Bob Costas learns the right time to talk about guns in America...never
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Bob Costas learns the right time to talk about guns in America...never
Bob Costas is very, very silly man. The pro football world is still reeling from the tragedy in Kansas City, where 25-year-old Chiefs' linebacker Jovan Belcher shot his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins, the mother of their infant child, and then drove to Arrowhead Stadium and shot and killed himself in front of his coach and his general manager. Costas is the dean of NBC Sports, and so at halftime of Sunday Night Football, the top-rated show on U.S. TV, he was granted some 90 seconds to talk about the tragedy, which -- in case you've already forgotten -- involved a man killing his girlfriend with a gun and killing himself with a gun.
Amazingly, Costas choose this occasion to talk about...guns.
Actually, I didn't watch it live, and so at first I didn't realize that Costas had said the G-word on live TV. Instead, I started seeing the reaction on Twitter, and judging from the comments, I thought Costas must have made a joke about the Pope having gay sex with the Dalai Lama, during a two-hour Fidel Castro-style harangue, because that was the level of vitriol that was burning up my computer screen last night.
So what type of crazy, farting-in-the-church-of-pro-football thing did Costas actually say?
Those who need tragedies to continually recalibrate their sense of proportion about sports, would seem to have little hope of ever truly achieving perspective. You want some actual perspective on this? Well a bit of it comes from the Kansas City-based writer Jason Whitlock, with whom I do not always agree, but, who today, said it so well that we may as well just quote or paraphrase from the end of his article. "Our current gun culture," Whitlock wrote, “ensures that more and more domestic disputes will end in the ultimate tragedy, and that more convenience store confrontations over loud music coming from a car will leave more teenage boys bloodied and dead. Handguns do not enhance our safety. They exacerbate our flaws, tempt us to escalate arguments, and bait us into embracing confrontation rather than avoiding it. In the coming days, Jovan Belcher's actions, (and its possible connection to football), will be analyzed. Who knows? But here, (wrote Jason Whitlock) is what I believe, If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.”
That was it. There was no call to take people's guns, or repeal the 2nd Amendment, not even a plea for anything mildly specific like limiting the number of guns a person can purchase each month or seeking background checks at gun shows. Just a discussion meant to start a discussion, beginning with this notion that maybe a nation that has some of the least stringent gun laws on the world and also has the highest rates of gun violence among industrial nations...by far... should take a closer look at the problem.
For that, Bob Costas was all but crucified. You can read the comments on a conservative, gun-friendly site like Free Republic, where the veteran sportscaster is called "ridiculous," "a pompous little jerk," and "a disgusting leftist midget," among the comments I can print. (The discussion thread is headlined "Vanity," a consistent theme, that the only reason one would want to talk about gun violence is to call attention to himself.) The chatter on Twitter, from the famous or non-famous, were only slightly better. Some disagreed with what Costas said -- all fine and good -- but many more were outraged that he raised the subject, even during a block in which he delivers commentary every week.
The worst of the worst, in my opinion, was a pretend journalist for Deadspin named Sean Newell who was so delighted to see the formation of a torches-and-pitchforks crowd on the Internet that he raced as fast as he could to get to the front of it -- the better to get tons of traffic for his website by attacking Costas and his "sanctimonious horse(bleep)."
The coourageous Newell wrote (Google it if you must) that the murder and suicide was "sad and abhorrant"...
But it is only relevant, unfortunately, to many of us because he is an athlete. So how does the team react? Will they mourn him? Honor him? Is that appropriate? How will media paint the picture? These are all interesting questions to expose to a national audience. Instead the day ended with just another angry old guy yelling from his porch.
There you have it, America. How the (2-10, for what it's worth) Kansas City Chiefs react to a young woman's murder is "important." Gun culture, not important.
Bob Costas broke the fundamental rule of American discourse: Not knowing when or where it's appropriate to talk about guns. Rule No. 1: It's completely inappropriate to discuss the gun issue within 48 -- no, actually make that 72 hours after any kind of high-profile use of guns. This was the point that Brian Kilmeade made so astutely this morning on Fox & Friends, when he said:
I just don't know if it's appropriate enough on a Sunday night, less than 24 hours after the guy took his own life and killed his girlfriend, the mother of his baby, to make that stance.
Actually, it was 36 hours, but point taken. And you can multiply this factor when there's a multiple killing. Many commentators reminded us of that when a deranged young man killed 12 people in a Colorado movie theater this July, and New Jersey's Chris Christie -- our national hero of the moment -- said TV discussions of gun control were "grandstanding," and media critic Howard Kurtz seemed to agree with him.
The funny -- OK, not funny -- thing is that there's victims of gun violence in the United States every day. This weekend, five people were murdered with guns right here in Philadelphia-- so is it too soon to talk about how gun laws and culture contributed to their death?
Or too late?
As the reaction to Costas proves what he should have already known -- that a pro football game isn't the time to talk such a serious issue. Or any sporting event. Or any entertainment-based program, the firmament of our American dreamland. And you know where else it's completely inappropriate to mention guns? A U.S. presidential election. The Washington Post even made this point, noting that gun control is "a topic taboo for even presidential candidates."
So if Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were afraid to talk about guns (and they were). no wonder America was so shocked when Bob Costas spoke last night, shocked that a man in his position didn't know the right time to talk about guns in this great nation.
Never.
Call me crazy, but I'm not sure that's how it should be. I was only 5 years old in 1964, but over the years I've read and seen one of the greatest speeches on the cause of free speech, which was delivered that year by a Berkeley college student named Mario Savio. As the years pass, I think of his words frequently. He said:
There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop.
Look, I'm a politics fanatic and a sports fanatic -- and I don't want to see stark political commentary become a regular halftime feature. But every once in while, there is something that that, in Savio's words, makes you so sick at heart that exercising your right to free speech -- in a place and at a time that will shock some people, to wake them out of their slumber -- isn't just brave, but it is absolutely necessary.
Bob Costas threw himself on the gears last night, even as the me-too machine of "popular" opinion chewed him up. It was absolutely the right thing to do.
Amen on Costas Will Bunch.— Chuck Earley Sr- ==]] .in the US, the areas with the strictest gun laws suffer from the highest gun violence rates. [[==
Hilarious. Another Republican completely unable to understand that correlation does not equal causation (let alone direction of causation).
The highest rates of gun violence are in the areas with the most cars. The highest rates of gun violence are in the areas with the most churches. The highest rates of gun violence are in the areas with the most traffic lights. The highest rates of gun violence are in the areas with the most parking lots. The highest rates of gun violence are in the areas with the most police. The highest rates of gun violence are in the areas with the most firefighters. The highest rates of gun violence are in the areas with the most vending machines. The highest rates of gun violence are in the areas with the most.
— Talking point sleuth - it shows gun laws do not work. places like dc and chicago have had the strictest laws and the highest murder rates. — rysagr
- The highest rates of gun violence are in the areas with the most gunshot victims.— Mr. Smith
- ===]]] The highest rates of gun violence are in the areas with the strictest gun control laws. [[[===
Aside from not being true, it is also meaningless.
The highest rates of gun violence are in the areas with the most cars. The highest rates of gun violence are in the areas with the most churches. The highest rates of gun violence are in the areas with the most traffic lights. The highest rates of gun violence are in the areas with the most parking lots. The highest rates of gun violence are in the areas with the most police. The highest rates of gun violence are in the areas with the most firefighters. The highest rates of gun violence are in the areas with the most vending machines. The highest rates of gun violence are in the areas with the most.— Talking point sleuth - I should have typed more slowly for Hamlet...in the US, the areas with the strictest gun laws suffer from the highest gun violence rates. Also, most gun deaths are suicides. Would you have slept better if they had hung themselves?— 2ndNlong
- "I agree. Spend more time with your kids and not your guns. "
I don't know, it would have been pretty cool if one of these homophobic gay Republicans had said after being caught that they are resigning to spend more time with their gun.— Hamlet - "The highest rates of gun violence are in the areas with the strictest gun control laws."
2nd, were you born with a foot in your mouth? In the industrialized world, the country with the strictest gun controls laws is Japan. Japan has a population of about 127 million people and in 2008 had 11 gun deaths.
The United States has a population of about 311 million and had over 30,000 deaths by guns in 2008.— Hamlet - "the human weaknesses in all of us - not the least of which is displayed by our inability to discuss this coldly and rationally."
A cold and rational discussion has to include determining what an acceptable death rate is for guns (it isn't zero). Most (60%) gun deaths are suicides, which will not be cured by removing guns from the planet. The lone nut is unstoppable and very possibly isn't a nut when he purchases the guns used. Denied guns nuts typically built bombs. Crooks laugh at and cheer for the anti-gun lobby, the anti-gun crew will make their lives easier. Crimes of passion aren't going away either. The highest rates of gun violence are in the areas with the strictest gun control laws.
Also, it is the height of poor logic to argue for a gun prohibition while deriding the prohibition on drugs.— 2ndNlong - Wow, most of you right-wing blowhards can't even construct a bad argument using sarcasm and ad hominem attacks. Apparently the society you wish to build, and live within, remarkably sounds a lot like Somalia's. Nice.— Mr_Cool
- You're right MSI. I'll give you a rational statement about how I feel about guns in an urban environment. On a crowded city street, the only person who should be allowed to draw a firearm for anyone's protection is a highly trained law enforcement official. And if you are not allowed to draw a firearm in the situation logic dictates that you may not carry one there, either.
Your right to bare arms does not supersede my right to keep my body free of bullet holes.— Hamlet - It's all this global warming that requires us to bare arms.
And your logic is flawed when you suggest that because you are prohibited from using an item, you are therefore also prohibited from possessing that item.— Mr. Smith - Bingo!
— wokmaster - We need to get past all the "silly" in this debate. No, folks, guns don't kill people, people kill people. But guns don't stop people from killing people either, and their modern ease and quickness often foreclose the time needed for natural human sobriety, reasoning and temperance. The second amendment is not for protection against internal tyranny, but for protection from external threats much too real in a late 18th century America that lacked secure borders and convenient roads, "civilized" natives, and modern law enforcement. Wild critters weren't confined to "wildlife management areas" either. While the constitution did not limit "arms" to the technology of the day, anymore than it limited freedom of the "press" to guttenberg printing presses, it was not the Ten Commandments either, written in stone by a bolt of heavenly lightning. It has been amended at least a dozen times to keep pace with fundamental changes in society - women suffrage, abolition of slavery, etc. - and judicial interpretations have been revised countless times to reflect the realities of now. Still, there is no question that self-defense is fundamnetal to our basic right to life, but that must also include the right to defend ourselves by law, keeping deadly arms out of the reach of nuts, crooks, and the human weaknesses in all of us - not the least of which is displayed by our inability to discuss this coldly and rationally.— montani semper liberi
- Hey Mephisto, you might be on to something. Since handguns do such a great job enhancing our safety, why don't we arm everyone with a handgun so we can all be safer? Isn't that the ultimate extension of your "logic"?— philharmonic55
- "i just dont think bob costas at halftime of a football game is the person or place people want politicing" . . . . . . . GregS, maybe that's the point here. Why does it have to be Costas? When is it appropriate to bring up this issue? Only when there's a high profile tragedy or only when there isn't? Only by would-be experts, or by any citizen with a voice? Only on c-span or our polarized/segregated news channels, or across the general media?— montani semper liberi
- Hey Greg - last I checked, most remotes have a mute button.— Talking point sleuth
Comment removed.- i don't have a problem with the message (though there is nothing to say this guy wouldnt have still killed someone without a gun) i have a problem with the guy who said it, when he said it, and his platform for saying it. costas is a pompus sports journalist with an inflated sense of importance. nobody turns on football to hear about real life, in fact many turn it on to get away for a few hours. and nobody is turning on this game to hear him talk about anything, he just happens to be the selected halftime stooge. and that costas feels the need to intrude on that, or assume anyone really cares what his opinion is is the problem. even moreso that his opinion carries no weight, he is sports journalist, he no expert on gun laws, crime, sociology or anything that would make me put any stock in his opinion on gun control. i'm all for gun control, i don't think a person needs any more than a six round handgun to defend themselves, and that "sport" guns are absurd since there is no sport in killing a deer from a tower with a semi automatic weapon... use a bow and arrow for hunting if you want sport. i just dont think bob costas at halftime of a football game is the person or place people want politicing.— Greg S
- "Montani semper liberi - If you don't like this country, go back to where you came from then." Yes!! Boom! MSL you got a right winger to say it. You win the prize. This isn't about being armed its about freedoms. Control legislation will take away the right wingers' liberty. Forget for a second they are most likely broke, with crushing debt loads, without any semblance of net worth, beholden to a credit company. No! Unless they can protect themselves from the, err, ahem, "inner city menace", what are they to do? How can they act on Repulican leaders' (see: Angle, Sharron) plea to invoke some "2nd Amendment solutions", by making slingshots?— Murrayman
- "I find that most people that argue on the side of gun control are generally less intelligent and/or a cowards."
Yeah, cause it's cowardly to feel secure enough about yourself without the crutch of a gun. You know what they say about guys who need to carry a big gun, right? The same thing as guys who need to drive a big truck.
Delusional right wing rubes think they can protect themselves from the government, circa 1781. You really aren't that important, dude. Narcissistic wimp.
Incidentally, I find MOST of the conservatives to be less intelligent/articulate and extremely regressive in their beliefs. They also tend to believe more fervently in supernatural nonsense which, in itself, is fine. But that's never enough for you guys. I have to believe it too. It must be taught in public schools.
"I sleep safe at night because of my gun."
This sentence speaks volumes about the rampant paranoia of our Republican friends.— wokmaster 
"America is here because of guns." . . . . Mao tse-Tung would agree.- ===]]] Can you expand your statement about a relationship between gun ownership and rates of gun violence? [[[===
We have extraordinary rates of gun ownership and an extraordinary rate of gun violence and an extraordinary rate of incarceration.
Establishing causality is difficult. "FBI crime statistics" do not agree or disagree with the statement that "handguns do not enhance our safety."— Talking point sleuth - Yours is the typical response of the person of lesser capacity when asked to explain himself. First, you restate your initial opinion, then you foollow by saying that it's difficult to explain, concluding with a faulty analysis of the statisstics you mentioned. — DonQ
- "Establishing causality is difficult." . . . . But is common sense that difficult?
- kitkat, "freedom" is cowering in fear behind a gun?
- "You may like handing over your freedom but I don't. I like the constitution."
I love it! That could be a bumper sticker or a line in a Country song. Kitkit, Nashville on line 2.— Hamlet - Hey, Kitkat, even the Navy got rid of the 1911 (a 45 automatic with a barrel that jiggles, to you non-shooters). Who's the less intelligent one? And there's a huge difference between a gun ban and gun control, but I don't expect people like you to be able to understand that. Maybe if a sang it to the tune of some country song?— Hamlet
- Maybe we need a Million Father's March. Oh wait a minute...— LouDiamondPhillipsheadScrewdriver
- Looks like hatred for Costas is drawing our much beloved Attytood Republican toadies out from their hibernation. Imagine that - having the audacity to talk about guns. The horrors!!!!
Anyone have any idea why the ARts have been in hiding? Just a few weeks ago they were confident and preening. Did something happen to change their moods? What could it have been?
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA— Talking point sleuth - ===]]] "Handguns do not enhance our safety." The FBI crime statistics for victims would disagree. [[[===
Right. Let's just ignore the relationship between rates of gun ownership and rates of gun violence (not to mention rates of incarceration).
Must. Keep. Head. In. Sand.— Talking point sleuth - Which FBI crime statistics? Can you expand your statement about a relationship between gun ownership and rates of gun violence? Perhaps cite a source? Did you mean illegal gun possession? So few crimes are committed by people legally owning firearms that the FBI doesn't even care to issue statistics on them.
Apples and oranges...— DonQ - Seriously, its bad enough with the obvious dye job, but did he really need to do the facelift thing? I guess science hasn't perfected doing anything about one's height so these were next best options. Sad. Almost as sad as Biden's plugs & botox.— teardownthisfishwrap
- Now that the Republican party has self-destructed, we should help them come up with a new "loyal opposition" party name.
Affiliated Looney Fringes Groups?
Sharia Tax Law Party?
The Creationist Party
Help me out here.— wokmaster - Bob Costas. The Joan Rivers of sports broadcasting with that facelift of his. Should be made to hand in his man card. If he ever had one.— teardownthisfishwrap
- Why, do you need one fishy? Exposing your masculine insecurity over another guy's facelift isn't going to help much.
- Right, because she could outrun a NFL linebacker. Pissed enough to shoot equals pissed enough to throttle or stab or push down the stairs. Liberals present the wrong solution because they consistently misdiagnose the problem.
Whether it is sports coverage or politics the NBC family gets it wrong (except for hiring Faith Hill...giddy up).— 2ndNlong - It's time for a National Conversation on Fatherhood.— Mr. Smith
- F Bob Costas the midget mouthpiece for the worst network on TV. No one cares about your views especially during a football game. I wish you and NBC would go away.— delcodanno
- "I wish you and NBC would go away."
Me too. I long for a country in which Fox and the Wall Street Journal are the only sources of opinion.— wokmaster - I long for a country in which news is reported on news programs, sports are presented on sports programs, and opinions are left to anonymous posters on un-moderated forums. — barlowjames1
- I'm not sure if this is an attempt at humor but it's about the 3rd response to a comment of mine where I've just thought, "huh?". — wokmaster
- Maybe something might eventually compel Will to comment on the astonishing amount of black violent crime.— tr88
- How many domestic disputes, convenience store confrontations and loud music from cars that leaves teenage boys bloodied and dead come from law-abiding, legally owned guns and their owners?
"Handguns do not enhance our safety." The FBI crime statistics for victims would disagree.
Idiots.— mephisto
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