Three observations regarding the tragic death of Kobe Bryant.

1. The helicopter crash which took the lives of 9 people Sunday, among them basketball star Kobe Bryant, was very shocking to everyone, particularly those who follow NBA basketball. To watch the continuous outpouring of love & emotion toward Kobe was certainly to be expected for someone of his stature in American sports and culture.

Also, as usually occurs in a case like this, the other 8 people who lost their lives is lost in the wave of adulation toward the star. In this case, that was true with the exception of his daughter Gigi who was with him on the helicopter, and therefore naturally multiplied the sadness around the loss of Kobe.

To their credit, The LA Times presented a detailed review of each of those who died on helicopter.

2. It was expected, laughable and sad all at once to watch Hollywood, basketball and the mainstream media stumble all over themselves to avoid or dismiss the #MeToo part of Kobe's resume. A black athlete, star athlete, Democrat, cultural icon, dying tragically with his daughter will bring out all the above to discuss the beauty of their politically correct lives, through the death of a star like Kobe. They will not talk about his Catholic faith. They will not talk critically about his rape allegation and trial. They will and did talk about his family and his girls, very positively. Because these are left leaning talking points. The #MeToo hypocrisy drips continuously from this group.

Lets imagine for a second, how Hollywood, basketball and the mainstream media would have responded were the victim had the same resume with the exception that he was a white man with conservative political leanings. It is not a stretch to say that we would have seen the following: - the outpouring would have been more subdued, coming mostly from the right. - the left would have pointed out the #MeToo element immediately and frequently. - white privilege would have been used as the reason 'he got away' with the rape - his family and his religion would have been criticized and described, as is a frequent tactic against the right, as hypocritical for his rape and not living up to his own standards. - the rape allegation and his Catholic faith drawn comparisons to the Catholic sex abuse scandal. - his conservatism would have been presented also as hypocritical, do as i say not as i do. And the net would have been a left / right argument over how to react to such a life. 3. There are three separate articles on the Kobe Bryant tragedy which I think get to the point, no matter your politics or skin color. Barry Svriuka wrote A single action should not define Kobe Bryant. Nor should it be forgotten. in The Washington Post. A fair and thoughtlful presentation of the totality of any life, but certainly a public and noteworthy life such as Kobe Bryant.

In addition, an article published in the Catholic News Agency -Angelus, The Catholic faith of Kobe Bryant did the same coming from the angle of his Catholic faith and how it played a part in Kobe's life after the rape allegation.

These two articles should be read in both the context of Kobe and any generic person with the same resume, politics and faith excepted.

And in TIME Magazine, Coming to Terms with a Complicated Life. As Mr Svriuka says in his WaPo article, Lives are not clean. Legacies are messy. Memories are personal. It’s worth talking through.

Truth and fairness, not political correctness, matters in evaluation of all lives.