Jason Whitlock column on Taylor

[JWsleep]

If this tragedy helps to bring attention to and helps to stop the epidemic of black on black violence, then I am all for it. That would be the one positive I see in this senseless act of violence. I do not want Sean to be misrepresented or slandered, don't get me wrong. But sometimes it takes a tragedy like this to get people to act. And Whitlock, as well as the others writing this kind of piece, are (all?) themselves black men. They are best positioned to address this issue, and if they don't do it now, the shock of the event will wear off, and the nation will go back to simply ignoring as just another statistic the next black man gunned down.

And even if we learn tomorrow that Sean was murdered by a crazed white female or a jealous eskimo, it would still be ok to make this point. 12,000 murders in the US last year, and a disproportionate number of them black men on black men. I learned that statistic yesterday by reading about Sean's murder. It's a staggering statistic--3 times the number of US troops killed in the entire Iraq war so far. And we are numb to it--it goes by with basically no comment. If the Taylor Tragedy helps wake us up, then that is a good thing, IMHO.