Charles Barkley: The Voice of Reason

In time of trouble and turmoil we naturally seek out the voice of reason. Even if it is crying out in the wilderness. In today’s America we have been primed to seek out the voices of unreasonable idiot celebrities, of people who know less than everyone else but who have been richly rewarded for it. 

Of course, being a celebrity does not necessarily mean that you know nothing. It does suggest that you do best to keep your jejune and uninformed opinions to yourself. If you are pulling down twenty million a year no one really wants to hear how oppressed you feel.

Anyway, among the celebrities who often offer cogent commentary on the passing scene-- the exception that proves the rule-- we have basketball legend Charles Barkley.

After all, Barkley ensured his place in the commentariat when he stated the obvious, many years ago: “I am not a role model.”

More recently Barkley got himself into a bit of trouble when he offered his views on the Breonna Taylor brouhaha. You recall-- it was only the day before yesterday-- that a Louisville grand jury did not indict the police officers who killed her for murder or manslaughter. It indicted one of them on a lesser charge.

The result was: rioting in the streets of Louisville. One man shot two police officers. And peaceful nonviolent protests broke out across the nation, disrupting public life and burning down what was left of America’s inner cities. 

It remained for Barkley to state the obvious and glaring truth. When the police officers entered Taylor’s apartment, after knocking and announcing themselves as agents of the law, her drug dealing boyfriend started shooting at them. They returned fire-- which apparently according to the finely honed anti-racist mind, means that the police were racists. 

In Barkley’s words, via Zero Hedge:

I don't think this one was like George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery and things like that. I feel sad that this young lady lost her life. I think this one was — the no-knock warrant is something we need to get rid of ... across the board. But I am worried to lump all these situations in together."

He continued, "And I just feel bad that the young lady lost her life. But we do have to take into account that her boyfriend shot at the cops and shot a cop. So like I say, even though I am really sorry she lost her life, I just don't think we can put this in the same situation as George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery."

It sounds reasonable. It sounds like a perfectly appropriate exercise of one’s rational faculties-- not lumping all situations together because the victims were black.

Apparently, such was insufficient for the activists who are ginning up civil discord. That would be the woke mob.

Zero Hedge reports:

In a league that, like the NFL, is seeing ratings impacted presumably by the overwhelming message of social justice that seems to be taking away from the actual games, Barkley was one of the first voices to speak out and defend the police as the nation grappled with the result of the Breonna Taylor verdict.

Imagine that-- defending the police. Surely it is better than defunding the police, don’t you think? Of course, Barkley took it one step further, by calling out the leftist idiots who want to defund the police. An opinion, dare we mention, that is wildly popular within minority communities. Who do you think is going to suffer if there are less police in town?

Barkley said this about that:

Who are black people supposed to call? Ghostbusters? When we have crime in our neighborhood? We need to stop that defund or abolish the cops crap.

Completely sensible remarks-- though sensible remarks are no longer allowed in America.

Anyway, if you think that Barkley was bad, Shaquille O’Neal, another legendary basketball player, chimed in on the same program:

I have to agree with Charles, this one is sort of lumped in. You have to get a warrant signed and some states do allow no-knock warrants. And everyone was asking for murder charges. When you talk about murder, you have to show intent. A homicide occurred and we're sorry a homicide occurred. When you have a warrant signed by the judge, you are doing your job, and I would imagine that you would fire back.

Naturally, the woke mob is now trying to silence these brave souls. The least we can do is applaud their efforts to shine the light of reason into today’s darkness.