Another vote for strong fathers.
A little more than a month removed from the tragic events of the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Parade, Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker sat down with EWTN News to about his faith, his family life, gun violence, Taylor Swift and more.
Of course, what happened at the parade that afternoon was absolutely tragic, and unfortunately, all too common in our society. A verbal altercation among young people resulted in guns being drawn and shots being fired with no regard for the thousands of innocent people that were around. One woman, a local radio DJ, was killed, and 22 others were injured, including many in critical condition. Half of the victims are were under the age of 16.
Two adults, Dominic Miller and Lyndell Mays, were charged today with second degree murder, as well as armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. Both Miller and Mayes were struck by gunfire during the shooting, and have been hospitalized themselves, and will now face up to life in prison if convicted. Two juveniles have also been charged in connection with the shooting, but their identities haven’t been released because they’re both minors.
Much of the conversation afterward has centered around gun control, a complicated and nuanced issue on its own, but the heart of the matter goes deeper than that. Why are young people resulting to such reckless and callous violence at the slightest instance of confrontation? Why are teenagers literally shooting each other because someone looked at them the wrong way? Taking lives over the slightest perceived amount of disrespect? It’s profoundly, profoundly sad
According to Butker, the problem is “degenerative violence” and it begins with a lack of strong fathers:
“I had to do a lot of thinking about what took place at the parade, I know gun violence was a big discussion but at the end of the day, this is degenerate violence that should not be occurring. I think we need strong fathers in the home, I think we need men that are leading, that are settling good examples, that are teaching the young men in our society that violence is not the way to handle our disputes.
It’s very unfortunate what happened. Unfortunately, many, many children were injured, a beautiful young lady was killed over someone getting offended, and turning to violence to handle that dispute. It’s so sad. I don’t think guns are the issue. I think we need strong fathers in the home that are being great examples for our youth.”
Well said.
He added more about the problem of cowardly men failing to lead both their homes and outside of their homes:
His comments about strong fathers echo, in some ways, what Eagles center Jason Kelce said during his retirement speech. In his lengthy and highly emotional press conference, Jason thanked his dad for being a great role model for him, calling a devoted father the “greatest gift” a child can have:
I am a product of my upbringing. I think one of the best things a person can be in this world is a father. A father who is present, loving, devoted, just may be the greatest gift a child could ask for in our society. And I have a damn good one.”
Here’s the full conversation with Harrison Butker:
