EL-AMIN'S JOINT MORE IMPORTANT THAN WAR IN KOSOVO? GET A GRIP

Lost: Perspective.

Description: Has no particular shape or color, but usually contains logic
and reason.

If found, return to: Everybody.

Somewhere along the line, something went wrong. The correct view of the
world slipped away from us. It boarded a runaway train and bombed headlong
into the tunnel of ridiculousness and sensationalism.

There's no other way to explain the hysteria surrounding Khalid El- Amin's
stupid move this week. Somehow, his possession of what basically amounted to
a tiny amount of marijuana became the lead story on local television news
and received prominent play in Connecticut newspapers.

It was the same way in the public. El-Amin and his future were hot topics
for a few days. They'll probably be talked about for months to come. Some
people figured El-Amin simply made a mistake many teen-agers make, while
others were calling for everything short of the electric chair.

It's all nuts.

On Thursday night, hours after El-Amin made his court appearance and
publicly apologized at a news conference, one local television station made
him its second story of the night. The news was led by the mysterious death
of a Hartford high school student. El-Amin came next, followed by an update
on the questionable shooting death by Hartford police of 14-year-old Aquan
Salmon. Goodness only knows how late into the newscast the crisis in Kosovo
was updated.

If that's not skewed perspective, then nothing is.

Salmon was shot in the back by a cop who claims he saw a gun. An
investigation by the Hartford police has failed to turn up evidence of such.
In Kosovo, Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic is one mass grave from
being the second coming of Hitler. Don't mistake his spouting of "ethnic
cleansing" as meaning ethnic Albanians are in need of a bath. It's a
not-so-veiled way to say "racism."

Salmon's family will spend its time trying to find answers to why he was
shot in the back and killed. Thousands of ethnic Albanians are fleeing their
homeland, sometimes leaving relatives behind to be slaughtered, yet
El-Amin's teen-age folly somehow becomes bigger news.

How big? Thursday afternoon's press conference at Gampel Pavilion was
carried live by many local television stations. They interrupted their
programming to broadcast an apology for what, in the grand scheme of things,
is nothing more than a silly mistake.

Can't you just see it. A few years from now, a UConn player could hold a
press conference to apologize to the public for throwing the ball out of
bounds late in a close game. The scrutiny would just be too hard to handle.

"I want to apologize to my teammates, my coach and the people of Connecticut
for making a bad pass. It was a mistake that I want to take back. It won't
happen again."

How did all of this happen? Hate to admit it, but much of it can be blamed
on the media. UConn basketball was bigger than life in this state long
before the Huskies won the national championship. Now it's almost reached
the point that if a UConn player fails to use a turn signal while driving,
the public is going to know about it.

El-Amin screwed up, there's no way around that. He did something stupid and
should be punished. His arrest should have been reported and followed up. As
a public figure, El-Amin should know better. He shouldn't have been where he
was or doing what he was doing. On that, we can all agree.

But if he were Joe Sophomore, nobody would have known or cared about it.
It's a good bet that on any given day, a search of dorm rooms and apartments
on the UConn campus will turn up quite a few students who have more
marijuana than El-Amin was carrying when he was arrested. Let's not kid
ourselves.

We'd all be naive to think that all college athletes don't experiment with
drugs or alcohol. For many run-of-the-mill students, it's part of the
college experience. Like it or not, that's the truth.

El-Amin will pay his penance, both in public and within the framework of the
team. He should not have to pay the price in the court of public opinion.
Before you go making judgments about what he should or shouldn't do,
remember: Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

In 1978, then-President Jimmy Carter said that punishment for a drug offense
should not exceed the punishment the drug can do to a person. That's the
line we're about to toe with El-Amin. His was a minor offense that, if he is
as mature as he claims to be, should be a learning experience. Let's not
make more out of it than is necessary.

To an extent, that has already been done. The whole thing has been blown way
out of proportion. This was marijuana, folks, not heroine or cocaine. Yes,
marijuana is an illegal drug. Yes, under the law nobody should have
possession of it or sell it. Yes, offenders should pay the price. That's why
we have laws.

But in comparison to the drunk driving arrest of UConn reserve Antric
Klaiber last year, El-Amin's offense is minor. Alcohol is legal, we know,
but Klaiber put other people's lives at risk when he got behind the wheel.
El-Amin put nobody in jeopardy but himself.

El-Amin made a mistake. He is not a hardened criminal. He deserves a second
chance because, let's face it, all us have been given second chances before.
He shouldn't be hung out to dry.

To understand that, we need perspective. And, hey, if you find it, make some
copies and send them to the rest of us.

Ed Daigneault is a Republican-American staff writer.