Avoiding the Real Issue

I took last week off from writing because I had two subjects that I wanted to write about and couldn't decide between the two.  So, come Sunday night as I watched my national pastime, football, the halftime political commentary, that's right political commentary, gave me another topic to write about.  Although I am not up in arms as most people that heard what went on, I did view it as irresponsible commentary by a media icon, and the platform that he used was wildly inappropriate.

NBC sports host Bob Costas took the small time he had at halftime to speak about a tragic murder-suicide the previous day that involved NFL player Javon Belcher.  Costas went on to paraphrase sports columnist Jason Whitlock, who stated that if there were stricter gun control laws the murder-suicide would have never happened.  A truly naive opinion, but that is what it needs to be chalked up too, just an opinion.  But in his expression on his opinion last Sunday night and in the subsequent days, Costas and in part Whitlock did not really talk about the issue, just the ending.

To say that Belcher would not have killed the mother of his child, Kasandra Perkins had he not had a gun is simply just not true. Bob Costas should know better as he was a colleague of O.J. Simpson, and we all know how he handled his domestic situation with his ex-wife.  If Belcher was truly in that place that people who kill go, then it did not matter what he had access to, it was going to happen.

It's easy to claim that because Belcher was a football player he was a violent man.  It's also easy to say that since he was playing such a violent sport that he had developed a distorted sense of reality from concussions.  It's even easier to call Belcher a coward for his actions.  But the issue isn't what he used to kill Ms. Perkins but what led to him committing such a heinous act.  Now if Costas wanted to talk about an issue, why had he not chosen to talk about the domestic violence deaths that we have seen over the years?

This was a domestic dispute that went tragic, as many domestic disputes go.  Belcher had been drinking the night before and Ms. Perkins had come home late and argument had ensued.  Apparently, Belcher had been having troubles professionally, personally, financially and most importantly emotionally.  Belcher was hurt and did not know how to deal with it.  So Belcher did it the only way he knew how.  Kevin Powell of CNN put it perfectly in his article about the issue "when men behave in this manner, it also says, bluntly, that the life of a woman is of no value whatsoever".

I am not going to speculate what happened or what even caused it but I am going to say that Costas was out of line.  If he had done his homework in cases like these he would have found that domestic violence cases that end in death don't normally end by the gun.  He would have also found that men normally choke their significant others in these types of cases, some even run their significant other over with their car.  In Costas' colleagues case a knife was used.  Also, where was Costas' outrage on the bow and arrow killings in Casper, Wyoming the day before the Belcher-Perkins incident?

I am a true believer in speaking out in something you truly believe in, for me its term limits in the U.S. Congress and Senate.  But I am not about to say that if there were term limits in Washington the country would not be in the mess we are in.  Because I am not that naive.  Costas came out and said that he did not have enough time and his message did not resonate correctly.  Well, then I truly doubt that Costas did not know the time limits he had and may have been plugging for his hour long show that was on a few days later. Either way Costas and Whitlock viewed the end result as the issue and once again the true issue has been avoided again. 

Domestic violence needs to continue to be addressed and needs to be educated to the young men and women of this country, especially the young men.  It is not ok to take your transgressions out on a woman, period.  It is not "manning" up by hurting a woman when she has hurt your feelings.  It is appropriate to talk to someone about it before you go out and do something completely stupid.

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife