Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Mike V on Michael Vick

It's been a few weeks now since the initial story broke about Michael Vick alleged involvement in running a dogfighting operation.  When the allegations first surfaced, Vick denied any involvement and said that he didn't know what was going on at the home but barely visited.  He said he was innocent and looked forward to clearing his name in a court of law!  Harrumph.  I was disgusted by the stories of cruel executions of weak performing dogs and the like, but I was also a little offended about the incessant media coverage.  This was everywhere for weeks!  You're not going to find a much bigger doglover than me, but I thought it was a little ridiculous how much attention was being focused on this compared to the war in Afghanistan, our Attorney General looking like an ass in front of Congress, or even the players in professional sports who had been accused of beating their wives!

Still, I thought it was a heinous crime and agreed with the NFL's decision to keep Vick out of camp until the facts came out. Well, so much for Vick being exonerated.  Vick is set to plead guilty to the crimes he's accused of.  Vick will serve his time and the NFL will have to decide what to do when he's released.

What's appaling me now are the people who are rushing to Vick's defense.   R.L. White, president of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP said that Vick shouldn't be banned from the NFL.   "In some instances, I believe Michael Vick has received more negative press than if he would've killed a human being," White said. "The way he is being persecuted, he wouldn't have been persecuted that much had he killed somebody."  You know, I have to agree with White there.  I just wonder why he's so worried about this multi-millionaire's career options when so many other African Americans are struggling to put food on their table?  But White's next comment was worse.  According to the article, White also said he didn't understand the uproar over dogfighting, when hunting deer and other animals is perfectly acceptable. Does this guy really not see the difference between hunting deer with a rifle and "starving pit bulls forced to tear one another apart for hours, and animals beaten to death, shot, hanged and electrocuted when they did not perform well."???  Seems Stephon Marbury doesn't see the difference either.  Marbury, who has also taken heat for donating sneakers to boys teams but not girls, said "You know, from what I hear, dogfighting is a sport. It's just behind closed doors."  I'm sure Knicks fans aren't surprised Marbury would miss the point, but seriously, has our society degenerated that far that we can no longer draw distinctions between levels of cruelty?  I mean, I'm no fan of hunting, but even PETA would agree that Vick's crimes are worse than a deer hunters'.  Right?

Of course this story wouldn't be complete without a dose of irony.  The 53 pit bulls seized from Vick's house are on a deadline.  If no one steps forward to claim the dogs by this weekend, they will likely be euthanized

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