Tragic Murder/Suicide in KC

[bae]

Yes, yes yes. Domestic violence is exactly what this incident is. I should hope the entire male sports world sees this, and stands up against it.

My perception is that a significant portion of the male sports world encourages objectification of women, as do some notable segments of the modern music industry. There's a major cultural problem there.

Which is why I have raised my daughter to be able to ...deal with such things.

[bae]

Odd that Bob Costas didn't comment on the tragic compound bow murder-suicide that happened Friday in Wyoming.

[The Storyteller]

My perception is that a significant portion of the male sports world encourages objectification of women, as do some notable segments of the modern music industry. There's a major cultural problem there.

I think there are many issues.

But gun availability is one of them. Silly to pretend it isn't.

[Gregg]

I hope that this will turn on a light for at least some abusers and their victims and cause both sides to get some help. That would be positive, but I won't hold my breath. Bob Costas' opinion on how things should be done means no more to me than George Clooney telling me who to vote for does. The cult of celebrity was likely one of the causes of the tension that caused this young man to snap. If we can reduce the glorification of violence and the objectification of (especially) women in movies, on TV, in games, in music, in sports and in just about every other form of 'entertainment' we have it will have a bigger impact than trying to limit the availability of any type of object.

[Tradd]

I kept hearing all over the radio today that if the FB player hadn't had the gun, they would have BOTH been alive. We do not know that. Period. He could have used a sharp knife from the kitchen, a blunt object, whatever, to kill the GF. And who is to say that he wouldn't have maybe gotten drunk, and decided to drive on the wrong side of the wrong road to do himself in - or some other way of taking himself out that might involve others.

Blaming this solely on guns is the wrong tack to take. It's domestic violence. Add that the fellow was an NFL player, and the history of pro sports players going bad...to say this is all about guns ignores a whole lot of other things.

[DocHolliday]

I was watching the Walking Dead and didn't hear what was said until afterwards, but have the writer of the original article and Bob Costas somehow forgotten what happened with OJ Simpson. To say that if no gun was involved they would both be alive today is moronic to the extreme.

[DocHolliday]

Blaming this solely on guns is the wrong tack to take. It's domestic violence. Add that the fellow was an NFL player, and the history of pro sports players going bad...to say this is all about guns ignores a whole lot of other things.

One story I read said that he was dealing with concussion/head injuries. If so this is the third suicide of an NFL player in the last year and a half. Dave Duerson, Junior Seau, and now this guy. Considering the NFL is already being sued over the way they have handled concussion related issues over the years, this is not going to help in their defense.

[Wildflower]

I have known three people in my life that I don't think would be dead if there hadn't been a gun in the house. One was a teenage friend that was very angry with his parents for grounding him, when they left the house to go to church - he shot himself. A neighbor who was furious with her DH for filing for divorce. She shot him in a rage and then turned the gun on herself, I think, after realizing what she had done. Left their son an orphan.

I think that if these people had had time to cool off and think a little, without a gun being near and handy, they would be alive today. That's my take on it anyway....

[pinkytoe]

I don't think guns are the problem; they just make an angry reaction quicker. I think we live in a world of violence - it is everywhere. Humans continue to kill each other via endless wars. DD works with abused children - violence is rampant in that world, too. On those rare occasions when I happen to see prime time TV shows, they are often full of violent acts or scenes; I find them so disturbing that I have to leave the room though dh sometimes seems mesmerized by it. Ditto violent movies and video games. It makes me wonder about the images that float around in the minds of the children we are raising who happen to see this stuff. It just goes on and on...

[KayLR]

ITA with Pinkytoe and many others of you..however, I don't think it's all-or-nothing on guns. They simply are way too available -- it should be harder to get them. The DV problem needs to be addressed down many paths, including violent media and the ways women are perceived in our culture among others.. One thing Costas said really resonated; that this isn't the first time this has happened, and at what tipping point are we really going to actually DO something about it?