Gilbert, Guns and Media Who Love Them

In our gun crazed nation, the national reaction to Gilbert Arenas' unquestionably stupid (and illegal) decision to store his guns in locker room reminds me a bit of when Martha Stewart got thrown in the clink for insider trading. Both Gil and Martha are guilty as charged. . . but neither are drivers of the disfunction.

I have already gone on at length about my frustration with the glee that the media pins the violent thug label on black athletes. But I must bring up again my distaste for the leeway the media takes with a story when it possible fits into the Black Crime narrative. Whatever Gil did, he and Crittedon DID NOT draw on one another in the Wizards locker room. That fake story has been reported and re-reported as fact well after if was clearly a New York Post pipe dream. It is still up as a link on ESPN. Disgusting.

Gun violence in the African American community is a serious and horrible problem. Having high profile athletes like Arenas blithely violating guns rules and laws deserves a significant action from the Wiz and the NBA.

Compare the amount of headline time the Arenas story gets to the micky-fricking Tea-baggers gun rallies, however, and media's emphasis on bad black ballplayers is revealed at the very least as a disproportionate reaction. A significant part of white conservative America has been stock piling weapons and ammo at a frightening pace, fueled by right wing scare tactics claiming that the boogie man Obama coming to get their guns. Much of the rhetoric of the gun totting right clearly borders on threats to the President. Where is the calls for censure of these maniacs? Unlike Arenas, they do not even claim to be joking.