Stop the Foolery

Many have been discussing the Ja Morant social media video of him waving a gun, and this is not his first time. This was not smart of him of course, and I am not sure why he felt compelled to do it. He is young, but you would think that common sense would have told him not to.  Especially since he had already apologized once for this act of foolery.

Guns continue to be an issue in America as we are still seeing mass shootings, and sadly, even accidental shootings with young people. We just saw this with the four-year-old who shot their one-year-old sibling in the leg. How did this child get access to the gun? Where were the parents? Why does this continue to happen? According to Everytown for Gun Safety, there have been at least 114 unintentional shootings by children just this year. The shootings resulted in 47 deaths and 69 injuries nationally. Texas was ranked second highest for unintentional shootings by children in 2021. We must do something about gun control.

It was Albert Einstein who said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. In my opinion, doing nothing is still doing something. Too many lives have been lost, and nothing is being done about it. It’s as if people’s “rights” are more important than the lives that are being taken.

For Morant, I am not sure what it will take to get his attention. Having a gun doesn’t make you cool. It is not an accessory that you should be waving around like a piece of jewelry. Morant could use his platform to educate others like our youth about gun safety. He has an opportunity to take this foolish act and turn it into something positive. Our young people look up to celebrities. They aspire to be like them. They follow them on social media and mimic their actions, behaviors, fashion, and so much more. Our young people need more positive role models who are in the limelight.

Morant says he takes “full responsibility” for his actions, but I don’t think he understands what that means, especially since this is not the first time. If Morant is not careful, he can lose endorsements and so much more. We live in a society now that will cancel you in a heartbeat. Someone once said, “Responsibility is accepting that you are the cause and the solution to the matter.” If Morant doesn’t see that he is the problem, then he can never take responsibility for his actions.