My final thoughts on the Taylor situation

[StanleySpadowski]

I've never been so proud of so many Cowboys' fans. The amount of people here who said they were offering prayers was mind boggling. So many people poured their hearts out after he was shot. Most understood that life is a helluva lot more important that football.


At the same time, I've never been so disappointed in this board...I've never seen this board so heavily moderated. Any comment that wasn't "Taylor was the super swellest guy who ever lived" was deleted on sight. A lot of legitiimate discussion was stifled. If this board wants to moderate for content, 95% of the threads would be stopped in their tracks.

Onto Taylor. He was a decent player who had potential. People seem to forget that he lead the league in TDs allowed just last season and set a new STATS record for missed tackles. He also was second in personal fouls since he was in the league. He was having a great season but hardly a HOF shoe in like he's being portayed by some, but anyone who saw him play knew that physically, he was an outlier for the safety position and it appeared that he turned the corner.

I've seen reports that he found God and for that I say amen but let's not forget that who he was. He made some really poor choices in life.

I've seen more posts than I can count on various boards about punching people (I'll probably get a few of those for this post) or how some people wish they could find the perpetrator before the police. That really bothers me. If people could learn one thing from the death of Taylor, I would hope that it is that violence is never a solution.

The only thing that we know for sure about Taylor's death is that some POS didn't value human life. Someone thought that violence was a solution when it isn't and never will be. How someone could fire shots in the vicinity of a toddler without regard is beyond my ability to comprehend. I'll be honest, I just don't understand how that could occur. If this was an assassination, I just don't get how someone could be so callous to know him well enough to know when he would be present but not well enough to know that a child was almost always near him.

In closing, I hope that everyone who read my words and thinks, what an ***, I'd like to punch that prick out, stops for a moment and realizes that no good comes from even thinking that and realizes how dehumanizing we've become.

 

[Cajuncowboy]

Kinda agree with allot of this post. I really do have an issue with the way Taylor protected (or rather didn't protect) his family in this case.

As has been mentioned, he had a concern prior to this happening with a previous break in.

He had access to NFL security whose job it is to protect the players when they have these issues but failed to utilize it.

He had a home security system in the home but failed to turn it on.

With all that said, it's a shame that this happened. I wish it could be done over and prevented.

But we don't get those kind of do overs in life.

 

[WoodysGirl]

At the same time, I've never been so disappointed in this board...I've never seen this board so heavily moderated. Any comment that wasn't "Taylor was the super swellest guy who ever lived" was deleted on sight. A lot of legitiimate discussion was stifled. If this board wants to moderate for content, 95% of the threads would be stopped in their tracks.

That's a bit of an exaggeration. Trust me, we didn't moderate nearly as heavily as you think.You can believe what you will about mod intervention, but I know for a fact how little we did. Most of the backlash came from actual members discussing among themselves from opposing views...

Once Taylor died, I personally felt that there's a time and a place for everything. It's not even about the kind of person he was or was supposedly becoming. It's about give folks time to get past the initial shock before weighing in. That's just my opinion, but it's certainly not one that I feel necessary to impose on others. That's why I've been silent for the most part.

I think quite a few people have had an opportunity to get their shots in about what was done with the board colors or about folks expressing sympathy by calling them hypocrits. So if you're disappointed in the things being done with the discussion board, then you're not the only one.

 

[Nors]

I think there was a time of respect and time to honor Sean Taylor and this tragic loss of life.

But at some point - there are a lot of issues to discuss here. Not sure what the PC timeline is these days. ESPN's Heard talked it up real today.

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

I'm not sure who long you're supposed to wait, but it still seems somewhat soon.

Either way, he could have done a complete 180 from before and supposedly he had, but that doesn't mean those he used to hang around changed at all. His past may have caught up with him.

 

[HighTechDave]

yeah, I was one that talked about the colors of the site. I think I got deleted, but wasn't a big deal.

I do recommend changing the colors back by tommorrows game though. I think we have paid our respects more than enough, and rightfully so!

IMHO

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

Once Taylor died, I personally felt that there's a time and a place for everything.

Exactly.

I love how some want to point out his lifestyle and bad decisions he made.

You take those same finger pointers and call them on a bad/poor decision they made in their life and WATCHOUT!

 

[HighTechDave]

nobody deserved to die, except Hitler

 

[bbgun]

nobody deserved to die, except Hitler

And my long-ago Geometry teacher. Watch your back, Mr. Purcell.

 

[Nors]

I think we have given Taylor his due respect on this site.

At some point soon going into a big Packer game tomorrow we need to go back to blue.

 

[jterrell]

Whatever Taylor may have done it did not warrant getting murdered in his bedroom.

It really is that simple.

And people feeling they need to bring that up imho are weak-minded individuals who can't accept bad things happen to people period, not just people who made mistakes. Taylor was 24 friggin years old. A lot of people ran with some questionable folks in high school(myself included) and that is far from a reason their death is now less substantial.

You do not have to be Gandhi for it to be a tragedy you were murdered.

I hope whomever did this is arrested and if the facts are it was cold-blooded murder in the same room with his family I hope they get the death penalty.

I think the mods were spot on here.
If people can not be depended upon to show some common decency then the site has to regulate that. If not then the escalation would have been nasty.

 

[TheCount]

I've never been so proud of so many Cowboys' fans. The amount of people here who said they were offering prayers was mind boggling. So many people poured their hearts out after he was shot. Most understood that life is a helluva lot more important that football.


At the same time, I've never been so disappointed in this board...I've never seen this board so heavily moderated. Any comment that wasn't "Taylor was the super swellest guy who ever lived" was deleted on sight. A lot of legitiimate discussion was stifled. If this board wants to moderate for content, 95% of the threads would be stopped in their tracks.

Onto Taylor. He was a decent player who had potential. People seem to forget that he lead the league in TDs allowed just last season and set a new STATS record for missed tackles. He also was second in personal fouls since he was in the league. He was having a great season but hardly a HOF shoe in like he's being portayed by some, but anyone who saw him play knew that physically, he was an outlier for the safety position and it appeared that he turned the corner.

I've seen reports that he found God and for that I say amen but let's not forget that who he was. He made some really poor choices in life.

I've seen more posts than I can count on various boards about punching people (I'll probably get a few of those for this post) or how some people wish they could find the perpetrator before the police. That really bothers me. If people could learn one thing from the death of Taylor, I would hope that it is that violence is never a solution.

The only thing that we know for sure about Taylor's death is that some POS didn't value human life. Someone thought that violence was a solution when it isn't and never will be. How someone could fire shots in the vicinity of a toddler without regard is beyond my ability to comprehend. I'll be honest, I just don't understand how that could occur. If this was an assassination, I just don't get how someone could be so callous to know him well enough to know when he would be present but not well enough to know that a child was almost always near him.

In closing, I hope that everyone who read my words and thinks, what an ***, I'd like to punch that prick out, stops for a moment and realizes that no good comes from even thinking that and realizes how dehumanizing we've become.

I know we live in a country where nothing is more important than "me" and what "I Think", but learn to be a little selfless and just let it go. You're not accomplishing anything.

What many people are failing to understand is that the guy has already paid the ultimate price for the bad decisions he's made, do you feel you still have to come on here and say, "Hey, he wasn't that nice a guy, stop pretending he's some kind of hero!"

What is so hard to comprehend here, he's dead. How much more can he give at this point? Do you want him to come back from the dead and apologize to you personally for everything he's done? Maybe after that he can jump in a time machine, go back, and stop his past-self from doing those things to begin with.

And to even bring up his career in one light or another is ultimately tactless. He's never going to have the opportunity to step on a field and prove that claim right or wrong.

 

[Nors]

I know we live in a country where nothing is more important than "me" and what "I Think", but learn to be a little selfless and just let it go. You're not accomplishing anything.

What many people are failing to understand is that the guy has already paid the ultimate price for the bad decisions he's made, do you feel you still have to come on here and say, "Hey, he wasn't that nice a guy, stop pretending he's some kind of hero!"

What is so hard to comprehend here, he's dead. How much more can he give at this point?

And to even bring up people portraying his career in one light or another is ultimately tactless. He's never going to have the opportunity to step on a field and prove that claim right or wrong.

Yes,

Huge waste of life and terrible tragic outcome.

But there is a real story and real issues to discuss here. Police can't sidestep it and eventually the public has to address it.

 

[mr.jameswoods]

I ignored this site for the last 3 days because I knew this type of P.C. rubbish would be found. Enough already! People are trying to make Taylor some messiah. I'm glad he was trying to change his life but there is something to be said for karma. He did a lot of bad things in his past as well and he paid for them. Having a daughter doesn't just him this angel all of a sudden...PLEASE! No, this was not a random murder. It was planned. For petesake, there was a knife on his pillow the week prior and people still want to argue that this murder was due to a random burglary...please enough with the suspension of intelligence. This is not the same as Michael Jordan's dad being killed for the Cadillac.

And what would any intelligent person do? If I found a knife on my pillow, I would get out of town ASAP. It's like those horror films, the dude goes in the house and the ghosts are warning you to get the heII out and the guy decides to remain in the house until he gets killed in the end. Yeah, I'll say, I think Taylor had too much of an ego to get out Miami. He was being tough and ignored the threat. That's not being a man, that's being stupid.

I'm sorry that a father lost her daughter. I'm sorry that a human being was killed. However, it's not like Taylor was an upstanding and responsible citizen who was a victim of a random murder, yet that's how this death is being treated. This is just sentimentality at it's finest. That's all!

And the reason I'm raising this criticism is that celebrating Taylor by proclaiming his death as some horrific tragedy on the same level as MLK's death is sending the wrong message. We should be saying: "Look kids, if you act like a gangsta and upset people by trying to be a thug, it's going to haunt you. Carry yourself as a gentlemen and treat people with respect and you will avoid being killed by thugs." Instead, we are saying: "Poor Taylor, he acted like a thug both on and off the field but we should forget that because he had a daughter and now he is a completely changed person thus he is a victim despite ignoring a threat he received a week earlier. This reminds me of the sentimentality following Tupac's death. Tupac was a great artist but sorry, he had it coming.

 

[skinzfan26]

Whatever Taylor may have done it did not warrant getting murdered in his bedroom.

It really is that simple.

And people feeling they need to bring that up imho are weak-minded individuals who can't accept bad things happen to people period, not just people who made mistakes. Taylor was 24 friggin years old. A lot of people ran with some questionable folks in high school(myself included) and that is far from a reason their death is now less substantial.

You do not have to be Gandhi for it to be a tragedy you were murdered.

I hope whomever did this is arrested and if the facts are it was cold-blooded murder in the same room with his family I hope they get the death penalty.

I think the mods were spot on here.
If people can not be depended upon to show some common decency then the site has to regulate that. If not then the escalation would have been nasty.

thank you for writing this. this is how i feel, as a skins fan and as a person. I was very impressed with the fans and gestures made here. you all should be proud how you are honoring him, not saying time to move on and change the colors. no one is saying he was a HOF shoe-in, but he was an amazing player who had tremendous upside and was getting better and better. I don't lnow what kinds of things were deleted, but when a person dies, any person, one does not usually discuss them in a negative light. And if people do have negative feelings, they usually keep them to themselves out of respect.

 

[CowboyPrincess]

Whatever Taylor may have done it did not warrant getting murdered in his bedroom.

It really is that simple.

And people feeling they need to bring that up imho are weak-minded individuals who can't accept bad things happen to people period, not just people who made mistakes. Taylor was 24 friggin years old. A lot of people ran with some questionable folks in high school(myself included) and that is far from a reason their death is now less substantial.

You do not have to be Gandhi for it to be a tragedy you were murdered.

I hope whomever did this is arrested and if the facts are it was cold-blooded murder in the same room with his family I hope they get the death penalty.

I think the mods were spot on here.
If people can not be depended upon to show some common decency then the site has to regulate that. If not then the escalation would have been nasty.

I agree with you 100%

This was a man that was murdered in front of his girlfriend and baby daughter. The fact that he made bad decisions in the past are irrelevant. Human life is precious no matter whom they are (unless they are a child molester). Sean Taylor was a man with a infant lying close by. The person or persons that did this deserve to be punished at the full extent of the law - hopefully the death penalty. All this crap about his past catching up to him is exactly that... crap. Have we forgotten our own team members history - Hollywood Henderson, Micheal Irvin, etc. Making mistakes in the past is something that EVERYBODY does. I know that I've made dozens of mistakes, but you know what? My life is just as valuable as Mother Teresa's was. He was murdered. Anyone that wants to point a finger at his past needs to look in their own past and ask if they would deserve what happened to him. This holier than thou attitude is crap... total crap.

R.I.P Sean Taylor

 

[HighTechDave]

and the colors are back!!!

now let's get back on topic of the packers losing.....

 

[PBJTime]

I ignored this site for the last 3 days because I knew this type of P.C. rubbish would be found. Enough already! People are trying to make Taylor some messiah. I'm glad he was trying to change his life but there is something to be said of karma. He did a lot of bad things in his past as well and he paid for them. No, this was not a random murder. It was planned. For petesake, there was a knife on his pillow the week prior and people still want to argue that this murder was due to a random burglary...please enough with the suspension of intelligence. This is not the same as Michael Jordan's dad being killed for the Cadillac.

And what would any intelligent person do? If I found a knife on my pillow, I would get out of town ASAP. It's like those horror films, the dude goes in the house and the ghosts are warning you to get the heII out and the guy decides to remain in the house until he gets killed in the end. Yeah, I'll say, I think Taylor had too much of an ego to get out Miami. He was being tough and ignored the threat. That's not being a man, that's being stupid.

I'm sorry that a daughter lost her daughter. I'm sorry that a human being was killed. However, it's not like Taylor was an upstanding and responsible citizen who was a victim of a random murder, yet that's how this death is being treated. This is just sentimentality at it's finest. That's all

So you know that he was bad enough for karma to come back and cause his demise? Let's just hope karma never catches up to you...you know up on that pedestal and all...

He was changing his life. Having a child can have that effect on a person. Not to mention, he was still just a kid. Not everybody has matured in their early 20's.

Amazing that people want to take shots a person like this.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

and the colors are back!!!

now let's get back on topic of the packers losing.....

I agree, put something Taylor related in your sig, avatar, whatever, and get back to living life, it's not like we knew the guy, so the mourning period shouldn't be too great

 

[mr.jameswoods]

So you know that he was bad enough for karma to come back and cause his demise? Let's just hope karma never catches up to you...you know up on that pedestal and all...

He was changing his life. Having a child can have that effect on a person. Not to mention, he was still just a kid. Not everybody has matured in their early 20's.

Amazing that people want to take shots a person like this.

I've never assaulted anyone on or off the field. I've never pointed a loaded gun at someone either. Pedestal my a@%#%#, I'm like most of the people living in this country. I have respect for the law and my neighbor. Yes, we get angry too but we have enough sense not to point a loaded gun at someone's head. If that is putting me on a pedestal so be it. Karma goes both ways. It rewards those who show respect to others too. The only thing that is amazing is how this sentimental nonsense has clouded your intelligence. I hate how people in this country avoid taking responsibility for their actions or holding others responsible for their actions. He was 24 years old; sorry but that's not a kid!