Ray Lewis... is this a guy to be revered?

[reefraff]

Quote:
Originally Posted by crimzy http:///t/394272/ray-lewis-is-this-a-guy-to-be-revered#post_3509301
I couldn't agree more. Suggesting that the almighty got him this victory carries the inherent suggestion that he is closer to g-d than the players on the Patriots, or any other team. It's just pumping yourself up needlessly. Personally I don't think that g-d is interested in the outcome of a football game, but that may be just me...
I didn't hear what he actually said but I tend to agree when put in that context. I've seen guys say something like "I want to thank God for giving me the chance" and things along those lines which I think is perfectly fine.

 

[theclemsonkid]

I was actually down in Clemson a few months back and Ray Lewis was there to give a pre-game speech to the team. I was lucky enough to get to hang out in the locker room in the back and listen to him. I'm torn about this guy.
First off, guys like him, and other kids who come from the bad parts of town... they live by a whole different set of rules than you and I do. You have to remember that and keep it in context when you talk about people like him. He certainly ran with the wrong crowd at one point, he would be the first to tell you that. I also think the night people died, he was certainly hanging with the people who did it, and tried his best not to "snitch", which in the place he comes from, that's your everything.
He also had a multimillion dollar contract and career to worry about, which is why he eventually testified against the two other guys, and then paid off the families of the murdered.
From what I heard from him, in his own voice, he sounds to me like he has changed. Talked a lot about God, redemption, doing the right things for yourself and your team. It got everyone fired up, I can tell you that...
So the bottom line with this guy, is that he either really has changed for the better, or he is a very, very good actor.

 

[reefraff]

I keep hearing code of the ghetto thrown out as an excuse but LEWIS SNITCHED!!!!!

 

[beth]

Its not the ghetto, its the culture. The ghetto has nothing to do with it, nor does growing up around the wrong crowd. It is the culture. You see the same in small cities, small towns, rural areas, non-ghettos, no inner cities, etc. It is a fabric within the culture itself, regardless of location.

 

[reefraff]

Hasn't been my experience. It seems to be a gang thing, at least in the areas I've lived in.

 

[beth]

I'm speaking about the code of silence when someone within the community commits a crime. Seems to me commonplace. And it also seems to be a factor with the younger people, rather then middle-aged or older. Something happened to the youth when being thugs and gangsters (even when you are truly not this at all) became so cool. I don't know if it is fear of being ostracized or of reprisals, or some kind of code of silence, but it is wrong.
Of course, there are acceptations, but, my observation has been that this is too commonplace. I do live in the Southeast, so perhaps that is a factor.

 

[2quills]

It's pretty much the same everywhere to some degree or another. Even when I lived In a little spit hole of a town in Arkansas they had thier share of drugs and thug wannabes. Its glorified through the media so its seen as the thing to do. You dont snitch on others for fear of what might happen. Until youre actually put in a situation where you are coerced to roll over.

 

[reefraff]

When I was a kid you didn't snitch either but that was for stupid little stuff, not rape or murder. It seem to have been taken to an obscene level.
But I digress. My whole point is LEWIS SNITCHED. He turned states evidence to stay out of jail.

 

[crimzy]

The pressure got to Lewis eventucode ally but he still hid evidence and failed to provide information about a murder.
Even in my suburban youth, the code still existed. When i was 20, i took the heat for a friend's illegal fireworks because he was on probation and probably would have ended up in jail.
Snitches end up in ditches. It's all about the street cred... ;-)

 

[2quills]

Quote:
Originally Posted by crimzy http:///t/394272/ray-lewis-is-this-a-guy-to-be-revered/20#post_3509587
The pressure got to Lewis eventucode ally but he still hid evidence and failed to provide information about a murder.
These are the facts.
Unfortunately our system isn't perfect and it doesn't always account for the variety of circumstances in which a murder may or may not get reported by someone. There are a lot of people in this country who grow up in areas where folks are seriously distrustful of the law and have no faith in our system. Some of which may rightly be justified (by some) for feeling the way they do. I haven't followed this case, but in some situations I could see where some folks could care less about reporting a crime if they happen to have a reason to feel that some form of street justice is justified in their world. Hard to say what I would do if caught up in something like that. I wouldn't want to see a good friend go to jail for life if I happen to think that it was morally (in my mind) justified.
Everybody protects their own. It's the nature of the beast. But the beast has grown out of control. Once crack and meth started hitting the streets this country started going seriously down hill in many ways. Not that it was perfect before, but things like this don't help in a world with so many guns running around the streets.