Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Requiem for a bad ass motherfucker


Not knowing Sean Taylor personally, let's forgo the needless examination of his personal life that is part and parcel of the stream of obits we are seeing today. For now, let's remember Taylor for what he was between the lines: namely a fearsome, ball-hawking hit machine that left a swath of crumpled receivers in his wake.

Mahalo, baller.


Image via Bucktown Skins Fan.

82 comments:

Big Daddy Drew said...

RIP - The original meast.

Dachs said...

RIP Meast. Loved him as a Cane, couldn't help but root for him in the pros even though he was a Redskin.

He is survived by his 18-month old daughter, who will grow up never knowing her dad. This sucks.

David said...


He is survived by his 18-month old daughter, who will grow up never knowing her dad. This sucks.


Agreed.

Punch Rockgroin said...

RIP #21

It'll be weird seeing my roomate's black Taylor jersey from now on.

That guy was badass.

Jay said...

For once, Shakespeare got it right:

Goodnight, sweet prince.

ben said...

As a Redskins fan, I am completely distraught at this point.

Dear God, why.

genius said...

This is just terrible.

RIP.

WhiteSpeedReceiver said...

I hope that everything is in order so that his daughter and fiancee will be taken care of. I also hope the piece of shit that did this is a little twitchy when the police catch him.

RIP, Sean.

Unsilent Majority said...

It's not an easy time right now. Sean was my favorite player on my favorite team in my favorite league. His loss will never be forgotten.

brad said...

Couple random thoughts:

1. As a Bills fan, I'm dreading Sunday.

2. He was younger (24) than my younger brother (26). My brother and I are tight. I can only imagine what his friends are family are going through.

RIP, Sean.

iamsofaking said...

This sucks.

Unknown said...

He kept a machete under his bed for protection.

A Meast indeed.

Thinking of his family and loved ones today.

smurphette said...

RIP Sean Taylor, I hope your daughter is surrounded by love and support while she grows up without her father.

Christ, he was a year younger than me. So, so sad.

Unknown said...

This season has been bad enough for us, and now our best player is murdered...wonderful.

Thoughts go out to his daughter and family. The man was a hell of a baller and a damn fine person as well; though you wouldn't know it from reading ESPN...

MoonshineMike said...

the george, I too saw the note about the machete and realized he was meastier than anyone could ever be.

the best redskin desfensive player this year.

lost said...

Steve Atwater was my role model playing in high school and college.

Sean Taylor was Steve Atwater for kids playing now.


the machete: he knew the jackers were coming, but all he's got is a blade. he didn't even have a gun, but the sporting press is all over his past.

the fuck his priors got to do with a home invasion?

RIP Sean Taylor. Stop the violence.

Ruthless Gravity said...

@UM: I second that. He played the safety position the way it was meant to be played and made the defense fun to watch again after DG retired. I hope he gets a fair shake when all of this is said and done. The media has done a really poor job all around with this story. Especially Wilbon, who needs to learn some journalistic ethics prior to opening his mouth ever again.

Pepster said...

As a 'Cane fan, he was easily one of my 3 or 4 favorite 'Canes - EVER. As good as he has been in the pros - he was that much better in college - just truly a man amongst boys. After the 2004 draft, I kept telling my colleagues that Taylor would be recognized as the best pick in that draft after the careers were over. If only we could have had the opportunity to truly find out.

RIP - Sean Taylor - and the best to his entire family, especially his parents, fiance' and daughter.

Steve said...

Yeesh, I totally expected this to be like the Kevin Everett thing where they were saying "He'll never walk again" and two days later he's walking. You know, just exaggeration. Can't believe he didn't make it. There's really not much you can say.

Les Savy Ferd said...

what adds up:
1. Dude was badass
2. Violence and death suck.
3. Loved ones left without their father/husband deserve all the sympathy we all can give.

what don't:
1. don't bash the press. It's not like the guy was perfect, and real obits reflect on the good and the bad. And yes, there are ways to respectfully detail these things AND be respectful to the surviving family.
2. what the hell was going on here? It seems Taylor KNEW people were coming for him. people don't just invade houses without a reason. Something ain't right here. I feel like part of the story is missing.

having said that, it isn't my business. Guy was entertaining and that is why i watch football. RIP.

lost said...

les- they tried to break into his house a week earlier.

'something ain't right'.

yeah, we live in a country where a motherfucker can't have anything nice without pieces of shit coming into his home where his daughter sleeps trying to take him for some petty fucking cash. not right

we live in a country where a young black man with a history of violence can never change in the eyes of the press. his family is experiencing a tragedy of the first magnitude and the press want to re-hash his past. not right.

this man tried to protect his home and family with a machete (fucking florida hicks, I love 'em!), and they talk about his violent past. not right.

it is inappropriate to bring this triflin' garbage up on the man's deathbed. give them a couple days, before you start shitting on their son's legacy. i'll stop bashing the press when they stop bashing the dead.

the headline should read:
Young Black Man Almost Survives America

Wilbon doesn't get a pass and neither do you.


RIP Sean Taylor. Stop the hate. Stop the violence.

Teller Tim said...

i'm so depressed right now. Taylor was one of my favorite players on my favorite team. it doesn't matter what problems he had in his past, dying at 24 is such a tragic waste. RIP Meast

Wormfather said...

@Lost

Aggreed, no need to bash him, he didnt die at a bar after getting into after having too much to drink.

@Les Savy Ferd

Um, yes, home invasions do happen without it being the victims fault. In fact they are up over the last few years (due to how much harder it's gotten to rob a bank and how hard it is to get access to cash at a big store).

A young nfl player would be a great target for a home invasion. You know there are going to be easily traded valubles and there's a good chance that there will be lots of cash somewhere in the house.

So please stop fucking blaming the victim, he's not been dead 24 hours and they dont even have a suspect yet.

jackin'4beats said...

R.I.P. Sean Taylor. My prayers go out to you and your family.

This Cowboys fan will miss your intimidation and hard hits even if they were against my team.

Godspeed brother.

Unknown said...

God damn it, Sean Taylor was awesome. There have been so many great on-field moments in the NFL this year, and just as many terrible off-field. Talk about parity.

lost said...

NBA players have seemingly been getting jacked left and right, which you would know if anyone still cared about the NBA. Rich black people are public domain. Dredd Scott.

the press are not ignorant of the implication: when they write about a young black man's violent death, and in the next paragraph refer to his violent past, they know that most of their audience will make a connection.

i'm seriously trying to avoid starting any kind of -FlaWa here. Just because mainstream press insists on fucking it up doesn't mean we have to. We are better than Wilbon.

I'd like it if we could just remember a favorite player, feel for his family, and make some tit/dick/dick-sandwiched-between-two-fat-titties jokes?

RIP Sean Taylor. Stop the violence. Stop the hate. Stop the WWL.

Chef Liz said...

I was devastated when I heard the news this morning. Needless to say that even though I live in North Carolina (moving back to DC soon), I'm wearing my Taylor Jersey to work today.

RIP Meast. :(

the great bambi said...

everything taylor had been doing since his daughter was born was to protect his family and avoid this exact shit, he's the victim here and didn't do anything to deserve this


only reaction.......fuck

Les Savy Ferd said...

@ various.

thanks for ignoring 70% of my post. you make it sound like I hated the guy when I am nothing but a fan. Everything that has happened to him and his family sucks and it ain't my business. I thought I made that point perfectly clear.

Jesus christ do I need me some Jerry Jones/Wade Phillips fat joke.

Bouj said...

Les:
Everyone is going to jump on anyone who has anything negative or anything that might be perceived as negative towards a recently deceased person. MOst people here might not remember or care, but there were quite a few people who got angry with the media for bringing up Kirby Puckett's personal demons in his obituary. For better or worse, Taylor's past is a matter of public record and warrants mentioning.

While I know it isn't the case, because, as Lost said, people will make the connection between past violence and a violent death, I sincerly hope the AP writer or whoever wrote the obit for Taylor was trying to point out his violent past as a way of showing that those things were behind him and that it had no connection to what happened Monday morning. That is what I choose to take from it. He wasn't out looking for trouble. He was at home, asleep, when someone broke into his house.

Porky1 said...

Well goddamn. This is a sad thing to see first thing in the morning. Great player, sounds like a guy who was getting his shit together, and he gets popped in his own house where his children sleep by fucking bitch-ass cock-snuggling punk cowards. I despise cowardly punk bitches like that. It's too bad Sean didn't get a good chop in with that machete before he went out. Poor Meast.

Rest easy, Sean. He'll have to see his kid grow up from afar, but I'm sure he'll find a good seat to watch from.

Trader Rick said...

In fairness to Wilbon, the comments he made yesterday were made in the early afternoon. From what I remember, it wasn't until later in the day that it became clear that this was life threatening. When I heard that the most physically gifted athlete in the NFL, in my opinion, had been shot in the leg, I was thinking "He may miss a few games from this one". At the time, it seemed impossible for a man that was strong and fast enough to play any defensive position in the NFL to die from anything less than ten shots to the head. I'm not saying that his comments yesterday were in good taste, but he wasn't writing an obit.

Unknown said...

Sean Taylor just laid out St Peter.

Silverback 55 said...

Does anyone remember that last pro-bowl when he absolutely leveled some guy and then they showed it again with the Japaneses announcers going crazy. It brought tears to my eyes from laughing so hard. RIP Sean.

lost said...

lsf- i'd say i was ignoring 60% of your post, by counting bullet points. or closer to about 37% by word count.

but 63% of your words implied some things i didn't like.

but you're coming through with clarity now. it ain't our business.

bouj-context. The AP wire story interjects his previous fines and penalties between discussion of this robbery and the assault charges he pulled because he had a gun last time somebody tried to jack his shit. That relates their discussion of his assault case to the "problems" that started "[a]fter [he] was drafted" and not the fact that he's been a target for criminals before. To me, their intentions were clear. But by all means, keep "hope" alive.

I know, I know, we need a break from all this 'race' discussion. I know I need a break from it. Sean Taylor and his family sure as hell need a break from it.

Thanks KSK for posting the most appropriate response to this tragedy.

R.I.P. Sean Taylor.

Dave said...

Joshua..

There's a post about that hit right here

Unknown said...

the george,

For some reason that comment puts a big smile on my face.

RIP Sean

SDW said...

God is putting together one hell of a secondary with Taylor and Darrent Williams.

RIP, Meast.

lost said...

sdw- The All-Almighty Team?

Pemulis said...

Almeasty?

SDW said...

Almighty Measty

My Insignificant Life said...

As everyone wallows in sorrow, we need to look at this for what it is – another young black male who dies by violence – period. Everyday, black males die by the same manner and where are their accolades and tears by the masses? I’ll tell you, nowhere. We mourn because Taylor was an athlete; he was gifted; he had something that less than 1% of our population has. I’m sure before the day is over; we’ll be back to dick jokes; looking at cheerleaders; laughing and joking. Over the next few days, we’ll hear stories from every angle. He will be buried. Hopefully someone will be caught and prosecuted and sent to jail. Next week, heck, by tomorrow, (if not already) we’ll be back to whatever it is we do best or enjoy doing. The sadness is not that he was a superstar athlete that died, but that is was an individual who died like so many others, except all of a sudden we give a damn. What about the others?

lost said...

milf- heard.

add that the money he made couldn't protect this young black man from death by violence.

/I never screamed so loud, I'm proud to be alive
/Most heads died by twenty-five, or catch a quick 3 to 5
-Pun.

Unknown said...

The difference between Taylor and every other black man killed by senseless violence is that we saw him every week on our tv screens. Some folks have followed his career since college.

He isn't a nameless, faceless person.

Jay said...

How about everyone just saves the discussion for somewhere else entirely and uses their posts for fond memories of the Original Meast?

H Cuz said...

...Fuck.

Rest in peace, #21.

casserolemistake said...

R.I.P. Sean Taylor. I loved watching him play.

And yeah, you don't run a fake punt on The Meast.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=b1TgyMrkqNs&feature=related

lost said...

my fond memory is of a boy who did his best to become a man when his daughter was born. by all accounts he made it. the man took a bullet for his family and made the cowards run out of his home.

that is Meastly.

James said...

@Jay,

Agreed.

RIP Meast, I may not have liked your team, but you laid people out like a baller.

Drew Smith said...

As an Eagles fan, dude scared the shit out of me, but I loved watching him play.

One of the best secondaries in the league just lost their fearless leader, but more importantly, a young family just lost their husband and father.

RIP 21.

Wormfather said...

@Milf

It starts with one. Whether its one thousand, one million or as insignificant as 100-hundred black men killed by sensless violence, it starts with one.

This is the one that makes me care.

lanceoceanside said...

saw him play at Lambeau earlier this year...had two picks and could've probably had 5. Doesn't seem real that the "next Ronnie Lott" is gone.

R.I.P #21

ASmith said...

Being a young father like Taylor, I'm amazed at his commitment on and off the field.

That Taylor showed up for work very day and went balls out displays his meastiness.

That he took on the invaders, protecting his family, cements his status as a captain of the All-Meast team forever.

As a Cowboys fan, I'll miss watching one of the most feared defenders in the league.

As a fan of the human race, I wish the best for his family and child.

Jarrett said...

Damn this hurts.

Unknown said...

There is no evidence that Sean Taylor had a gun when his ATVs were jacked, and in fact a lot of the behavior of the DA suggests he didn't. He was CHARGED but never convicted of aggravated assault. He pled NO CONTEST later, after the aggravated assault charge was DROPPED, to misdemeanor simple battery and misdemeanor simple assault. He complained about having to do so, claiming his innocence even after completion of trial. Simple battery and simple assault are defined as those two crimes lacking the elements of aggravation, which include the presence of a weapon for battery, and the infliction of serious bodily harm for assault. So, per the District Attorney, Sean Taylor never had possession of the gun in his final plea bargain (which is consistent with Taylor's own accounts of the incident; he said he didn't have a gun). Furthermore, upon successful completion of his probation, the simple battery and simple assault charges were wiped from his record.

If the DUI, Failure to take a Breathalizer, felony aggravated assault, and misdemeanor battery charges are the entirety of Sean Taylor's "criminal" record, and that is the story per ESPN, then Sean Taylor is not a criminal at all. The DUI charge was dropped by a judge after said judge watched the roadside sobriety test. The refusal to take a breathalizer charge was dropped on APPEAL by Sean Taylor after a judge concluded that the arresting officer lacked probable cause. The aggravated assault charge was DROPPED. The misdemeanor simple battery and misdemeanor simple assault were both wiped after successful completion of the terms of his probation, though neither of those are felony charges.

Sean Taylor was not a criminal. He did not die a criminal. He scared an armed assailant from his home and, thus, away from his fiance and one year old baby. The man should be given a fucking metal, not condemned through association with DROPPED or BEATEN charges. In the eyes of the law, Sean Taylor was innocent, he should be so in the eyes of the public as well.

markh6 said...

Be it Taylor, a soldier or Marine, or a pregnant mother, all premature death truly is sad.

"No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." - Donne

Unknown said...

And in your wisdom Lord, you took him. As you took so many fine young men: at Khe Sanh, at Lon Doc, at Hill 364!

Unsilent Majority said...

well said skin patrol

KolbIsOurFuture? said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
KolbIsOurFuture? said...

If we could only see into the future; We might have got a glimpse of how MORE talented he would have become. My prayers are with his family. Retire #21?

Unsilent Majority said...

The Skins have only retired one number (Baugh's 33) officially. There are a number of unofficial retirees however such as 7, 9, 28, 42, 43, 44, 70, 81, 84 and a few others I can't remember.

I think they should make 21 official.

Robocats said...

Joshua, thanks for reminding me of that Pro Bowl hit. The memory is something to smile about in an otherwise incredibly sad situation.

I am shocked that someone in his condition didn't make it. I barely even considered him dying to be a possibility when I first heard.

Anonymous said...

Sean Taylor did not go home after the game on Sunday expecting to die. Life is too damn short to not find some way to enjoy yourself. Taylor's death is a grim reminder of our own mortality. Take care of your loved ones. I agree with the assessment of an earlier post. Give that man respect for protecting his family.

Otto Man said...

And WTF am I doing reading 2 black blogs, anyway?? is crack addiction next?

Way to clear up the stereotypes about Massholes being racist morons, Robert.

Stay classy, Beantown.

jackin'4beats said...

Robert, shut your racist Boston pie hole and have some respect for the dead. This is why normal people have no respect for idiots like you and your comments clearly designed to unnecessarily stir things up.

If you have nothing positive to say, just keep your fucking mouth closed.

Wormfather said...

I say we rename the Meast award:

How's "KEST Meast of the week". In honor of our two great losses this season.

lost said...

skin patrol- thank you.

see, even I fell into the media trap. I referred to his 'violent' past, which apparently was limited to what...hitting michael pittman with some lung cheez? That's not gangsta.


and I don't care what Chris Rock sez, I think every dad who lays it on the line for their family deserves a medal. Fathers kick ass. I want to 'be a father.' Again, and again, and again.

Fargin Bastage said...

Y'know what? I feel bad for Sean Taylor's family. But his death sounds really, really fishy. He has had a history of bad judgement, and this was no random burglary. Someone was gunning for him on purpose. Sean Taylor did not deserve to die, and the scumbags who shot him deserve a severe punishment, but let's not elevate Sean Taylor to sainthood, please. Get a fucking grip on reality, Skin Patrol, UM, etc. Who here HONESTY would be shocked if it turns out Taylor knew his killers, and this was some sort of revenge thing, not a burglary. Answer: No one.

lost said...

@fargin bastage- where is the summ'na batch that posted this-I'm gonna hang your bells in a sling.

Unknown said...

"Skin Patrol, UM, etc. Who here HONESTY would be shocked if it turns out Taylor knew his killers, and this was some sort of revenge thing, not a burglary. Answer: No one."

You're missing the point. No, it would not shock me to learn that Sean Taylor knew the perp, as there has been ample suggestion that the people involved might also have been the ones who stole his ATV.

Why would that reflect poorly on Sean Taylor? Some piece of shit robs his property, Taylor has the guts to confront them about it (as I assume you would do if someone stole your property?). That doesn't mean he is "hanging with a bad crowd" or "inviting retaliation". That's called being a man and stepping up when some asswipe makes you a victim by bringing crime on you. That these same pieces of shit were persistent enough to murder a guy for being unwilling to suffer through their criminal behavior idly speaks volumes about them AND Sean Taylor, but not in the way you seem to suggest. It tells us that these people were far more despicable than we'd previously imagined, and it tells us that Sean Taylor was all the more courageous for taking one for the rest of us by saying FUCK YOU to living in a victimhood society.

These aren't his friends. These aren't people he sought out. They were THIEVES who found Sean Taylor, he dealt with it, and then (maybe) they again returned to injure Sean Taylor. That makes them sadistic, persistent murderers. It does NOT make Sean Taylor any more questionable a human being.

Suppose... someone robs you. You beat one of them up (with no weapon, and without causing serious bodily injury). Two years later they murder you, are found guilty. Days later the internet is bursting with asshats claiming that you had it coming, this isn't surprising, since you'd already associated with those guys previously in virtue of them STEALING YOUR PROPERTY.

Lost in all this is the overwhelming evidence that Taylor was a good father, friend, and teammate, attested unanimously by people who would actually know something about that. Also lost in all this is that Sean Taylor returned home to defend his family and walked into a gun fight armed with a knife. That makes him a MAN worthy of immense praise. Build a statute. Saint? No, MAN. Sainthood is for Mothers.

lost said...

skin patrol-thanks again.

taylor did what any dad would do to protect wifey and baby. dads are heroes.

i'm tired of all these fargin' iceholes and their insinuations that taylor was grimy.

this latest icehole hasn't inspired any response beyond what I've already said in this space.

Fargin Bastage Deported to Sweden, Claims He's Not From There

Fargin Bastage said...

I'm not saying he died a grimy person. Indeed, it seems like in spite of his past, he was turning his life around. That's very, very admirable. But the past has a way of haunting you, and I think we need to keep some perspective here. Some of you guys, notably Lost, were making it sound like he was Carpenter Fucking Jesus, and the White Man (tm) was keeping him down (as usual). Bull crap. Wilbon was right, if a little heartless sounding.

Taylor wasn't OJ, Pacman Jones or Ray Lewis, but he wasn't always an altar boy, and the evidence of the FIRST break in a few weeks ago seems like a personal vendetta, and I bet it wasn't because Taylor cut the guy off in traffic earlier that day. Getting shot in the nads seems rather personal too, not a random B&E gone bad. Taylor didn't deserve to get shot, but I'm positive he did something to bring all of it on.

When the full story breaks, I expect an apology, as I rot in exile in Sweden, you summana batches.

lost said...

fb-the facts we know about this tragedy are minimal.

you add your own conjecture and bullshit. as do i.

what you choose to add tells a lot about you. what it says ain't so good.

and even if you are proven 'right', you'll never get any sort of apology from me.

if you're going to be an ignoramus, and hide behind a wall of white privilege all your life, at least try to be funny.



in related news, Roger Goddell just suspended Sean Taylor for eight games, for having an unlicensed machete in his house.

lost said...

You know, I'm almost tempted to see what Eastergregg has to say about this situation.

Laser Rocket Arm said...

Um ... couldn't an NFL player afford, you know, a FREAKING ALARM SYSTEM? Particularly after a break-in just a little over a week ago when there's a toddler in the house?

But he was 24, and most 24-year-olds think they're invincible. I hope it'll sink into some heads that age is not a magic shield against the shit going down. If one person learns from this, Sean Taylor's death won't be in vain.

My thoughts are with his family.

Unknown said...

laser rocket arm:

"Um ... couldn't an NFL player afford, you know, a FREAKING ALARM SYSTEM?"

And then you go into a rant about how he's 24 years old, and all us 24 year olds think we're invincible. But all of that is useless pig shit garbage, because he DID have an alarm system, it wasn't engage that evening. Taylor's girlfriend explained: "she said that here sister had been staying with them and coming and going from the house, so Sharpstein said that may have been why the alarm was not on at that time."

Source: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/2007/11/final_post_of_the_night_i_thin.html

How about, instead of constantly nit-picking some story you don't have even the available facts on in an effort to find any reason to BLAME THE FUCKING VICTIM, you should direct your psychoanalysis towards the shithead who actually, you know, ENTERED SOMEONE'S HOME AND SHOT THEM. That young or old or who knows person is the one we need to be questioning the judgment of, not the bad ass warrior-beast that defends his home with a machete.

We know your thoughts are with his family. You're trying to think up a reason to blame them for what happened.

allie said...

I don't think we're blaming the victim by questioning the motives of his killer. obviously there's only one person responsible for taylor's death... but it's human nature for people, all of whom are potential victims of this sort of crime, to try and learn something from a tragedy. we can't control the actions of criminals, we can only control our own behavior.

so if there was some aspect of his life which contributed to what happened, I think it should be discussed, if only because it could help prevent it from happening to someone else. for example, telling women they shouldn't walk alone at night isn't implying that if they do and get raped, it's somehow their fault... it's just emphasizing that we need to be cautious.

lost said...

i'll agree with bastich that there could be some thing from taylor's past that brought these turds into his home. who knows whether taylor was even aware of that thing from his past, or had anything to do with it.

he was living a lifestyle we can't understand. he was young, black, rich, and famous in the south. damn near everybody he meets probably wants something from him, and people he never met, too.

the truth is that whatever brought this down upon this man's home is probably not a part of your life

women can walk alone at night. you just need to be careful where you do it and, in some places, vigilant. i'm saying there are millions of women who can't safely walk at night where they live. but they do it anyhow because you can't be a damn prisoner in your own home.

some people want to understand, others want to accuse, most just empathize. few ever actually fucking know.

Unknown said...

allie-

"so if there was some aspect of his life which contributed to what happened, I think it should be discussed, if only because it could help prevent it from happening to someone else. for example, telling women they shouldn't walk alone at night isn't implying that if they do and get raped, it's somehow their fault... it's just emphasizing that we need to be cautious."

Sure, if there is some aspect of Sean's life that motivated someone to murder him, perhaps there's a lesson to be learned. I assure you, however, that if said aspect of his life exists, it won't get revealed to the world by the internet sleuthing of KSK commenters. Why don't we actually WAIT until that actually comes to light instead of pouncing on a storyline that has yet to develop? What happens if it turns out to be a random home robbery gone bad? The lesson is... don't own homes? What if it turns out that the people responsible were the ones who took his ATVs. The lesson is... don't get robbed?

Maybe it will come to light that the person who killed Sean Taylor was doing so in response to something horrible Taylor had done to him. That won't make it right, but that might mean there's a lesson. But instead of presuming that Taylor, murdered victim, was wrong, you should at least wait for that set of facts to come to light. Or else it's like telling that woman she shouldn't go out at night because it will soon be revealed that the last raped woman who went out at night was also a child molester and that had prompted a retaliatory sexual assault by a band of 14 year olds.

You teach lessons by accruing facts and then applying them. You don't teach lessons by applying facts or insinuations yet discovered.

allie said...

where did I presume sean taylor did anything wrong? you're reading what you want to read out of my comment. I was talking about wanting to understand the motive- motive isn't the same as a good reason. there are very few actually good reasons to kill another person.

whether this crime was random or targeted remains to be seen, although what we know so far doesn't sound random. note that "targeted" is not synonymous with "he deserved it", it simply means the killer was specifically going after him, and not just entering a random home and shooting someone. In general, I think people are more bothered by random crime, because it's perceived as less preventable. and for that reason, I think a lot of people, especially rich people living in miami, are kind of hoping this wasn't random, because it scares them more.

anyway, there may be a lesson to be learned from this situation, or it may have been an unavoidable tragedy. my point is just that we shouldn't shy away from discussing why it happened because we're afraid it'll sound like blaming the victim. no one's blaming him.

lost said...

allie- honestly, I doubt you have to worry about the same things that Sean Taylor did. try not to be a young black man. statistically, that seems to help delay your death.

and you're right. no one's blaming him. at least not explicitly so.

Hangtime said...

1st of all, a moment of silence for my fav player............


the george, that made me smile too, i can imagine my boi Sean playing football in Heaven......:O)


He was my favorite player the moment i saw his highlight reel when he got drafted to my favorite team, i wore his jersey to work the day he passed, i will now get a burgundy one to go with my white one and even though i am a Sooners fan i will get a Miami jersey #26 as well, i shed a tear last night for Tha Meast, and will never forget how his gameplay and life positively affeted me........


Rest In Paradise Meast !!!!!!!!! Love you Bro !


Hangtime