Growing up, there are many hard lessons you have to learn: Santa Claus isn't real, the Toothfairy is actually a tired parent slipping a dollar under your pillow for that coveted baby tooth, the story of Pocahontas didn't play out like the Disney movie (I learned that 6 years ago and I'm still not over it), and last but not least, athletes are stupid. Well, saying that they are all stupid is making a rash generalization, they are, for the most part, the opposite of smart. As a former athlete myself, I know that sports teach you a lot about discipline, working with other people, etc etc but I think where sports sometimes lack is teaching common sense.
All we have to do is look back on history for examples of athletes not using their noggin's to its fullest potential: Atlanta Falcons safety Eugene Robinson charged for solicitation the night before his Falcons were set to play in the Super Bowl when he offered an undercover officer money for oral sex. Then there was Pedro Guerrero, former first basemen for the Cardinals who allegedly agreed to pay $200,000 dollars for a shipment of cocaine. But that wasn't the best part. His attorney said that since Guerrero dropped out of school in the 6th grade and his IQ was 70 he had no way of understanding that he was buying cocaine. Great so now he isn't only a drug dealer but he's also an idiot. 
Plaxico Burress. Photo from flickr.com
And now Giants' receiver Plaxico Burress can add himself to the esteemed group of arrested athletes with his Friday night arrest for gun possession.
But how did he get caught you ask?
He shot himself. In the right thigh. By accident.
I'll give you a moment to take that statement in.
Plaxico found himself partying at a nightclub Friday night (I don't know in high school we had dry seasons, it seems that should apply to professional sports where it's literally your job to play a sport). According to reports his gun slipped down his pant leg and when he tried to get it back into position he accidentally set it off, shooting himself in the process. (Someones gun was not on the safety lock). 
Plaxico looking....alert? Photo from flickr.com
Oh but the story only gets better. Plaxico's teammate Antonio Pierce allegedly tried to help his teammate out by hiding the gun. Hm, maybe I should just go back to my thesis that athletes are stupid.....
I can't decide what hurts more for Plaxico, the pain from his self inflicted gun shot wound, the felony gun charges he will most likely face, or the fact that he potentially messed up the rest of the season for the Giants. The Champion New York Giants who are attempting to defend their title again this year. Here's where the lack of common sense kicks in and maybe lack of common sense is the wrong term, maybe it's more like the lack of consideration for others. When an athlete gets arrested, it's a domino affect. Losing a player, especially a key player like Plaxico, could ruin a team's season and, for lack of a better term, that's not fair. Besides apologizing profusely Plaxico should face massive repercussions from the NFL for his actions. This could be anywhere from taking a pay cut for the rest of the season, suspension from the league for a year or two, or just anything that shows other players that the NFL doesn't take this situation lightly. He not only hurt himself, he hurt hundreds of other people who work for the Giants plus the millions of fans who tune in every Sunday to catch him in action. He should pay for his actions.
Plaxico after Giants won the Super Bowl aka the good days. Photo from flickr.com
But this brings up a larger issue: guns. In less than two months one child has accidentally shot and killed himself with an Uzi at a gun fair, another boy shot and killed the very man who taught him how to use a gun: his father, and Plexico mishandled an illegal weapon and shoot himself, clearly there is an issue with gun laws in America and something needs to change. People shouldn't feel the need to bare arms, we should have a strong enough police force and a government that we trust so that we don't feel the need to own a gun. If anything good comes out of the Plexico shooting, it's that adults and children alike clearly are not responsible enough to handle guns and there should be a crackdown on gun laws in America so situations like the ones listed above do not happen in the future.
So, Plexico, here is your common sense lesson of the day:
Liquor before beer you're in the clear,
Beer before liquor never been sicker,
Liquor or beer while carrying a loaded gun is an ultimate fail,
it'll land you in jail. (and you'll have a killer hangover)
Yet Another Reason Why Guns Should Be Banned in America
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23 comments:
Common sense is an interesting thing because it doesn't have anything to do with your socioeconomic, cultural or educational background. It's just what it is: either you are born with it or you aren't. So, whether you're an athlete or a politician, if you don't have common sense, you're basically screwed. Being in the public eye can be pretty brutal, huh?
So, Miss Constant, I see that, amongst your many talents, you are also a bit of a poet too!
Yes I'm the next Maya Angelou, don't be too intimidated haha.
Thank you for your comment and it's a good point, common sense is something overlooked in other aspects in life other than athletics. And what Plaxico did was stupid, not because he was an athlete but it would be stupid if any average Joe did it but it's getting coverage because of who he is which is the downside of being famous. But, you have to take the good with the bad if you're in the spotlight.
I have a major issue with your entire blog but the one the ticks me off the most is this & I quote
"But this brings up a larger issue: guns. In less than two months one child has accidentally shot and killed himself with an Uzi at a gun fair, another boy shot and killed the very man who taught him how to use a gun: his father, and Plexico mishandled an illegal weapon and shoot himself, clearly there is an issue with gun laws in America and something needs to change. People shouldn't feel the need to bare arms; we should have a strong enough police force and a government that we trust so that we don't feel the need to own a gun. If anything good comes out of the Plexico shooting, it's that adults and children alike clearly are not responsible enough to handle guns and there should be a crackdown on gun laws in America so situations like the ones listed above do not happen in the future."
My response to this is this
1st. Look around you-Common Sense would tell you our government and police departments are NOT strong enough to protect all of us law abiding citizens.
2nd. The child who "accidentally" shot himself with the Uzi had his father & instructor right there and the fair was at the Police chief OWNED club where this tragic event took place, so we can't depend on him protecting the innocent when he ALLOWED this child to even be there shooting this UZI.
3rd. The child who killed his father and his "male" friend is still under investigation. They suspect child abuse in this case.
4th There are many stupid people who use & own guns and you as well as the media focus on this, but apparently you don't know that more law abiding citizens who legally own guns are very responsible and know the safety rules inside and out and yes I am a proud gun owner and I can tell you that if my family needs to be protected and I know the response time of department I would protect them in a heart beat. I would rather see the bad guy dead than my 3 young children, my husband or anyone else who would happen to be at my home at the time.
5th. It’s not the laws that need to be changed. It is our government & law enforcement who need to crack down the number of illegal guns on the street that the bad guys have obtained. Why should my right as American born & raised and serving my country be stripped of my right to bear arms legally when it is clear people like you and the real media choose to show the bad things that bad and stupid people do with the guns.
Here's an idea maybe do some constructive research on how many lives are saved by a gun used by a law abiding and legal gun owner.
But I guess that would be too simple of a task.
But that may be difficult considering the media believes that a gun has grown feet and shoot all by themselves.
Thank you for your comment and I respect your opinion and completely understand where you are coming from. That paragraph was more of an after thought on the issue, not the main focus of my blog but I think you misunderstood me a very important word in the statement I made was "should" we "should" have a police force we can trust we "should" have a government that makes us feel safe, I'm not saying that we currently have that in place, but I'm saying potentially the root of the problem is the fact that we feel the need to own guns to protect ourself because our country isn't doing an adequate job. I would love America to be a country where we don't feel the need to bare arms and while I am a big advocate for the Bill of Rights, it saddens me when children die and guns fall into the wrong hands, which to me signals a need for better gun laws.
And if I can note V.A Tech as a perfect example of why there needs to be better gun laws in America so please, don't make attacks on my research, I know what I'm talking about and I simply formed an opinion on what I have seen. You support owning guns and that is your right and I respect your right to have that opinion so if to you choose to respond, I encourage you to do so in a way that will allow for a more constructive dialogue.
I agree with panzermk2wife. I also take exception to your statement that more gun laws are required. Do you know that there are already over twenty-thousand gun laws in the United States? I'm sure a few of them apply here already.
You stated that "Plexico mishandled an illegal weapon and shoot himself." OK, so it was already illegal. How many more laws will make him pay attention?
Maybe, what this country really needs to do is crack down on criminal use of firearms by imposing the maximum sentences allowed by laws already on the books. I can't see how writing more words in more law books is going to do a thing to prevent gun crimes.
That is just common sense.
I don't appreciate people that are willing to trample my gun rights in an ignorant attempt to stop real criminals from committing gun related crimes. The laws are already there. Enforce them.
Sincerely,
Vortec MAX
Hi, Meredith.
I question whether you really "...know what [you're] talking about."
The right that's protected by the U.S. Constitution's second ammendment is the ability to bear arms, not to bare them (as you've stated twice.)
You've stated that you support the Bill of Rights, yet your article is entitled "Yet Another Reason Why Guns Should Be Banned in America". That doesn't really lend any sort of validity to your admission about the value of the Bill of Rights now does it? What would your journalistic comments be if someone were to write an artile entitled Yet Another Reason Why Blogs (1st Amendment) Should Be Banned in America?
Plaxico Burris is an irresponsible gun owner, admonish him and his cohorts that tried to cover it up, but leave the responsible gun owners out of the "disarm the people" drivel please.
Thank you all for your responses. Honestly, the whole point I was trying to make was that, it saddens me that we get into situations such as the situation with the boy who shot himself with an Uzi and even the Plaxico situation, and in my opinion, that proves that there is something wrong with gun laws in America. And potentially some states have gun laws that do an adequate job on preventing these incidents from happening, but I don't think that's enough. We should never have to hear of a situation where children die or really anyone dies because of a gun shot wound, self inflicted or not.
And I'm not completely against guns, honestly, I'm not from an area where people generally own guns or use them for sport. I understand people like to go to gun ranges and shoot and that's fine, in that manner it's a sport. And hey, if you want to go out and go hunting, fine, I really don't care.
I think what all of you are missing is that this is a sports blog not some advocacy for a liberal agenda. The point of this particular blog was, Plaxico was an idiot and shot himself and his teammate may or may not have tried to help cover up the incident. And yes, to me this brings up the question, why did this man own an illegal firearm in the first place and why does it seem like there is a new unfortunate story about something going wrong with guns every other week this year in the news.
Idaho Hick- I like your ideas about cracking down on criminal use of gun laws. I agree with that, it should be harder for people to use guns to harm or kill others.
Zhurdan- You may be the only one that understood the point of my blog. Some people lack common sense, and in this case I am speaking on athletes because once again, I am a paid sports blogger, and yes he should be banned from owning a gun and they should prevent situations like these from happening in the future.
I think a lot of you missed an important point and that is that I am a sports blogger. Honestly, the point of my blog, which was covered in the intro, is that athletes lack common sense. My blog title was written as such because I knew other sports fans would understand what I was going to be talking about, the Plaxico situation, from the title alone. It was not a call to seriously ban guns in America, I'm not some liberal protester that loves PETA and hates weapons, the title was a reference point for sports fans, it made it quite obvious for people who read my blog what I was going to be talking about.
But yes, I think the Plaxico situation is another instance on top of several top stories this year that makes me question what the heck is going on in our country concerning our gun laws.
So once again, this is a sports blog, not my attempt to bring down the Bill of Rights. So quite frankly, take a chill pill, you are all hyper focusing on one very small part of the blog when the point of the blog was to talk about a recent situation in the news regarding the Giants wide out.
"So once again, this is a sports blog, not my attempt to bring down the Bill of Rights. So quite frankly, take a chill pill, you are all hyper focusing on one very small part of the blog when the point of the blog was to talk about a recent situation in the news regarding the Giants wide out."
I agree, this is a sports blog and shouldn't be used to discuss gun rights. So maybe you should revise your title? Maybe - focus on banning alcohol among athletes?
The title of this blog is what got my attention first.
I agree the laws need to be enforced for those who decide to do stupid and bad things with guns and not be given a slap on the wrist so to speak.
I am glad though you belive that those of us who are law abiding citizens should keep our 2nd Amendment Rights.
Point taken Gregg. Unfortunately it is next to impossible for me to change my title.
I just realized that I am not quite sure how some of you are reading my blog. See, what I do is I write my blog in blogger.com but when I publish my post, it links right to the site that I work for. I am a college sports blogger writing about issues going on in the world or sports and also writing about my experiences going through a broadcast journalism program and the TV shows I do on my college campus. So, the point of my blog is sports related and most people that read my blog are reading it through the site that I work for so they already know that it is going to be about sports which is why, in the context of the website, my title made a lot of sense.
And I agree, it does say something about how alcohol leads to many unfortunate situations, some involving guns and some, you know, leading people to do dangerous things because they are under the influence.
But I guess one thing that I am going to keep in mind is that if people read this through blogger, they don't see my blog in the full context of the site I work for. It's a sports blog. I talk about football, baseball, making the perfect reel, human interest packages; it's not an advocacy blog for change in U.S policies. I do think there is a gun issue in America that needs to be explored, but I am not going to use my blog to do that because that is not the point of my blog. The point of my blog is to talk about sports and give my opinion, and in this case, the sports issue at hand did involve guns so I wrote about it. I think that people who are against my feelings on guns just want to nit pick on a small part of my blog when clearly the point was that Plaxico was a moron and that athletes could use some more common sense, especially while they are in season.
panzermk2wife:
Thank you for letting me know that it was the title that caught your attention and sparked those feelings. And essentially what you just said is what I agree with as well; there needs to be tighter laws on people that don't know how to properly use guns. I support the Bill of Rights, you should be able to own a gun, I just wish we didn't have these situations where people were doing stupid things with guns like Plaxico. It's people like him that give gun owners who use their guns correctly bad names.
So, I'm glad we cleared that up and, I said this in another comment posting, but once again, I write a sports blog and my title was such because for the site I work for, my blog falls under the sports section, so I knew people who read it through the site would get that I am referencing Plaxico. That was the intended point of the title but I can see how it would be confusing if read out of context and would seem like a rant against gun users. I apologize for the confusion, that is not the point of my blog, it was just my way to reference Plaxico without bringing up his name in the title.
I understood that this was a sports blog, but like panzermk@wife, the title caught my attention.
I agree that incidents such as the boy being killed with the UZI are unfortunate. Stuff happens. I think it should have been prevented, and I think there was some negligence there, but it was still an unfortunate accident.
I just think that it is an emotional knee jerk reaction in this country to blame the gun. I believe our first and second amendment rights are the two that make us truly free in this great country. So I do get a bit agitated when I see a title like the one on this blog. Its unfortunate that you cannot change it, especially if you really do value your (and my) second amendment rights as you claim to.
To me, jumping on the "ban guns" bandwagon every time an unfortunate incident happens involving a gun is not the proper way to attack the problem. I have already stated how I think it should be handled.
Banning guns because of the irresponsible actions of a few is akin to banning automobiles because people die everyday in them. The difference is, more people own automobiles and they are an item we have come accustomed to using daily. Nevermind the fact that they kill far more people than gun do. We are willing to look the other way because they are a necessity. Interesting.
Anyway... I am glad you have come to your senses so to speak. It seems you may have learned something from us here. You should cherish your second amendment right as much as you do your first.
Sincerely,
Vortec MAX
I was directed to your blog from google when I was researching the Burress shooting incident. As I am an avid shooter, reloader, hunter, and sportsman, your title caught my eye. There is no way (from surfing search engines) to tell that your title was meant as a light-hearted quip and that the article was not principly and expose on why the 2nd Amendment should be done away with. Next time, I would reccommend you be more careful when selecting your title. Afterall...this is a sports blog (and to the extent that you cover sports, I find it well-written). If you don't wish to dedicate time and space to discussing highly charged issues outside the scope of your blog, I suggest you take more careful consideration about how sensitive these subjects can be to many readers.
Kind Regards,
Grantness
Good points Idaho and Grantess...it's funny, well not funny but I wrote the title really on a whim. It was meant to be a clue to sports fans who read my blog from the site I work for as a sign that I was writing about the hot button issue surrounding Plaxico. I definitely see how out of context it could seem like a rant against guns in America. Point taken and I will remember that next time. I really respect all of you responding back in such a constructive and considerate manner and it's really opened my eyes to this world of gun owners that I didn't know about. I can totally see how you would be upset because I'm sure your grouped into this group of people who misuse guns and it must be really frustrating. I definitely think people should be able to own guns I just wish we could find a way to prevent children from hurting themselves and from people misusing guns.
Thank you again for your comments.
Meredith, thank you for explaining your article and your choice of title. It goes a long way towards our understanding your meaning and the direction of your blog post.
I get where you are coming from and I understand what you mean when you talk about how you wish athletes could display more common sense in their actions. Mixing alcohol and firearms is never smart and it definitely does not make a very good role model for children.
Your comments about firearms in some of your responses still surprise me though. It almost seems as though you blame guns for the accidents that happen when a child gets hurt. If this is so, does that mean that its a baseball's fault when a child is hit in the chest (without a heart guard) and the result is fatal? Is it the football's fault when a child is paralyzed in a football game? Is it an automobile's fault when a child is maimed or killed in an accident? If not, why? Why is it okay to blame an inanimate object, but only if its a gun?
Others have already established that: a)there are too many gun laws on the books; b)those laws aren't being enforced; c)when some laws are enforced, they aren't being enforced to their fullest extent, and d)usually, the laws don't seem to apply to celebrities and athletes.
True, Americans are an odd breed in that we tend to put our entertainers on a pedestal and we used to hold them to a higher standard, but it seems that recently that standard has been lowered. No longer do we care if our children's role models are charged with rape, drug use, theft, illegal weapons charges or any other plethora of crimes... as long as they perform on Sunday night and win for the home team.
When did this standard change? I don't really seem to remember it happening, I just recall thinking, "It shouldn't be this way. It didn't used to be this way." Yet it is. And while you are absolutely correct, Plex pulled a bonehead stunt, it seems that the attention isn't on his stupidity, but on the firearm. A machine. A tool. A tool that I use daily as part of my everyday life. It's part of my job. I'm a cop. I see the best and worst of people on a daily basis. And please believe me when I say, its not the gun that is the problem, its the people who HOLD the gun.
Thank you for your time and for the wonderful job you do.
Fly
Thank you for your comment Cyberfly and you bring up an interesting point about how the focus is on the fact that Plaxico was carrying a gun not on the stupidity of the act and I agree with you, but for me personally, it's still the stupidity of his act that I am focused on. And for me it's like, if this man clearly isn't responsible enough to carry a gun why did he have one in the first place? It's again the common sense question which really was the intent of my post in the first place. I think the media may be more focused on it just because it's sort of a bizarre event, "big time sports player accidently shoots himself in the thigh at a nightclub mid season" that doesn't happen very often. I think if he stabbed himself with a knife by accident people would be focusing on the knife aspect just because it's such a bizarre story overall.
I think in regards to your comments about blaming guns when they hurt children, it's less the guns I blame then the what steps led to this child hurting themselves with the gun. For instance the situation with the Uzi, why was a child allowed to shoot it in the first place? The kickback is going to feel different for a child and I just don't understand what the thought process was for allowing that to happen in the first place. And I'll be honest, I don't know what the answer is for preventing these things from happening and I'm not saying gun laws require a complete overhaul, I'm just saying that we should go back, re examine some of this situations and see how they could have been prevented from happening in the first place. So, in the case of the child who killed himself with the Uzi or the little boy who shot his father and his father's friend to death, I'm less concerned with blaming the gun or focusing on the gun itself and more concerned with the steps leading up to these children firing these weapons and how these cases could have been prevented.
Meridith,
I think there's just one thing that can prevent stupidity, and it isn't gun control laws... it's good parenting. The parent that allowed his small child to fire a fully automatic UZI was just plain dumb. I personally have been shooting for over 29 years, since I was 5 years old. But never once, until I fully understood the repercussions of what I was doing (thru my dad's eyes) did he allow me to handle a gun alone. Pretty simple, I had a good father, I didn't get injured.
As to Plaxico Burris, again, I stated I think he's an idiot. I stand by that. Although good parenting can go a long way in protecting people, once your an adult, the decisions we make are ours alone. He made bad decisions. He should pay the price. If celebrity status gets him off the hook, I'd expect there's going to be some uproar as this trend of "celebrity immunity to laws" is just getting out out of hand, it has been for years.
So, what to do? Glorify these idiots every weekend on Sports Center or gloss over their stats until they've earned the respect of players long gone. Back when players were icons, pillars of society, good role models for everyone. Personally, I say if they can't stay off the Police Log, they can't stay on the field. Perhaps, just perhaps, that would wake some of these people up and let them smell the horse manure they've been cramming down all our throats for years.
Zhurdan-
I completely agree, parenting plays a big role especially in the Uzi situation and even the situation where the boy shot and killed his father. I think guns can be a great bonding experience between parents and their children and if they are used correctly and handled responsibly, then it's perfectly fine. And I really agree with you about players who commit crimes that they should not be able to play anymore. Being an athlete isn't just about making the big bucks, they serve as role models for children and adults alike all over the world and they need to keep that in mind. I think that in some cases athletes get off way too easy but I'm glad that the NFL has recognized the stupidity of Plaxico's actions and have suspended him without pay. I think that every league needs to take stronger stances against athletes who commit crimes just like the NFL has done with Plaxico. You don't get off the hook because you're an athlete, if you commit a crime, it should affect your job.
Guns keep us free, mutually assured destruction keeps the wolves from the door. As of today a home invader (or a gun confiscator) knows he/she may die after kicking in your door, in your gun banning future all you have is a telephone and hope.
Most of the guns in the UK are banned. The black market created by the banned weapons formed a vacuum that quickly filled with fully automatic military surplus (criminals do not follow laws and law makers know this). Now your (what used to be mainly unarmed) British police have an excuse carry Mp5 sub machine guns.
Gun laws and genocide have gone hand in hand since the slaughter of American Indians. Hitler disarmed the Jews remember.
If you do not think genocide can happen in America again I challenge you to study communist Russia and the Bolshevik revolution. Then see who funded communism. Then take notice to the fact the same group of people have striped this country naked in preparation for the rap!ng of our money, our culture, our future and our freedom.
You have a lot to learn lady!!!
Hey Frank, I'm not sure if you know how to read but this is a SPORTS blog. I really don't care about guns or what you think I should know about guns or history. I write about sports and what's going on in sports, you would know that if you read the other comments.
Oh and I'm Ukrainian, I know all about the revolution in Russia and Ukraine, thanks for the update.
the government doesn't want you to have guns so that you can't defend your self. if any thing we need less strict gun laws that allow you to protect your self from the idiot with a gun. if he is dumb enough to shoot him self he could point the gun at you and shoot. if you don't have something to protect your self your a dead man walking. the police cant always make it to the place in time no matter how strong they are.
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