Michael Vick has agreed to a plea deal in the case of rich, ignorant asshole vs. the state. It's a sad reality when dogfighting can make it all the way from the streets to the mansions. I live in Chicago, a town notorious for its dogfighting. I even had a pit bull that came from a shelter that specializes in unwanted, sick or wounded dogs. It's not the damn dogs' fault, it's assholes like Vick. Malcolm Gladwell wrote a great piece about this in the New Yorker.
Sorry, I get mad about things like this. I'm not going to discuss the particulars of the case. I do realize in the grand scheme of things, dogfighting is horrifying, but not on the same level, perhaps as famine and war, but you know what? When we can turn away from what is decent and right, when it's happening in our own backyards, then we've failed at some basic human level.
They should toss this motherfucker to his dogs. Pull him out while he's still alive, let that be his lesson.
20 August 2007
Michael Vick is Guilty
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3 comments:
The Malcolm Gladwell article was very interesting. The giant hand was equally interesting. I like how you give us a little intellect and a little side show.
Some people like vanilla, some like chocolate. And so I present the swirl cone.
Lots of anger on the web about Michael Vick. Hopefully all that energy we are using creates something positive in the long run...
It is disturbing to think a certain percentage of the population is honestly going to be swayed by Michael Vick's "enlightenment" carefully crafted by his overpaid attorneys. Call me a cynic, but I don't believe a man who has been allegedly torturing animals since childhood coincidentally has a religious epiphany as a result of getting caught and losing his job.
If there is anything good about the Michael Vick story, it is that there is an emerging increased awareness about animal cruelty and animal fighting. However...
I think it is a sad commentary that we, as a culture, are using the Vick story to compare "What's worse?" "What's worse", we ask, "carelessly fathering illegitimate children, or dogfighting?". "Dogfighting or gambling?" "Dogfighting or rape?" "Dogfighting or racism?" "Dogfighting or hateful nationalism?" "Dogfighting or (fill in the blank)....?" The comparisons to dogfighting have been endless.
Dogfighting is one more piece of evidence our country is in need of a spiritual transformation (please note I said spiritual and not necessarily religious). Animals are sentient beings - they feel pain, and they suffer, just like we do. They are not more important, or less important than human beings, but like human beings, they are important, too.
Every major faith teaches its followers to be responsible stewards of animals and the Earth. Please help us get the word out that caring for animals, just like caring for people, is an important part of just being a decent person and citizen. If we make this a priority, there will be no more dogfighting horror stories, and no more pointless comparisons of evils. Let us all rise, together, to be better people than we are today, shall we?
Chaplain Nancy Cronk
Founder, www.AnimalChaplains.com
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