Would have been 51...

[AtlAtty]

Don’t forget Chris Campbell and Al Blades, Jr.

Tragic automobile accidents.

And the great Jerome Brown

 

[canes1996]

I hate how long our “gone too soon” list is.

 

[TheOriginalCane]

And the great Jerome Brown

All are worth rememberances, without a doubt.

I was just struck by the closeness of Marlin's birthday and Shane's birthday.

And the similarities of their deaths.

 

[UnForgiven]

This clearly leads to a longer discussion about gun control/access. But your point is well taken. When I was a prosecutor in Atlanta what I (we) all saw was that a small percentage of people committed a large percentage of the crime. Which means that repeat offenders are a drain on the criminal justice system, and society as a whole.

But eliminating them is hard because society creates them, and a capitalist society, which necessarily has wealth inequality, creates more. This is not meant to excuse the bad actors, but it is our reality.

I came away from my time, like so many before me, understanding the problem and seeing the challenges in making any real change. But I also came to hate the people who committed the senseless acts of violence because I saw the impact on the families. I saw the hurt in their eyes and voices. Convicting a murder or rapist was some relief but it did nothing to bring back the loved one or give the rape victim a chance at a normal life. The consequences were often multi generational. Kill a father or mother and the little kids lives have been altered forever and they may become the perpetrators one day because of their anger.

We could go on for a long time on this topic. And I believe reasonable people could find reasonable solutions. But politicians and special interest groups will always stand in the way of real progress.

Nice post man. Always respect real talk. Nothing there I can disagree with.

 

[drewm3i]

So many good Canes gone early. Way more than other programs, it would seem.

 

[drewm3i]

This clearly leads to a longer discussion about gun control/access. But your point is well taken. When I was a prosecutor in Atlanta what I (we) all saw was that a small percentage of people committed a large percentage of the crime. Which means that repeat offenders are a drain on the criminal justice system, and society as a whole.

But eliminating them is hard because society creates them, and a capitalist society, which necessarily has wealth inequality, creates more. This is not meant to excuse the bad actors, but it is our reality.

I came away from my time, like so many before me, understanding the problem and seeing the challenges in making any real change. But I also came to hate the people who committed the senseless acts of violence because I saw the impact on the families. I saw the hurt in their eyes and voices. Convicting a murder or rapist was some relief but it did nothing to bring back the loved one or give the rape victim a chance at a normal life. The consequences were often multi generational. Kill a father or mother and the little kids lives have been altered forever and they may become the perpetrators one day because of their anger.

We could go on for a long time on this topic. And I believe reasonable people could find reasonable solutions. But politicians and special interest groups will always stand in the way of real progress.

We live in a fallen, imperfect world--not necessarily in a religious sense (although that is a reasonable position, IMO), but in a "to err is to be human" one. These problems you mention are so difficult and interconnected, that "solving" them is essentially impossible. The operative question ought be: how could we do better in these regards?

 

[Trafficante]

We live in a fallen, imperfect world--not necessarily in a religious sense (although that is a reasonable position, IMO), but in a "to err is to be human" one. These problems you mention are so difficult and interconnected, that "solving" them is essentially impossible. The operative question ought be: how could we do better in these regards?