One of the lessons of the Josh Jarboe case is the culture clash that occurs in big-time college sports.
Those who say that Jarboe’s obscenity-laced rap about guns and shooting people is just a normal part of the culture from which he comes? That aren’t necessarily wrong. I’m sure that’s right, that Jarboe didn’t spend a lot of time thinking up the lyrics or that they’re a sign of future behavior.
The rap was more ignorant than stupid. Jarboe didn’t know any better. Didn’t know how the video would play in his new world of Oklahoma and his new world of a college campus.
For all I know, you could say the same thing about the gun conviction. Maybe taking a gun onto his high school campus was more ignorant than anything. But that’s no excuse.
Guns on school grounds are a serious issue in America. There should be no debate about that. If Jarboe doesn’t realize that — if his home training failed so miserably that he missed out on that most basic of values — then he was a bad gamble for Bob Stoops from the start.
And the irresponsibility of Jarboe’s video shows that he probably doesn’t realize the gravity of his original crime.
Jarboe is the poster child for this issue in Oklahoma, but it’s not an issue that goes back to Georgia with Jarboe. Assimilation is important to society in all facets, people of different backgrounds learning to live and work together, and big-time college sports, where hundreds of Josh Jarboes each year enter the ivory-tower world, are one of the prime laboratories.
August 2nd, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Good column!
In my opinion, we’ve all got to take some ownership of our common culture as Americans. And we need to recognize that, whatever the style of music, performance art that celebrates shooting rivals and sexually abusing women is not an acceptable part of that culture.
Here’s hoping that Josh Jarboe gets his head on straight before he ends up in prison (or dead) after more serious behavior, whether motivated by ignorance, stupidity or malice.
August 5th, 2008 at 10:39 am
I’m sick of the “justification by culture” that we hear so much these days. Just because it’s “culture” doesn’t make it right… at home, or in a new environment. We all criticize China for things that they do. We criticize France for their cultural attitudes. We criticize the Middle East, etc. And, we are criticized (sometimes rightly) for cultural things in America. I don’t care if it is “cool” and ok to freestyle about killing in profanity-laced verse. It’s not right… it’s not productive… it’s not acceptable. And, it’s not hard to not do it when you’ve been warned that it isn’t in the best taste. I want to launch into tirades myself often, but I find it’s awfully easy to keep my mouth shut when I need to. “Culture” should not trump common sense in such a stupid situation as this.