OT - wow Aaron Hernandez kills himself
April 19th, 2017 at 12:36 PM ^
dude cowardly shot and murdered an unarmed, innocent man in cold blood.
Maybe to you he had some kind of bravery taking his own life. I just happen to disagree.
And yes, he could have been brave in other aspects of his life but the cowardice and cold blooded heart of a murderer shine through much beyond any type of bravery he may have had.
It doesn't seem likely to me that a person with Hernandez's prior track record would be motivated by contrition. Maybe self punishment.....not for killing one or more people, but for putting himself in a cell instead of making millions on a football field. So from that angle I'd agree with cowardice.
He had a daughter. She now has no father. Courage would have been to get his mind right, be a Dad to the best of his ability considering his circumstances, and help make sure his daughter was better equipped than he was to make good decisions for herself.
April 19th, 2017 at 10:05 AM ^
I think this is an excellent counterpoint. I am in no way trying to say that Hernandez definitely, absolutely "acted courageously" by doing this. I just think that the "coward took the easy way out" perspective could be completely wrong; not definitely, but possibly.
April 19th, 2017 at 10:14 AM ^
A counterpoint to my counterpoint would be: maybe the best thing he could do for his daughter was remove himself from the equation completely. I could see this being true, but I have a hard time believing his thought process would go that way.
April 19th, 2017 at 10:55 AM ^
There's a case to be made that applying the "coward took the easy way out" attitude to any suicide is problematic for the stigmatizing effect on those with mental health problems.
Indeed, but internet tough guys don't care so long as they can rub dirt in the face of a dead criminal punching bag
You have to be kidding if you think he did this as an act of contrition. He was going to jail soon forever and didn't want to continue. Happens a lot, and always for selfish reasons
If it was contrition he would've done it at some earlier time, before the 1st conviction since he knew he was guilty despite it not being "proven" in court yet
April 19th, 2017 at 10:45 AM ^
Look, I know I'm going to get negged into oblivion for saying this, but after reading this thread, I need to put it out there.
I think it's wrong to celebrate someone's suicide. I recognize that Aaron Hernandez did deeply terrible things and may have been irredeemable as a human, but there's something deeply uncomfortable about celebrating this. It's a tragic end to a tragic and horrifying story.
Suggesting, as some have in this thread, that this is an optimal outcome conflates suicide with justice, which can become a very slippery slope. It isn't a solution to a problem, it doesn't help move anyone move forward or provide any sort of positivity or resolution. It just sort of is.
Saying that Aaron Hernandez's suicide was the consequence for the terrible crimes he committed creates a really sticky situation. Who else "deserves that"? Where do you draw the line in terms of the valuation of a human life? How do you measure the impact that something like this has on his kid or extended family when performing that calculation?
Look, I'm not saying Hernandez was not a terrible person and I would never dream of defening his actions. But this outpouring of performative justice from twitter eggs and message board posters doesn't help the situation. "FUCK YEAH. MOTHERFUCKER DESERVED IT. OH YEAH. ONE SUICIDE I WILL CELEBRATE." These comments are off-putting. The man leaves behind a young daughter and plenty of family and acquaintances who will carry this with them forever. Again, this isn't justice. It's just the continuation of a tragedy that's been playing out for years now.
April 19th, 2017 at 12:54 PM ^
What else are we supposed to do with this news? "Oh no, poor baby"?
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April 19th, 2017 at 10:59 AM ^
I mean, Hernandez at least went to trial and was found guilty. It's small consolation, but at least the victims' families can point to that life conviction as a bit of justice.
Also, he's got life without parole. He wasn't going to provide any meaningful benefit to society in all likelihood, while costing people money and time keeping him alive in jail. This is probably a net-plus for society.
Heard this driving into work this morning. I thought they said Aaron Rogers. Was confused for a moment.
April 19th, 2017 at 10:11 AM ^
Left
April 19th, 2017 at 10:43 AM ^
middle
Actually, "has" was correct. Taxachussetts is so collectivistic and communistic, "taxpayer" is singular.
Hard to understand how someone with so much talent and fame could piss it all away on gang banger lifestyle. I know he was that way before he had the money, but you'd think when he made it big he'd straighten his shit out. Get some help. The violence in that dudes heart was beyond troubling.
sure he was a tortured soul, and while im generally a compassionate person, theres a limit to understanding and humility (or at least there should be) - this dudes a murderer and a scumbag. in the end seems like win win - his tortured soul rests, tax payers off the hook, etc
Lot's of professional athletes and others are bangers in ther youth or from tough situation and grow up and may still have many difficulties in life, yet don't start/conitnue murdering as a hobby/lifestyle. His situations were not "still hanging out with the wrong crowd." He was the crowd - leader of the pack - at UF and up north. He had sociopathic tendencies and never showed remorse.
I wish I had your kindness of spirit, but I just can't bring myself to those levels of empathy considering the pain this guy caused.
April 19th, 2017 at 11:56 AM ^
April 19th, 2017 at 11:15 AM ^
I get the desire for compassion, but this guy killed 2 people and maybe, possibly, was involved in the death of another (being acquitted had more to do with shoddy witnesses than some clear determination of his innocence).
And lots of people overcome terrible starts in life to be successful. He had many opportunities to not kill two people and piss away a million-dollar career, and yet he didn't.
all the time. Are we all inherently good? All inherently bad? Have the capacity for both? How does one explain a sociopath, who clearly has different biological and physiological reactions when committing violence?
In the case of Hernandez, was he a sociopath? Diseased mind? On some crazy drugs. I don't have the answers to the general questions or those specific to Hernandez, I just know that when dealing with someone who never shows remorse for the pain and suffering they cause others, I am unable to find much empathy.
In some cases the fame just seems to make things worse because so many people are willing to look the other way or make excuses. I'm not saying people knew he was a murderer and excused that, but just ignoring a whole lot of lesser things sends a message that the rules don't apply and if you mess up, somebody is going to cover it up for you (like what was going on at Baylor).
In some cases the fame just seems to make things worse because so many people are willing to look the other way or make excuses. I'm not saying people knew he was a murderer and excused that, but just ignoring a whole lot of lesser things sends a message that the rules don't apply and if you mess up, somebody is going to cover it up for you.
i have rubbed elbows, particularly when i lived in socal, with all manner of celebs, rock stars, athletes, etc. a percentage just shy of 100% have what look like 'cool' lives, but any view past the veneer shows them to be totally screwed up. amoral, dopers, divorced, kids in rehab or lost to them, depressed, alcoholics, etc.
counter-intuitive, but the correlation is nearly 1:1 on that metric. hernandez obviously had other very deep-seated issues, but his celebrity was never something that was going to make it better for him.
and one other thing, sure the guy was a gangster, murderer, etc, but the taking of one's life is a harsh, harsh penalty. easy to feel 'superior' to that guy, right? but maybe a bit of grace would be the better response.
April 19th, 2017 at 10:24 AM ^
audible "whaaaaat?!" when I first heard. But then, after thinking further I realized the dude was a lifelong assbag and came to your conclusion. Oh well indeed.
Crazy because during the trial he seemed very light hearted, didnt really seem to care. Dude was off his rocker..
Right... But as soon as the verdict was announced he suddenly switched. It was like the light went on at that moment and he realized what he'd done. It was the first time he showed any emotion the entire time. Almost like he had the realization that he wasn't found guilty yet he STILL faced life in prison.
Do you know for sure that he had a mental illness? Is that documented somewhere, I mean? Because if not and you're attributing these terrible crimes/decisions to a mental illness that he doesn't actually have, that's really irresponsible.
His college coach was Urbane Meyer...
April 19th, 2017 at 10:30 AM ^
Does this mean he's no longer in the Circle of Trust?