Bill O'Reilly: America and personal responsibility

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America and personal responsibility

Talking Points 12/4

By Bill O'Reilly

Immediately after Jovan Belcher shot his girlfriend to death and then killed himself, the excuses started. Guns, violence in the National Football League and other adjacent issues were trotted out by a variety of pundits.

But here is the fact. Belcher is solely responsible for the horrendous crime which orphaned his baby daughter. He did it he knew right from wrong, he chose, he chose to inflict lethal damage. There's no question that Belcher was mentally imbalanced, you don't do what he did if you're in control of yourself. But to blame society or guns or football is grossly irresponsible.

Tomorrow Bob Costas will appear on The Factor to explain his remarks about the gun culture. Mr. Costas finds himself in the middle of a controversy and we are anxious to hear his point of view. Another guy who has inserted himself into the story Kansas City sports writer Jason Whitlock who sees it this way.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

JASON WHITLOCK: I believe the NRA is the new KKK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow.

WHITLOCK: And that -- the arming of so many black youths and loading up our communities with drugs and end of just having an open shooting gallery is the work of people that, you know, obviously don't have our best interest.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

O'REILLY: What a bunch of bull. We invited Mr. Whitlock on the program tonight. He's hiding under his desk. He knows he can't defend that position.

Here's a bulletin to Whitlock. No society can protect people against a guy like Belcher. Ever since man first walk the planet there's been violence. It's hard wired into some people.

This deflection into guns or race, simply nonsense. We are living in a time of denial. Our cultured is cluttered with excuses for bad behavior. It's always somebody else's fault, not the individual screwing up. All of us make mistakes but how many of us own up?

Talk to teenagers today, you'll hear a litany of excuse-making for just about everything. And while those immature minds can be understood we often don't challenge the dodge. Our schools and courts are chockfull of people in authority who allow excuses to mitigate awful behavior.

Celebrities like Lindsay Lohan have an excuse for everything. And you know what's likely to happen to Ms. Lohan -- a grizzly end. That's what.

Substance abuse rampant in America, cyber violence an epidemic, irresponsibility off the chart. And what are we doing about it? What are we doing about it? Making excuses.

Jovan Belcher was a villain. A person who was given athletic talent and instead of building a worthwhile life for himself and his baby destroyed lives. That's on him, period.

And that's "The Memo."