If you’ve ever wondered why anyone needs to know how Charles Barkley feels about issues like the Ferguson, Mo., protesters, then you have something in common with Kenny Smith.
Smith, one of Barkley’s co-hosts on TNT’s “Inside the NBA,” penned an open letter to his friend and colleague for USA TODAY’s For The Win addressing Barkley’s recent comments on the fallout to the Michael Brown shooting. Whereas Barkley labeled the protesters and looters “scumbags,” Smith offered a different perspective.
Smith’s basic message in the letter is that while he and Barkley grew up in tough conditions, they have been rich and famous for too long now to truly know the feelings of those activists in Ferguson. But Smith said he and Barkley should at least try to understand those people’s anger.
“When someone is in ‘the struggle,’ which many of our black communities are in, they are living with a lack of educational facilities, high unemployment and poor recreational facilities,” Smith wrote. “For those of us who are decades removed from ‘the struggle’ because of our life through sports or business, we now have to acknowledge that every option listed exists. If not, then we are the ignorant ones.”
Questioning why Barkley’s opinion on political and social matters is often listed alongside those of President Obama and Rev. Al Sharpton, Smith tried to explain the very different life he and Barkley live from many of the protesters in Ferguson.
“That leads me to the looters and civilians burning buildings, which you referred to as ‘scumbags,'” Smith added. “Here’s an analogy: If you put 100 people on an island with no food, no water, no hope of a ship coming, then some will overcome it and be resourceful, some will live in it, others will panic and others will show horrific character, which is wrong. But not to understand that all alternatives are possible is wrong as well.”
Smith’s letter adds several other arguments against Barkley’s comments, and the entire thing is worth a read.
Photo via Twitter/@MsBennyBonsu
