Serious? So everyone who condoned or participated in dog fighting or say cock fighting until it was deemed socially unacceptable by secular humanists had character defects. That’s quite a stretch to try and make that correlation. Hilter loved dogs…responsible for a lot of human deaths…Vick was response for the deaths of a lot of dogs but to my knowledge hasn’t killed anyone. The whole moral equivalency of your argument gets back to the point I was trying to make with my original post. When there are people still dying of starvation as you type on your mac book I refuse to listen what you or the author of the article has to say about petty subjects. And while I deeply care about my 3 dogs, I could give a shit about dogs as a species…in fact I’m pretty sure that by all objective measures they are doing better than we are at this point.

And I’m not saying anyone should forgive Vick. Fuck em…he’ll get his…in fact he already did (get his and get fucked I’m sure). But to waste space on DV for articles that are non-issues. After all most everyone already thinks he is a prick and therefore posting something that goes along with this established sentiment by it’s very nature is contrary to the mission of this site…either that or the name of the site is a misnomer…something I’ve often wondered about as of late.

But then, football itself contains aspects of domination and subordination – as well as bodily abuse as entertainment – that compromise a pleasant Sunday afternoon. Chomsky said: “Athletes are basically gladiators.”

The US has an incredibly violent culture because kids grow up learning violence as a form of recreation, i would say football is a part of that dysfunctional lack of empathy. Yeah! What does it matter if dogs get tortured, afterall, we’re putting real people through an unreal HELL in IRAQ with no end or no empathy in sight.

Excellent point here and throughout your comment, Charlie.

When Michael Jackson kicked the bucket, the black press and some black people (and many of on the white side too) were up in arms lamenting how Jackson was a victim of racism due to the media’s sensationalistic coverage of his ups and downs.

They failed to admit that celebrities of any racial hue get built up and torn down regularly. Whatever mayhem – be it misdemeanors, malfeasence, murders, or just plain weird behavior – celebrities engage in rarely impacts their ability to get second, third, and infinite chances to make serious money. Jackson gets implicated in two child molestation charges and hadn’t had a hit since Grandpa Bush was president but still got money from the music industry (owned by mostly whites and Asians) to produce albums and launch concert tours, and, loans to sustain his spendthrift lifestyle. Vick can throw a football so he can commit henious acts and return to earn a very nice salary playing pro ball. AND, like Charlie says, the media devotes lavish coverage to these guys and corporate sponsors aren’t far behind after a sufficient period of “redemption and PR rehab.” Vick plays his cards right, finds Jesus, cries on Oprah or The View, and we’ll probably see him on one of the pre/post game shows as an talking head in a few years when his playing days are done.

I support second chances. But it appears the rich and famous get the better end of the second chance stick more often than the average schmuck who screws up. If Vick or Jackson had been nobody Joes, they’d be hard pressed to get a part-time gig at Walmart.

So true, Charlie, that this is a story of human suffering. Those who dismiss the uproar over Vick’s dog fighting, saying we are making more over it than we do over abuse of people are shortsighted and ignorant. Those who inflict abuse and neglect on animals exhibit similar uncaring, unfeeling behaviors towards their relationships with people too. Further, many who dismiss the anti-Vick sentiment of animal lovers are the same folks who dismiss concern and are oblivious to links between the imperialistics acts of our govt and the chaos and terrorism that threatens people here and abroad.

But if you want to see it as a story of a rehabilitated animal torturing felon, then why not also wonder why Vick gets coverage and other felons don’t. What about the dope dealer from the projects who gets out of prison and turns his life around, taking an honest job instead of continuing a criminal enterprise? Where are the reporters and cameras for him? In fact, wouldn’t his story be even more “inspirational” than Vick’s? Vick had fame and money–he enjoyed a lifestyle and economic status few people will ever know; but he committed his crimes anyway. He wasn’t fighting dogs to eat–he did it for the thrill of it or just to see the savagery of it or whatever.

Why is it that sports figures, movie stars, and other glitterati are lavished with second chances, but no one else is deemed worthy? How many child abusers, unfit parents, drunk drivers, illegal immigrants, etc. are seen by Eagles fans as rehabilitated and deserving of a second chance? Do they hire convicted child molesters as babysitters? Why not? Don’t they deserve a second chance as much as Vick does–or could it be that Vick is regarded as deserving simply because he can throw a football?

I realize that Vick’s crimes were superficially unrelated to his occupation, so you could make a credible case for giving him a second chance in his former occupation–unlike putting embezzlers back in positions of financial authority, for instance, or hiring child abusers as daycare center workers. Nevertheless, I think it’s reasonable for anyone to harbor some lingering suspicions about felons and to be uncomfortable with treating them as if nothing ever happened.

Moreover, a “second chance” implies that there is some obligation on the public’s part to be forgiving and understanding. There isn’t. The obligation is entirely on Vick to demonstrate any rehabilitation he has experienced. After that, I’ll be forgiving and understanding. And until then, the media also have an obligation to withhold their obsession with him and concentrate on their jobs, not celebrity gossip mongering.

Lastly, this IS a story of human suffering, at least indirectly. People who abuse animals have a character defect that also resides in those who ignore human suffering, and they are not the best role models for the children sitting in a football stadium on a pleasant Sunday afternoon.