country glorifies violence more than the African-American community. And consequently, no other racial group is as disproportionately affected by it.
This isn't to say black people invented violence or have a penchant for it. But far too many of us glorify shooting people for revenge, perceived slights or to prove toughness. Two things you almost always see when "MTV Cribs" features a black superstar: a poster of Tony Montana and a poster of the Godfather. Montana and Michael Corleone, though fictional, are considered heroes by young black men everywhere. Montana and Corleone had one thing in common: both killed people to gain respect.
BET, the same network that saw fit to cut its nightly news program, has a new show called "American Gangster," which "chronicles the life and times of some of Black America's most notorious crime figures." It's explained that the program has a strong moral component and doesn't seek to glorify violence, but on BET's Web site the show is promoted by showing Ving Rhames, the king of cool, in slick gangster apparel – as if he were promoting a music video, not a show about violent criminals.
And sure enough, right beneath Rhames' promo ad, a BET dot.commer says, "Young, black males will look at this [show] as an inspiration."
Now, criminal biographies appear on The History Channel all the time, but the difference is that violence is often marketed to blacks in a way that makes it appear more sexy and daring.
Black men constantly receive the message that they can't make it in life through using legitimate means, and the only way they gain society's respect is through the street game.
This is the mentality black athletes greet when they go to the club. A recent Public Library of Science Medicine study shows black men living in urban America have the shortest life expectancy of any other racial group in the country. The life expectancy of a black man in Cleveland is closer to that of West Africans than the average white American. So wearing a jersey every Sunday doesn't protect you from anything.
Of course, movies and songs don't make people kill people, but they can influence the way people think and live.
But ultimately, if we want to see fewer black athletes as victims of violence, African-Americans must stop worshiping at the altar of their own demise.
Jemele Hill, a Page 2 columnist and writer for ESPN the Magazine, can be reached at jemeleespn@gmail.com.
Take any crime statistic -- murder, robbery, rape, # of arrests, # of prisoners -- and subtract the minority contribution to those statistics, and we're no worse than any other country.
There are more blacks in prison than in college. Three-fourths of all prisoners are minorities. I'm getting tired of this generalized "America" bashing.
"I agree strongly with the marriage statement, but who spends New Year's eve at home with their kids?"
My husband and I did.
Well said. I wonder if that would fit on his tombstone.
You're blaming the victim because his choices didn't meet your personal standards [or mine either, for that matter]. He had a perfect right to be where he was and to expect personal safety while he was there.
I thought maybe Rush Limbaugh wrote this before ESPN fired him for Talking politics on a Sportschannel
Excellent point
Unfortunately this is far from a black problem only, it's a now a spiritual, cultural, moral and ethnic problem that is effecting all segments of society, some harder than others.
We are only now reaping that whirlwind.
Come on. The focus of New Year's Eve is not traditionally the family. Christmas is.
There are consequences for stupidity.
Pretending to be some bad-assed gangbanger will probably get you killed.
Why don't these jackasses just play football?
"If Williams had married the mother of his two children and been at home celebrating the New Year as head of his family in Denver -- instead of keeping them at arm's length in Fort Worth -- Williams would be alive today. Period."
Blaming the victim gets tiresome fast.
Of course, movies and songs don't make people kill people, but they can influence the way people think and live.
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Art imitates life. The music, movies, posters, books and magazines glorifying the "hip hop" lifestyle are describing an aspect of life that exists independent of that description. This is fact, not fantasy. if we want to see fewer black athletes as victims of violence, the victims and perpetrators must make decisions that will result in different outcomes. To accomplish this, all people must worship at the alter of their Lord and Savior, not at the alter of the Almighty dollar.
Okay, but how do you go about dragging a culture into the repair shop for an overhaul?
More sadly the role model for the average black youth is the hip-hop gangsta look, walk, personna.... and the sports paraphernalia of their 'gangsta hero sports star'.
How about some other role images to aspire to.... step up black leaders.
Read this Denver Post interview with Williams. It is amazing, the drastically lowered expectations that the MSM has for these athletes.
Are you kidding me. Some of the best times we had as a family was the kids were growing up was new years eve, replaying all the events of the past year, good and bad with the family and giving thanks to God we had a good year and pray for another.
...and yes even the kids got to sip a glass of wine at midnight to celebrate
"Okay, but how do you go about dragging a culture into the repair shop for an overhaul?"
The blacks have to do it themselves. It can't be forced on them from the outside. A generation of positive leaders has to come in and replace the racebaiting low lives who pass for black leaders today.
Hey, it's like they say, "Follow the money".
I think that PC keeps Americans from talking about it. I don't know who the author of this article is, but I'll bet he/she's black, because a caucasian is risking their career by even writing an article like this. Whitey isn't allowed an opinion, and black "leaders" are just in it to shake whitey down. The problem with the black community (and America in general) is that there are no real leaders, just short-timers out to make a quick buck.
Unofrtunately this kind of truth-telling can only be done by a black person.
"Come on. The focus of New Year's Eve is not traditionally the family. Christmas is."
So preferring to stay home with my husband and kids on new years eve makes me a non-traditionalist? Or we could look at it another way, I'm a mom and a wife and my family comes first. I don't like being out on the road with drunk drivers, I don't like hanging around drunks (new years eve tradition is getting drunk, right?). Ever been in a room with people drinking and you're the only sober one? I have health issues so I don't drink at all. My husband stopped drinking when we had children. Just our life choice.
I call it being a responsible grown up.
Exactly. The problem is continuing the culture of tribalism. In Africa it's Hutu v. Tutsi. In the US it's Blood v. Crip.
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