imported post
Pretty good until the last 2 paragraphs I thought.
The whole bit about getting a body guard seems a little out-of-touch with the reality of life in America. Maybe some NBA superstar with a multi-million dollar contract can afford to hire properly trained and licensed persona bodyguards, but I know MOST Americans sure as hell can't.
And the bit about "how are you living that you need a gun for protection" also comes across as being a little elitist and out-of-touch. Most NBA players live in big cities, where a simple trip to the gas station can turn into a deadly encounter at any moment. What is this guy thinking? How does he live where he doesn't have to worry about being out and about, amongst the general public? Oh, yeah, he's a multi-millionaire, and probably has "people" to do all that stuff for him while he sits in his $2million mansion and watches his 100" flat screen TV...
I live in a small, quiet town in rural NC. I have a nice house, in a quiet neighborhood full of decent, law-abiding, hard-working people who all watch out for each other. Since I've lived here, there hasn't been any crime in my neighborhood. For that I am thankful.
However, the hotel I used to work at had a gang-rape-at-gunpoint, two armed robberies, a strong-arm robbery with assault involving 3 assailants against one victim, an attempted suicide, a stabbing, and several "unaimed discharges" of firearms in the parking lot during the year I worked there, and ALL these events (except for the stabbing) happened on my shift. I worked midnight-8am, and just driving to work in that particular part of town was often an adventure. Now this wasn't a dive hotel--it was a major mid-price chain, and it wasn't in the middle of "da hood"--it was on the main road of a small town of under 13,000.
But I carried EVERY day when I worked there, and STILL carry every day (unless I'm on on my college campus for classes), because I know that nobody is immune to the thuggery that seems to be increasing all around this country. Not even Cops are immune--here in this part of NC, we've had 1 deputy killed by some thug with a rifle in the line of duty and one who luckily was able to escape an armed robbery attempt while off-duty with his CC pistol by shooting the assailant. If an off-duty Deputy Sheriff can't even go to an ATM without being assaulted by some thug with a gun, how the heck am I supposed to safely conduct my daily business unarmed?
The point is, owning a gun isn't a privilege. And it's not JUST a right--it is your DUTY as a law-abiding citizen, and as someone who values your own life and safety, and that of your family.
Professional athletes are a rare breed. Many of them come from dodgy families in dodgy neighborhoods. Many of them are not well-educated. And it's pretty clear that many of them are not too bright. But somehow, they end up becoming very famous, very wealthy, and very high-profile. Unfortunately, some of them can't seem to grow out of their pasts. You'd think all that wealth, fame, and exposure would prompt them to gain a little maturity, but I fear that many of them fall into a cloistered existence of self-indulgence, insulation from the "real world", and overblown egos.
Hopefully these two Washington players will be treated by the DC LE community like EVERY OTHER citizen of the USA who would do the same thing. I think the DC gun ban is a stupid law, but it IS the law, and when people break it, they need to ALL be treated equally--not given preferential treatment because they are "celebrities". The should have their firearms seized, and they should be fined and jailed under DC law for illegal possession of unregistered firearms, assault with a deadly weapon, and illegal transport of a regulated firearm into DC.
Then maybe they'll learn that they aren't all that special, just because they can put a ball through a hoop...