Thursday, July 09, 2009

When Confronting McNair, What's A Girl to Do?

Looking back on the McNair tragedy, it's easy to argue that men are genetically predisposed to mate with as many females as possible; but, "This night out on the town backfired." Focus on her frame of mind for a minute. When a 36-year old athlete hands a youngster the keys to his Bentley, what's a girl to do? When a man co-signs for your brand new Cadillac Escalade, what's a girl to do? When a man takes you to his small hometown and parades you around in front of his family, what's a girl to do? When a rich man gives you the keys to his luxury condominium, what's a girl to do? When a man promises you he's divorcing his wife while leaving behind four young sons, what's a girl to do? In order to entice this kid, McNair allegedly did all these things. Of course, no one expected 20-year Sahel Kazemi to take her life, let alone, McNair's, but she did. Suicide, unfortunately, is the third leading cause of death among young people ages 20-24. Taking one's life, moreover, isn't something old people normally do since they have the life experiences to know tough times don't last forever. By the time you become an adult, most men realize women give sex in exchange for love, and males give love in exchange for sex. Any man risks a woman's fury when he shortchanges her by making promises he can't keep. Regardless of how you feel about this young lady, suicide prevention experts say particularly for young people: relationship breakups are one of the leading causes of suicides, followed by social struggles, and drug addiction. Sahel was toiling with all three. Sure, the young lady made a poor choice, but McNair - a man with a loving wife plus four young sons - didn't help the situation. In Sahel's defense, portraying her as a rebuffed gold digger misses the point on the importance of mentoring our youth. A womanizer like McNair should not have been trying to take advantage of naivete. With all her problems, Sahel never asked anyone to push her over the cliff, instead she really needed a helping hand to pull her back into reality. Perhaps in death, Sahel may have taught us a lesson: Sometimes life does follow the script.

Monday, July 06, 2009

For NRA: McNair was Target Practice

In wake of Steve McNair's murder, the National Rifle Association is apt to say, "Guns don't kill people; people kill people." Of course they never add that "People kill people with guns." Once again, another individual is executed by a weapon they probably kept in their home. In case you've been living on Mars, former quarterback, Steve McNair along with his 20-year girlfriend, Sahel Kazemi, were found dead in a condominium jointly owned by McNair also sporting goods magnet, Wayne Neely. In a bit of irony, a friend of Sahel was planning on taking her to a shooting gallery since she was afraid to be alone at night. Kazemi declined the invitation, however, because she said McNair had plenty of guns lying around. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, guns are rarely used against an intruder; in most cases, the bullets find their way into the flesh of an acquaintance. One man, for example, was so trigger happy, he shot his wife while mistaking her for a late night prowler...at least that's what he told police. Even experienced marksmen, moreover, will tell you they have to practice weekly to hit a moving target. Yet, people in this country prolong the arms race by buying assault rifles, revolvers, as well as semi automatic weapons. Aware of the carnage in Chicago's city streets, President Obama promised to confront the gun lobby in Washington, but like most of his rhetoric, it's all talk with very little action. The NRA, meanwhile, continues to promote the notion there is a big dangerous black man lurking around the corner, so shoot first. The concept is so prevalent- according to the New York Times - even black undercover police officers are mistakenly gunned down by their peers. In conclusion, I don't know who Sahel Kazemi saw in her final moments with McNair: after all, he is a big black guy; yet in the eyes of society, Steve McNair may as well had a bulls eye on his forehead.