Saw this in WAPO.
CARON describes Gilbert Arenas with four guns in his locker and Javaris Crittendon packing loaded, cocked heat at his locker in a quarrel over $1100 in poker debts, and nearly living the Gunfight at the OK Lockerroom back in the good old leaded days of the Wizards.
BATTLE OF THE HOODS between hoopahs making 100s of millions of scrylla!
Yo!
Be the role model you can be!
In the NBA!
I heard a great interview with Caron last week. He really overcame a lot of adversity in his life to become an NBA player. He was a drug dealer, in jail and out, broken family, all of that. Really inspirational story to hear how he has become a good NBA player with a pretty good reputation.
I probably view these kinds of stories differently than most board rats.
One of the tragic ironies of these kinds of person-survives-crime-and-poverty-and-makes-good stories is how much serious harm persons like Butler have apparently done to so many persons early in life before they turn their own lives into incredible prosperity without ever paying for the many lives they exploited and wrecked early. Instead they start foundations to help those whose lives they didn't wreck, as part of their accountants and PR firm's media strategies for capitalizing even further on their good fortunes. But that's how it is. Frankly, I feel the same way, only more so, about the robber barons of any age.
The same culture that dealt Butler a bad hand early dealt him a fabulously better hand for the vast majority of his life. Who wouldn't trade years 0-15 of survived danger and poverty for $110 million over ten years plus 60 carefree years to enjoy it and help people vs. a long life of pay check to paycheck struggle and agonizing stress for 60-80 years over what will become of one's children? I have been down and up and lived in dangerous hoods and affluent ones and I would make the trade for Butler's life young and old (and I would even skip the crime) without hesitation.
Butler has had such a vastly superior quality of life compared to the life long struggles of most honest Americans that have never turned to a life of crime that it astonishes.
I'm going to invoke some religious discussion into this.
Caron has become a Christian since his days of crime as a youngster. Your view is one I've heard before and it's typical if people are thinking that our deeds are put on a balance, and if the good outweighs the bad then the person is going to be good for the coming judgment day. Thus, Caron, since he was arrested 15 times, that's way more bad so he can't ever be declared good.
But this is the mystery of redemption. A person, like the Apostle Paul, can do an awful lot of bad and then through God's grace, be redeemed and the past is erased.
That's why I can say this is a great story. A young driftless man has become a model citizen, and by virtue of his superb athleticism, can, unlike most of us not so similarly gifted, make a lot of money in the process.
This is so simple.
Just picture someone like little Caron Butler--but not Caron Butler--selling a few grams of blow to a few kids in his neighborhood. Or whatever narcotic it was.
There. Got that image fixed in your mind?
Now. Visualize these two kids that he just sold some blow to and watch their healthy little bodies grow thin and get dark circles around their eyes over the next six months. Got that?
Now visualize them starting to steal to buy. And one of them getting aids on a dirty needle. And the other one getting the shit beaten out of him repeatedly when he gets too slow and shaky to steal stuff without getting caught by those he is stealing from.
Got that?
Now, visualize someone like Caron--but not Caron Butler--and his little customers climbing out of cardboard condos in alleys, or huddling by trash fires in the crook of underpasses and staggering around in the winter snow looking for a fix.
Got that, too?
Now, imagine those little junkies doing oral sex on old bums for money to get their fixes.
Got that?
Now, imagine one of them getting popped through eye socket with a .38 for stealing from the wrong kind of person, or just for the fun of it by some sadistic bastard.
Got that?
Now, imagine this scenario repeated not with two kids but with dozens, maybe hundreds of little "customers" over a period of a couple of years someone like little Caron--but not Caron Butler--might have connected with.
Got that?
Now, imagine all the mothers and fathers and grand parents and brothers and sisters of those little customers spending what little money they had to try to get their little junkies family members straight and have the little junkies lie and steal everything of any value their poor parents had.
Think of all of this while you praise someone like Butler--but not Caron Butler.
I try never to forget this image stream, when I talk about young scumbags that grow up and make a lot of money and get born again.
@jaybate-1.0 There's a lot of theological issues lying in this little discussion! I understand, lock em up, throw away the key. But that's not what saving faith is. That's not what grace is. That's not what God's love is. People have trouble coming to grips with it. I understand.
I used to be a Bible study leader in the prison where Jeffrey Dahmer was incarcerated and killed. Towards the end of his life, he made a change where he said he was a believer and was baptized. I know the chaplain who dealt with him. Now could he have been doing this just to gain some advantage? Obviously he might not have been sincere. But some/many of the people I attend services with each week are not sincerely, deep down in their heart believers either I don't think. (I'm glad I'm not the judge!) But to understand God's love, grace, and mercy means that even Dahmer could be residing in heaven right now, and certainly it means that Caron Butler, despite the obvious damage his crimes did to people, can turn his life around with God's help. Would you rather that you've never heard of Butler and that he'd be dead or in jail now before taking down a whole lot more people with him?
These are very real questions you are asking and I'm hoping that I'm explaining what can happen to the Caron's of this world.
The issue of crime is never ultimately about whether a criminal can turn it around. That is a separate issue and science. Many criminals can turn it around under the right circumstances. Everyone wants them to turn it around through reason, Christ or Buddhism, or psychiatry, meds or what have you. And the criminal justice system should be geared to finding the best way, not with perpetuating vindictive punishment. But for selling junk to kids? Rewarding them with a life of loving service to their victims when they change seems the only way to address both need for justice and compassion to perp and victim.
The issue is what must a criminal be required to do after turning it around.
A Butler locked up is pointless for the victims and a Butler. A Butler grinding out a humble living is pointless for the victims and a Butler. A Butler getting rich and doing a few good deeds is pointless, too.
A Butler needs to spend the rest of his rehabilitated life outside prison, or at least a large designated portion of it, worshipping God, and doing gods work with the victims he created, not for the tax deferred and non victim related benefit of it That would be real, meaningful freedom, compassion and justice for a devout Butler and real justice and love for the victims.
This is entirely about doing a Christian thing for a Christian perp, too. He must give all he makes to the victims. He must do all his good deeds for the victims. He must love them and help them and sacrifice for them. He must use the spirit of God and gods love for them. He must seek them out and serve them humbly. He must be their servant, not slave. He must be Christlike to them. Not be crucified. Jesus died for his sins already. He must live his life as Christ would have. He must renounce all worldly possessions and minister to his victims. It appears the only moral and just way for one to address such a wrong. He must do so with love in his heart. Freely, or return to prison till he can. And we must love him enough to help him renounce all his worldly possessions and free him of their destracting nature and instead help him focus his love and service on those that need it because of what he did. It is so kind and loving to do this for the Butlers of the world, instead of executing them, or imprisoning them, or letting them go free and use religion to excuse their sin and help them toward normal lives. Truly free them to do only Gods work, not distract themselves from serving their victims.
But note, this is only a layman's suggestion for the crime of selling horse to children. It is not about Cameron Butler. What's done is done with him.