Milking a tragedy for all it's worth
It's an equal opportunity pastime
Milking a tragedy for all it's worth
A few years ago, just after Kermit Gosnell was arrested for murdering babies and pregnant women in his abortuary in West Philadelphia, pro-life advocates like myself went public with our outrage. After I wrote several articles decrying the type of society which gives birth (no pun intended) to such monstrous men and equally diabolical acts, I received the type of feedback you'd expect from the pro-choice crowd: I was exploiting a tragedy to advance my own agenda.
I won't deny that the Gosnell incident gave me an opportunity to talk about the dirty side of a procedure that has been sanitized in the press as a 'medical necessity' or, worse, a 'reproductive choice.' But to my knowledge, no one on my side of the argument ever said that Gosnell was the face of the pro-choice movement.
Fast forward to Sunday night. On prime-time television, smack dab between the two halves of a football game that the Eagles were destined to lose, Bob Costas pontificated about the evils of guns. Commenting on the murder-suicide of Kansas City Chief Javon Belcher and his pregnant girlfriend Kasandra Perkins, Costas noted implied that if Belcher didn't have a gun, his girlfriend would still be alive today.
I could almost hear the gun-control advocates across the nation stand up and say "Amen Brother, Bob, Hallelujah!" It was just the same kind of hyperbole used by anti-gun activists who think an inanimate albeit potentially deadly object-a firearm-has self-determination. It's as if the gun pulled its own trigger.
While there is a legitimate case to be made that the current laws are either too lax or ineffectively applied, it is ridiculous to blame the firearm for the murder of a pregnant woman. We don't know if Belcher obtained the gun legally. We don't know if he had mental problems. We don't know if that gun might have actually saved a life in the past.
The point is this: just as some people get upset when you make Kermit Gosnell the face of abortion, others are equally justified in slamming Bob Costas for his opportunistic attack on guns.
No one should have to listen to speeches over the bodies of pregnant women, no matter how they died.
at least when bunch posts vacuous blogs, it's usually someone else's writing. you felt it was necessary to share this thought with the world?- Will you marry me?— drenner
- Really? You don't mind all those marks from the 10-foot poles people keep touching her with? Besides, she'd have to give up her "virtue" if she marrried you, which she will never do. — Bartleby
- Sorry, not my intention to make light of tragedy. Costas made me want to puke.— drenner
- This comment has been deleted. — sharkmeat
- Costas is an idiot. Mr. Belcher could have killed himself and his girlfriend in a number of ways without a gun. To say that they would be alive today if not for that gun is b.s. and you know it. You want to know what's more deadlier than guns? ALCOHOL. According to WHO more people die each year from alcohol related deaths than from violence, AIDS and TB. In our country more people die from alcohol related deaths than from gun violence. In Pa alone 12.9 people per capita died from alcohol as opposed to 10 people per capita from guns. Both numbers are too high but nearly 3 more people per 100K die because of booze, Buddy. — MrBigDizzle
- Costas should have said "there'd be a better chance she would still be alive if he didn't have a gun." Other than that I support what he said. yes it was a football game, but the NFL is a small community and this tragedy hit that community directly a day ealrier. I think it similar editorials should be associated at the end of every newscast that reports a murder. The NRA and Gun lobby have controlled this ridiculous argument for far too long. A gun is a tool to kill. Pure and simple. You can't control people, so there is no such thing as "gun control" and yes it is people who pull the trigger. yes it is a violent world with dangerous peopple. But that doesn't freaking mean we as a society need to market, and sell tools that make it easier. And if you think it's a deterrent...tell me why mobsters and drug dealers die every day. you think the other guy didn;t have a gun? you think the murderer didn't know he had a gun? — shamdog
- She was pregnant? I thought they had a three month old daughter.— BOK
- Where did you get your info from? She wasn't pregnant and the gun was legally owned (I knew that from a Sunday morning article). You should better prepare your arguments (or whatever the purpose of this story is) because it could cause people like me to doubt your knowledge on the position you are taking.— Phils_World_Champs
- I have no doubt that every time an inner city child is caught in the crossfire it's coffee and doughnuts time at the NRA. That child's death is living proof of their great lobbying power and reach. Like any decent person, Costas is probably frustrated that this kind of garbage goes on every day in this supposedly civilized nation.
And if you don't know that the Gosnell case was touted from here to the moon as a reason why abortion should be outlawed, (even though outlawing abortion would create thousands of Gosnells), you are two of the three original see / hear no evil monkeys. Emulating the 3rd, speak no evil, would be too much to ask of you. Costas was just expressing his opinion, the same as you do every chance you get.
— carl and sons - NRA has nothing to do with cross fire in the inner cities. Almost all of those guns are and were ILLEGALLY obtained. Get your facts straight. I guess because I am a gun owner, I an more likely to kill someone. Get your head out of your rear!
- Yes, you are more likely to kill someone. I hope for your sake it isn't a member of your family.
- When the gun fetishists mouth off after any of the multitude of high-profile gun tragedies everyone is supposed to shut up. While I agree that our current gun laws aren’t being enforced effectively, that doesn’t make any of this less important for this country to start having a serious debate about the grotesque gun culture that we indulge, at any cost. But the pro-murder lobby group the NRA likes to hide behind a 2nd Amendment shield and shut all talk down. So Ms. Flowers takes her daily cue from Twitchy, jumps on the bandwagon. But it’s hollow and transparent. What are your ideas for changing the deadly gun culture in this country Christine? Why shouldn’t we further regulate gun purchases, ammunition and proper training and storage?! The right has been screaming about Obama coming for your guns when in fact, he’s presided over a loosening of the laws during his tenure. Talk all you want about the murder rate of inner-city blacks and say start there, but how does that make any of the gun-related deaths any more or less important. Dead is dead. And Costas was right – if Belcher didn’t have a gun, he and Perkins most certainly would be alive. Those who are suicidal and have access to a gun are more likely to use it than those with access to other weapons. Without a gun, he may have been able to talk to someone. No the ghoulish gun goons on the right don’t want you to talk about the gun culture, and even Ms Flowers wants to sweep it away by accusing of Costas of exploiting a tragedy. If any tragedy is worthy of deserved exploitation, it’s out of control gun tragedies.— Independence
- You have got to be kidding me, I am a police officer and i dont own guns other than my issued piece by the city. For you to say that w/o a gun they would most certainly still be alive, is just plain dumb, i have seen crazy people, stab more than anything or even choke the life out, slashed wriste more than gunshots, most domestic violence involves a knife or hands. Ifsomeone wants to kill you, they r gonna kill you no matter whats at thier disposal, you are gonna tell me that an NFL LINEBACKER isn big enough and strong enough to just choke the life out of his baby's momma?? cut me a break — raz344c
- Christine, I have a few questions for you. Do you have any tingling or numbness in your limbs? Any sudden changes in vision? Any headaches? If so, based on this article, I believe you might be having a stroke.— AreaMan
Email Christine M. at cflowers1961@yahoo.com Reach Christine M. at cflowers1961@yahoo.com.
