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Let's not have a national panic about the "knockout game"

By Scott Tibbs, December 9, 2013

Stories about the so-called "knockout game" have lit up conservative media over the last couple months, and have led to a number of stories in the mainstream media too. While this is a very serious matter, let's all take a deep breath and not make this into something bigger than it is. We certainly do not need to use it to stir up racial animosity, as Will Wright points out.

The knockout game is real and instances of it have been well-documented. Some of the attacks, including a sub-human puddle of slime and filth who knocked out a 76 year old woman. What kind of effeminate coward does that? But this is not an epidemic and you are not in danger of being sucker-punched by every young black male you see. (And that is the pop culture's impression of what is going on here - out of control black youths.)

Where I disagree with Wright is his dishonest characterization of the Trayvon Martin shooting, painting it as "a black teenager walking where he had the right to be" and ignoring Martin's brutal beating of a neighborhood watch volunteer that could have been fatal. By bringing the Martin case into the discussion over the "knockout game" and ignoring the most critical aspect of the case, Wright discredits himself and cripples his own argument.

Nonetheless, it is legitimate to be concerned that irresponsible pundits are making this "game" seem much bigger than it is encourages more distrust and outright racism. This country has a long and shameful history of casting young black men ad out of control predators. We saw this with the horrific murder of Emmett Till and the shameful fraudulent case against the men falsely accused of a demonic "wilding" attack on a Central Park jogger. The real culprit was not identified until many years later.

Let's chill out. Find the people who are doing this, aggressively prosecute them and put them away. But don't blame an entire class of people for the actions of a few, in response to a "game" that is not nearly as widespread as the media would have you believe.

We certainly do not need a bunch of busybody meddling legislators passing more laws to address the game. Assault, battery, attempted murder and murder are already illegal. We do not need more laws to criminalize things that are already against the law. Just prosecute the criminals responsible and punish them as harshly as legally possible.