Ripper

He got 10 days. Its unfortunate he died, but its not like he got 10 years. He got found with cocaine, weed, and a gun and got 10 days when it was all said and done. I don't get the outrage.

I understand completely where Whitlock and Wilbon is coming from with their commentaries. To understand someone else's motivation, you have to look at it from their point of view. Not "Ripper"'s point of view. I would never be so general to solely blame this on hip hop culture or Sean being a "thug". The facts remain that Sean Taylor has made poor decisions in the past. Clinton Portis alluded to Sean Taylor changing as a man after the birth of his daughter. In my personal belief, theres a much better than a 50% chance that his maturity lead to hatred and envy which led to the shooting. On a separate note, hip hop has had an irreparably bad effect on our society as a whole. Especially the black community. What started as a true reflection of black culture has been commercialized by white record execs into poisonous bullshit. Negativity breeds Negativity. Growing up in the inner city, in many situations, jobs are out, investments are out. Black children are often found looking elsewhere for male role models. They find themselves watching the filth on BET, listening to the radio. How can hip hop not be an influence? Its been nearly 20 years since it turned into a caricature of itself. I am a product of that. Sean Taylor was a product of that. Crime rates are lower since the commercialization of Hip hop. Hip-hop has not damaged anything. Music is not effecting society. Crime has always been around poor areas. ALWAYS. And it did not start 20 years ago. Hip hop is the new rock music. In the 70's and 80's everything was "devil-worshiping ROCK is destroying society". In the 60's, all the love music was destroying society. They blamed dance music of the 20's for the ills of society. They blamed music for the destruction of the youth in the 50's. And every time they were wrong. Music is a reflection of society, not the other way around. If it became the law that all music was gospel music, people would still be killing each other. Trying to blame a genre of music for societies ills when it has CONSTANTLY been proven to be a idiotic venture. People that want to be criminals will be criminals. Those that want to do something with their lives will attempt to. Simple as that. Blaming music for it is ridiculous and articles like whitlocks will be pointed and laughed at 50 years from now just like those "Rock...the devils music" films are pointed and laughed at now. And I understand that Wilbon and Whitlock(to a lesser extent...I truely don't think he believes half of the bullshit he writes) are staying things from their point of view. But that doesn't stop me from pointing out how stupid it is. I will say again, if they know something that I don't that is supporting their point of view, then fine, go ahead and say it. But as of right now, someone ran in a mans house at night and shot him to death. He has crime in his life that consisted of him allegedly pulling a gun on convicted criminals who had stolen property from him. I am in no way excusing that and calling it a smart move, but I do think that if you want to call him a thug for that, why aren't people calling others thugs for doing the same thing? Do you have to live in texas to get a pass? Do you have to be old? Do you have to kill them? Wilbon and Whitlock took the same facts that have been presented to everyone, and keep saying that the way he led his life lead to this. But they are pointing at anything in his life to support this. Unless they are saying standing up to criminals led to this, but they aren't exactly putting it in that light. He "embraced violence" and "hip hop culture" caused this with absolutely nothing to back up their claims. To be clear, i am not upset about the fact that there is a chance that Sean Taylor could have been involved in something, but the same can be said for anyone that dies ever. I am upset that they are portraying it as it is a forgone conclusion and that he actually had a troubled past when they don't know. All they know is that he was a black kid that got shot and this one time he got arrested. Therefore, his thug life caught up with him. And that is bullshit. "People that want to be criminals will be criminals" Why do these people want to be criminals? It is never that cut and dry simple. Hip hop is a reflection of society and society is now a reflection of hip hop. Entertainers are role models, especially in houses where daddy may not be around. With that said, I dont believe Sean Taylor to be a thug. The man (or woman) that shot Sean is a thug. Sean grew up in the inner city where he may have forged close bonds with said individuals and tried to make a clean break as he matured. Hence the premise of the article. I have had to make the same kind of decisions as I have matured. I dont agree 100% with Jason Whitlock but I definitely get his point The same thing that made them want to be criminals in the 70's, 60's, 50's, 40's, 1830's and so on. Criminals have always been here. The did not start when Sugar Hill game dropped Rappers delight. They didn't start 20 years ago. The allure of easy money is what draws in criminals. You take people with no money and some of the lazy fucks will go the easiest way possible to get it, which would be getting a gun and taking it from people that worked for it. Others will have some pride about themselves and work for it. Some are driven to a crime ridden life because of desparation. Many things. But one thing that isn't causing it is a song. There is absolutely no basis to ever blame entertainment in general for the ills of society. Like I said, this is no different than blaming video games for violence, blaming movies for violence, blaming dancing for violence, blame Elvis's hip gyrating for violence. Its all the same. Passing the blame and ignoring human nature and the fact of the matter is, Jack the Ripper wasn't rocking DMX before he cut up some prostitute. John Wayne Gacey wasn't jamming to Luda. Charles Manson wasn't crankin dat Soulja Boy. Frank Lucas wasn't listening to Jay-z when he was killing people with his drugs. I just don't see the difference between Whitlocks rants and these guys: http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%...evils_music.htm One will be seen as ridiculous, the other as "He has a point". No. He doesn't.

Okay, did any of the other 12 have a goddamn power? We don't know what the Petrelli parents could do (although the mom's is probably suggestion) We don't know what Hiros dad could do. We don't know what Victoria could do. We don't know what Shaft could do(although the dream thing could have been it.) Matts dad can do the mind things . Linderman could heal stuff. Bob can turn stuff to gold. Adam can heal. ... So who are the other 4?

I understand completely where Whitlock and Wilbon is coming from with their commentaries. To understand someone else's motivation, you have to look at it from their point of view. Not "Ripper"'s point of view. I would never be so general to solely blame this on hip hop culture or Sean being a "thug". The facts remain that Sean Taylor has made poor decisions in the past. Clinton Portis alluded to Sean Taylor changing as a man after the birth of his daughter. In my personal belief, theres a much better than a 50% chance that his maturity lead to hatred and envy which led to the shooting. On a separate note, hip hop has had an irreparably bad effect on our society as a whole. Especially the black community. What started as a true reflection of black culture has been commercialized by white record execs into poisonous bullshit. Negativity breeds Negativity. Growing up in the inner city, in many situations, jobs are out, investments are out. Black children are often found looking elsewhere for male role models. They find themselves watching the filth on BET, listening to the radio. How can hip hop not be an influence? Its been nearly 20 years since it turned into a caricature of itself. I am a product of that. Sean Taylor was a product of that. Crime rates are lower since the commercialization of Hip hop. Hip-hop has not damaged anything. Music is not effecting society. Crime has always been around poor areas. ALWAYS. And it did not start 20 years ago. Hip hop is the new rock music. In the 70's and 80's everything was "devil-worshiping ROCK is destroying society". In the 60's, all the love music was destroying society. They blamed dance music of the 20's for the ills of society. They blamed music for the destruction of the youth in the 50's. And every time they were wrong. Music is a reflection of society, not the other way around. If it became the law that all music was gospel music, people would still be killing each other. Trying to blame a genre of music for societies ills when it has CONSTANTLY been proven to be a idiotic venture. People that want to be criminals will be criminals. Those that want to do something with their lives will attempt to. Simple as that. Blaming music for it is ridiculous and articles like whitlocks will be pointed and laughed at 50 years from now just like those "Rock...the devils music" films are pointed and laughed at now. And I understand that Wilbon and Whitlock(to a lesser extent...I truely don't think he believes half of the bullshit he writes) are staying things from their point of view. But that doesn't stop me from pointing out how stupid it is. I will say again, if they know something that I don't that is supporting their point of view, then fine, go ahead and say it. But as of right now, someone ran in a mans house at night and shot him to death. He has crime in his life that consisted of him allegedly pulling a gun on convicted criminals who had stolen property from him. I am in no way excusing that and calling it a smart move, but I do think that if you want to call him a thug for that, why aren't people calling others thugs for doing the same thing? Do you have to live in texas to get a pass? Do you have to be old? Do you have to kill them? Wilbon and Whitlock took the same facts that have been presented to everyone, and keep saying that the way he led his life lead to this. But they are pointing at anything in his life to support this. Unless they are saying standing up to criminals led to this, but they aren't exactly putting it in that light. He "embraced violence" and "hip hop culture" caused this with absolutely nothing to back up their claims. To be clear, i am not upset about the fact that there is a chance that Sean Taylor could have been involved in something, but the same can be said for anyone that dies ever. I am upset that they are portraying it as it is a forgone conclusion and that he actually had a troubled past when they don't know. All they know is that he was a black kid that got shot and this one time he got arrested. Therefore, his thug life caught up with him. And that is bullshit.

He was being sarcastic, I think. The article he posted was "refuting" the whole "He was a thug and this was retaliation for something" line of thinking. Its way to early to tell anything though, but I don't THINK he was calling him a thug.

Stopped Reading.

Hogan. Slamming Andre. The entire crowd would have to jump on his back as he carries them out when the arena collapses, including Donald Trump having to ride his back. That was the most bizzare thing I had seen at the time. I was a child and knew that made no sense.

Shane Douglas was really hit or miss, but when he was on, he was fucking on.

I have no mind made up. For all I know, the guy was behind all the murders and drug sales in Miami for the last few years. But there isn't one thing that anyone can point to that will say that, and until then, there is no reason to guess that maybe he was. Looking at Rolles article, where did he say that Taylor used to get in trouble. everyone talks about how mature he has gotten over the last year, Rolle is talking about how Taylor has been a target since distancing himself from people 3 years ago. Where in any of that do you get "his thug life caught up with him" that keeps getting spewed by all these writers? I am asking a simple question. What is this "checkered troubled" past that keeps getting mentioned. Maybe you guys know something I don't. maybe the reporters do. But all they are mentioning is that he pulled a gun on a guy (Like Whitlock did) ignoring the fact that the 3 guys that the gun was allegedly pulled on were lifelong criminals that had stolen property from him. Why am i guessing that the same wouldn't be said about someone else. If this was Lawrence Phillips or Marice Clarett that got shot, then okay, I would see the reasoning behind the way the story has been presented. But reporter after reporter is just saying that he had a troubled past, but aren't pointing to a single thing that supports that comment. And anyone that buys into that bullshit that Whitlock says is fucking retarded too. Fred Thompson blames all violence on video games and he is a fanatic. Bible thumpers blame Colombine on Marilyn Manson and they are idiots. Whitlock blames everything under the sun on hip hop and he is right. No, he is just as much as a retarded hack as the others. Eddy Curry, Antoine Walker, Yancy Thigpen and Will Allen all got tied up and robbed at gunpoint with their families in their home and its hip hops fault. Because robberies didn't occur before the late 70's apparently. And people never get robbed by someone that listens to any other type of music. Nope. Its all hiphops fault. Who the fuck blamed white people for these athletes getting robbed? But whitlock says "we have to stop blaming the white man". No one did it but him. He is a fucking hack who's entire act is built around trashing blacks and saying controversial things, and it must be true because he is a black guy and he said it. Fuck him and his weak, no talent ass using that pussy ass gimmick to make his career. And like I said, its all black people crying racism all the time until he gets fired from ESPN and then its "They couldn't handle a BLACK MAN telling the truth" Shut the fuck up. Now all of a sudden its the white man holding you down and not your fat ass trying to make "shocking" comments against people you worked with that got you fired. He is nothing more than the writing equivilant of a shock jock, and just like them, his act is only there to hide the fact that he isn't as good as half of his peers.

But how can you assume someone is a thug? How can you automatically assume the worse. It has to be proven that he wasn't a thug? Why? You say its lame but I am pointing out the undenible truths here. People keep saying he grew up with a culture of crime and embraced it. Okay. Prove it. Name one thing that can be proven that was a criminal, thug or grew up that way. The only crime he committed was stupidly taking the law in his own hands against a group of criminals. Thats a "checkered" past? Why? Thats troubled thug? HOW? Everything is speculation now, but it is ridiculous that so many things are being attributed to this kids life without any justification whatsoever. When you have to list late hits as proof a guy had a troubled past, he doesn't have a troubled past. Its a fucking late hit in a fucking game. Was Sean immature? Yes, he was. But there is a big fucking gap between immature and thug. I brought it up once and I will bring it up again, what Sean did and Joe Horn of Texas did is close to the same thing, only Sean didn't kill anyone. One is a hero and protector of his community, one is a troubled thug. Its disgusting and I don't see how anyone can't see the blatant hypocrisy of it all. And Jason Whitlock is a fucking retard and continues to prove it every time he utters nonsense. His "Please love me white people. I am not like those complaining negros." act is bullshit, especially when he tried to go to the "Because I am a BLACK MAN" card after he was fired from ESPN. Fuck him. Corey Fuller, Yancy Thigpen, Will Allen, Dunta Robinson, Eddy Curry, Antoine Walker, Stephon Marbury...those guys off the top of my head, have all been violently robbed or held up and assholes like Whitlock is suggesting that has nothing to do with how much money they have? Its because of hip hop. Fuck that retarded fat bastard.

And once again, Sean Taylor grew up the son of a cop and the only trouble he has ever really been in is allegedly pulling a gun on three convicted felons who had stolen property from him. Such a thug. Hey, maybe he was shooting people left and right, was a gambling drug dealer that owed money to the mob or something, but there is absolutely NOTHING that is pointing to that, and you don't have one person saying that he was Mr. Thug. What the hell are people basing it on?

If you are looking to move that Sony Cybershot F-717 let me know.

Thats what they were supposed to do. The ones where I was were idiots.

Kennedy's finisher isn't going to look as good on anyone else because Kendrik sold it properly Kinda how that Roll the dice move didn't look as cool on anyone after Reno did it to Kidman who would sell it perfectly. I do think he should add a submission to the move after the takedown like Christopher Daniels did (and Stevie was doing in ECW before his mysterious disappearance).

An atlanta DJ is responsible for this trash ass song, so yes....I hate Atlanta sometimes.

And no one else was offering close to that amount of money for Marshall and Jones. Just horrible moves all around.

Except Hughes ALWAYS missed like 20 games per year. Why the fuck would you go with THAT one?

When you consider that they could have signed Joe Johnson but went with Larry Hughes...you gotta wonder what the fuck was Ferry smoking.

If I take lebron, do I have to become retarded and surround him with overpaid people that can't play? Because If I take Lebron, I would have more money left than with KG/Pierce/Allen and could build a even better team. If I could only take Lebron on go all Ferry in the head, then I would take the 3. Who I still don't think can lose a series.

Oddly it hasn't been mentioned yet, but yeah, that Lebron guy. Whats up with him?

I say that was a combination of the schemes and Taylor when he first came in. In previous schemes, he had to be run support and a underneath guy so he would get caught biting on play fakes from time to time. This year, he has been able to be a real free saftey with them drafting Landry, thus the better numbers in his pass protection game.

Well Mike Woodson fixed it by putting Tyronne Lue on Chris Duhon in the second half. Chris basically would walk past Lue on the way to the basket causing all kinds of missed switches on defense and let the Chicago shooters get hot. But although they did beat my team tonight, Chicago looks BAD. Skiles needs to move Gordon back to the bench, and start Nocioni again with Deng as a big shooting guard. Oh, by the way, Tyrus Thomas....he kinda sucks even though he does some impressive stuff.

Hawks 30 Bulls 34. HALFTIME. You have to be fucking kidding me.

Well the spitting was in addition to multiple fines for late hits, a drunk driving charge and threatening a man at gun point. You can start making excuses for him, but that's a string of incidents that show immaturity. When said player gets shot in some sort of apparent home invasion, it doesn't take a huge leap to try and link the two together. Whether that's fair or not isn't really my call, but "troubled past" is part of the narrative of his life. Never said he was smart, I am saying he didn't have a trouble past. The DUI was thrown out of court, because A: he wasn't swerving or anything and there was no reason to pull him over (that is according to the Judge, not me) . He then passed a roadside sobriety test and was not visably drunk(once again, judges call, not mine). Then he refused to take the breath test because he got pissed off that they were still fucking with him (or he was drunk off his ass, and wanted to hide it. Who knows, who cares). And he allegedly threatned 3 people with a gun over some stolen property. Thats it. Thats all you, me and any of the press knows. Late hits? get the fuck outta here. Now Dick Butkas and Ronnie Lott have troubled pasts too? He was a safety. Safteys get late hits. The spit thing shows immaturity. So once again, saying he was turning his life around from a troubled past is just a plain misleading statement. If you want to say he started to mature, then fine, but once again, to say this kid life might have caught up with him like that idiot Michael Wilbon is doing is at very best VERY premmature. Until something else is exposed, this was a 24 year old, son of a cop that got in trouble this one time, but according to the press and editorials all over the place, he was just some thug. The same press that thinks its cool and heroic when some person shoots and kills someone that broke into their home. But Taylor, this one time when he was 22 was stupid and tried to threaten people into giving his stolen property back and all of a sudden he was in love with violent life and refused to let it go(Michael Wilbon's words). Fuck that. If he was running drugs behind the scene then yeah, run him in the ground. But these questions into his past and all his "troubles" are just bullshit at this point.

He is a 24 year old father of one, and was on his way to what could very well have been a Hall of Fame career, and for the most part, seemingly a decent guy (outside of spitting on people) although kinda stupid at times. I see no problem with people being shocked that something shocking happened.