- Nov 11, 2009
- 30,970
Picked up the A section of the Post today, off a trash can, to have something to read with lunch; one needs to distract oneself from the plate when eating hospital cafeteria food.
Sadly, the paper turned out to be more offensive than the plateful of offal.
One of the leading stories was a whine about the proliferation of Stand Your Ground laws, and how people were getting killed a lot more that ten years ago.
Typically, the figures were a bit slanted, and the reporting even more so. There was a nice table of Justifiable Homicides by citizens; range was from 192 to 278 per year; last five years were in fact highr than the preceeding five. Interesting how the reporter managed to tilt the tenor from "justifiable" and foused on "homicide". Also interesting to see the huge numbers: averaging 250 justifiable homicides per year, over the entire country. Huge, that.
What really displaced my lunch was the final story in the article, describing how a 69 year old man who cautioned kids about skateboarding on a basketball court was taken to task by a 41 year old Iraqi veteran who was playing "hoops" with his 8 year old daughter. He gave the old man a raft of grief; the old guy backed off, saying he didn't want a fight. Next thing, the vet was"on top" of the old man, who pulled a gun from his pocket and shot his assailant.
This was a terrible thing in the eyes of the reporter, who felt that the old guy deserved to be pounded into the ground, apparently. No disparity of force there, no attempt to retreat, no excuses were going to be strong enough for this old guy to defend his life.
Sorry for the vet and his daughter, but as reported, there seems to be nothing wrong with the action taken. Being an old guy myself, I perhaps am prejudiced toward my personal survival. But next time, I'll leave the Post in the trash can.
Just had to vent. Sorry for the rant.
Sadly, the paper turned out to be more offensive than the plateful of offal.
One of the leading stories was a whine about the proliferation of Stand Your Ground laws, and how people were getting killed a lot more that ten years ago.
Typically, the figures were a bit slanted, and the reporting even more so. There was a nice table of Justifiable Homicides by citizens; range was from 192 to 278 per year; last five years were in fact highr than the preceeding five. Interesting how the reporter managed to tilt the tenor from "justifiable" and foused on "homicide". Also interesting to see the huge numbers: averaging 250 justifiable homicides per year, over the entire country. Huge, that.
What really displaced my lunch was the final story in the article, describing how a 69 year old man who cautioned kids about skateboarding on a basketball court was taken to task by a 41 year old Iraqi veteran who was playing "hoops" with his 8 year old daughter. He gave the old man a raft of grief; the old guy backed off, saying he didn't want a fight. Next thing, the vet was"on top" of the old man, who pulled a gun from his pocket and shot his assailant.
This was a terrible thing in the eyes of the reporter, who felt that the old guy deserved to be pounded into the ground, apparently. No disparity of force there, no attempt to retreat, no excuses were going to be strong enough for this old guy to defend his life.
Sorry for the vet and his daughter, but as reported, there seems to be nothing wrong with the action taken. Being an old guy myself, I perhaps am prejudiced toward my personal survival. But next time, I'll leave the Post in the trash can.
Just had to vent. Sorry for the rant.