Michael Vick will plead guilty on Monday to dogfighting charges. You can read about it here.
Here is what I don't get: Why all the hype?
Yeah, I love dogs too. I have one. A spaz girl named Molly. She stinks no matter how much we bath her and groans in her sleep like an old man on with a sinus problem. She is ours and we love her, but guys like Wojciechowski from ESPN.com are a bit over the line I think. He is all up in arms about Vick, but what about the hundreds of babies a day that get slaughtered in our country due to legal abortion? What about all the kids that get abused everyday in our country? You can't abuse your dog, but sucking the brains out of a baby that is partially delivered is just fine!?! To get further clarity on the situation, compare Vick's situation with that of Leonard Little from a few years back. Here is what one writer has penned:
At this point in time I'd like to remind you all of Leonard Little. I realize that at this point it seems like old hat but can we at least remember that Susan Gutweiler lost her life because Little decided to get behind the wheel of his car after a birthday party.Forget about dogs - I like them as much as the next guy but Little killed a human being. He received 90 days in jail, 1000 hours of community services and four years of probation in 1998 because he killed someone. Did Little lose his spot in the NFL? Of course not - in fact I have seen people during Sunday pre game shows wearing #91 St. Louis Rams jerseys. I repeat: Leonard Little KILLED someones mother, someones wife, someones daughter and not only did he not fail to play another snap in the NFL - he has actually gained in popularity. The insanity of the situation doesn't end there though - because Leonard Little was arrested again six years later for driving under the influence. The same man who six years prior had killed a human being was arrested again for drunk driving and was he then thrown out of the NFL? Actually he signed an extension with the St. Louis Rams. He was rewarded by the team he played for the same season he was arrested for the second time of drunk driving. But Michael Vick will never play another snap in the NFL because of the abuse of animals. Unfortunately for Vick he had two huge factors playing against him - the first was that he's a superstar athlete and whatever he did/does is magnified compared to what a lowly defensive lineman like Little does. The second problem that Vick runs into is what we already dealt with, that frankly society treats the abuse of animals worse then the abuse of humans.What is your take? Why all the hype?
5 comments:
Wow- that letter shows how sickening and backwards our culture can be!
I think in this case it's probably the celebrity thing. Someone like Vick will make the front page simply because of his status. Not sure if this would be big news if Joe Blow did it.
However, I do agree that media hype is wacked in this area.
good post
Paul's right ... that was a good post, Z. Did you know it's a FELONY to destroy a bald eagle egg?! A FELONY!! What the crap?!
Or how about this ... if I run a red light and kill a pregnant woman crossing the street, I don't get a single, but a double manslaughter charge ... because I killed her fetus, too.
Yet late term abortion is still legit?! Wow.
Know who determined those things? Politicians, or judges who were put on the bench by politicians.
Christians who "don't want to get involved in politics" are, by their absence in a critical arena, aiding and ebedding this kind of garbage!
Sorry for getting all steamed up, but not too sorry ... :)
I agree that the laws can be totally screwed up in terms of who gets jail time for what? But, I don't think that means we can dismiss the horror that is dog fighting. I mean, the thought and planning and raising of a dog to be a fighter is awful. It's not about just grabbing a random dog and saying "fight". These dogs are fed gun powder and tortured in numerous ways to become the killers they are. Someone who does this, thinks daily on some level "oh it is time to go torture my dog." I think the hype is legit. But, I think in addition to this hype, there should be hype created regarding other things that are not as severlely punished or punished at all.
P.S. Hi Zack, it's been awhile:)
Obviously this post is WAY after the fact and I don't know if anyone will ever see it.
I've always thought that this kind of argument ("We shouldn't worry so much about x because y happens and it's so much worse.") is flawed. Lesser evils should not be ignored just because greater ones also happen. Should we stop jailing or prosecuting people for theft because there are murderers out there?
Also, Michael Vick didn't just "kill some dogs" as most people dismissive of what he did like to claim. The training is bad enough, but what happens to dogs that fail to perform is worse. After being horrifically mauled in the ring, a quick gunshot is the best such a dog can hope for. Dogs owned by Vick were picked up and slammed against the ground several times, they were hauled into the air by a rope around their necks until they died of strangulation, had electrical cables attached to them and then were thrown into a pool. Some dogs refused to die after just one of these and were subjected to multiple kinds of torture.
As far as Richard Little is concerned, what resulted from his actions is unquestionably worse. However, it happened fewer times (thankfully!) and under conditions where his judgment was obviously compromised. I happen to think that he, and any who do similar things, should suffer more consequences in their career. What Vick did, however, required forethought and planning, and was a daily occurrence for YEARS.
So yes. I agree that it's sad and wrong that there isn't more outcry about the examples you listed. But I think that Vick deserved what he got.
P.S. So much for Vick "never playing another snap".
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