burningmetal

Slo, I rarely disagree with you on anything, and I'm not saying I disagree with everything you said, but one doesn't simply shoot a person over road rage without having a serious personal issue. You don't have to tell me that things like this escalate, because I already know that very well. The question is how, or why, does it escalate? I've been mad at drivers for cutting in front of me, and then flipping me off when I honk at them. But I never for a second entertained the idea of killing them.

It's sounds like you think it's making excuses to say these people have something wrong with them. I'm not making ANY excuse for criminals. Whatever circumstances you came from does not give you the right to be violent. But there has to be a reason that people become the way they are. Every human being is inherently evil and capable of doing horrible things without proper guidance. Some people just never develop a moral compass. Some are born with a mental predisposition that makes them more prone to outbursts. Whatever the origin of the problem, there is certainly something wrong.

We live in a society where people are constantly being turned against each other with political rhetoric. This only fuels the problems, though it isn't the central problem.

You asked if I think he was conditioned to hate Smith because of his friendship with Ceravolo. I think it's highly likely, yes. Whatever lawsuit he had going on, he would have had a hard time winning that case. I'm not sure why I should question his willingness to jeopardize his case when that is EXACTLY what he did. Smith was shot in the back. That doesn't sound like self defense. Where's the other gun?

I'm not defending Will because he's a former Saint. I'm defending him because there is nothing to suggest he did anything to get himself shot. I don't care what he said to the guy. If Hayes chased him down, then I'm quite sure there was a pretty loud argument between them. But to shoot Smith AND his wife?

When did I say that all poor people go around shooting others? I mentioned a few of the symptoms (didn't think I had to list every single one) that lead to crime, in making my point that blaming the weapon is misguided.

Why do young black men kill each other so much? I don't know either, other than to say that it's a cultural issue. You said yourself, everyone wants to be an OG. Well, why is that? They grow up around gangs and they want to a part of it I'm guessing? Am I making some kind of excuse when I say that? I sure don't think so. It's not ok to be a gangster because everyone else around you is caught up in it. But that's the way it is. I have no idea if Hayes had any gang affiliation. But I know that to kill a person it takes an extraordinary amount of anger that goes far beyond just road rage. Yeah, he had road rage alright, but to take it to that level? Will Smith was as quiet as any professional athlete out there. I don't find it credible that he would have made a gun threat, even as a bluff.

I'm really confused how we can say that people just commit murders without any deep-seeded hatred. Even if Hayes had no idea who Smith was, he obviously had enough anger to kill him over a fender bender. Is that anything less than hatred? Did he kill him because he was bored?

We don't have much information about the so- called hit and run. There's no telling if Hayes provoked Smith to bump him, or if it was initiated by Smith. Either way, I'm sure that did escalate the problem, but to kill him right after he was hanging out with ceravolo, it seems awful unlikely that that didn't contribute to his reason for shooting him. I can't say for sure though. So let's assume he had no clue who he was shooting. Give me evidence that Will threatened him. The fact that the killer didn't flee the scene tells me that he panicked. I've heard of numerous cases of people calling 911 after killing someone to stage it as an accident, or self defense.

If I had a nickel for every time I heard that, the NFL would fine and suspend me.