Marc: Guns and Violence (this isn't about the 2nd ammendment)

Sometimes our sensitivities about issues get a little out of control.

Today Kobe Bryant (and LeBron James by association) are being criticized for a Nike magazine print ad titled "Prepare for Combat." Underneath the picture of Kobe is the quote, "I'll do whatever it takes to win games. I don't leave anything in the chamber." All the hoopla over the ad is the result of its release right on the heels of a decision by NBA commissioner David Stern to suspend Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton for the remainder of the season. Those two, who play for the Washington Wizards, were suspended for bringing weapons (guns) to the locker room.

Nike used the same theme, "Prepare for Combat", for their Fall football advertising campaign. Remember the Adrian Peterson commercial? The NFL campaign included Brian Urlacher and a few other NFL stars. Then they rolled the same theme into other sports like soccer, hockey, and the NBA with a few of their big stars, like Kobe and LeBron. But that's beside the point.

So what is the point? I don't think there is an issue with a print ad that says, "I don't leave anything in the chamber". It's quite a stretch to compare that phrase to someone bringing guns to work. Are you catching my drift? "I don't leave anything in the chamber" is NOT in the same ballpark as bringing a REAL GUN to a locker room. It's not even in the same state. The funny part to me is that the association is such a stretch that the article finds it necessary to explain it to those who might not be able to make the connection: "The chamber in a gun is the compartment that holds the bullet before it is fired." Thanks Discovery Channel.

Maybe this whole thing is a waste of my time. The media is way too easy of a target.

But I do feel that the sensitivities to gun violence have spun out of control in our country. There have been kids suspended from school for drawing a stick figure with a gun. Seriously? I don't believe in blaming video games, music, toys, movies, TV, or NBA stars for gun violence. I blame it on a lack of parenting or guidance. Kids (or adults for that matter) can be taught the difference between those things and reality.

Take for example my own childhood. I grew up with toy guns all over the place. I remember getting a Starsky and Hutch gun for one of my birthdays (first grade I think). Unfortunately it was broken by the time the party was over, but that's another story. My brothers and I played guns all the time. In fact we made our own guns out of wood and gave them names like "destroyer" and "eliminator". I used to love taking a big piece of paper and drawing out an entire battle scene with tanks, airplanes, machine guns, hand grenades, and swords. My brothers and I played with army men, watched the "A Team", shot BB guns, slingshots, and rubber band guns, and had rock fights with the neighbor kids. Oh, and I used to play "Combat" on my friend's Atari 2600. Amazingly, I haven't been arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and I don't carry a gun to work. I reject the idea that gun violence is the fault of the guns.

Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton brought guns the locker room. Did I say that already? And the reason that they brought those guns is that they thought they might USE them. That's bad news. Stern's suspension decision was definitely justified. In fact, he should have banned them for life. I'm okay with taking action against serious infractions such as this one.

But let's not get ridiculous. What's next? Making the Golden State Warriors change their name? How about the Timberwolves? That wolf on their logo looks really mean and violent. So does that Raptor in Toronto. By the way, I don't remember any of the Washington Bullets being suspended for bringing guns to work. Maybe it's not the name after all.