michael vick, who cares?
The CSM says Vick may face long road back to the gridiron because of his dogfighting.
I suppose I should know the answer by now, but really, I’m still confounded by the question, “why do people care?” Sure, we love celebrities in America, so their actions are going to dominate the headlines. But I’m having a hard time understanding why dogfights are so evil, compared to selling drugs, shooting other players, stabbing your teammate in the knee, etc.
Why waste all that energy worrying about dogs? They’re just dogs.
August 21st, 2007 at 1:15 pm
At what point is it unacceptable to harm a creature just for sport? Where do you draw the line? Is there an intelligence test required, or is it solely restricted to humans vs non-humans?
I would argue that the ability to show compassion to other creatures and human beings is one of mankinds better qualities, one that you have again shown to be sorely lacking in.
August 22nd, 2007 at 7:28 am
A felony? Punishment up to 5 years in jail?
I have been wondering about this story from the beginning. It’s sick to enjoy or participate - or facilitate as he apparently did - in dog fighting. But it doesn’t seem that the punishment fits the crime. And the outrage over this seems out of sync with other crimes as you point out.
He’s an ass, and I don’t respect him. But I don’t think he should receive jail time.
August 22nd, 2007 at 2:59 pm
He killed these dogs in barbaric and inhumane ways such as pciking them up and slamming them to the ground until dead, drowning, etc. The video of this activity is sickening. He purchased a home and employed people to raise and train dogs and participated in interstate commerce and gambling activities related to these criminal acts. The charges are criminal enough, even when you ignore the dogfighting aspects of it, to consider him in “deep water”.
However, to add the dogfighting charges? The next time you look at an animal, imagine it screetching and howling as it is being malled to death by another animal, not for the purposes of natural selection, food, etc. Imagine it surrounded by a crowd of people who are laughing and cheering and betting on these animals and have zero sense of mercy, decency, or respect for the life of another being… be it human or other.
It shows a general lack of compassion and decency, the traits that balance against our destructive tendencies to allow us to live in a civilized and orderly society. That is why it is so sickening. It’s like looking into Manson’s eyes and seeing nothing staring back at you…
August 22nd, 2007 at 3:34 pm
In a perverse aside, I think he’s actually in trouble more for the gambling and breeding than the actual dog killing
August 29th, 2007 at 8:50 am
Here’s a new sport for you, after all, its just a dog!
http://www.wrcbtv.com/news/index.cfm?sid=10820
A stray dog in Tennessee that was shot with an arrow has survived surgery and is almost ready for adoption.
The stray dog was found in Sumner County, Tennessee with an arrow stuck in its side.
The German shepherd-mix survived a surgery to remove the arrow and will soon be looking for a new home.
Dr. Aaron Myers said the dog is 18-24-months-old and that last week he and the dog forged a strong bond that will never go away.
“I could tell from where (the arrow) was, it was right by her spinal cord in the back (and) that it was pretty serious and pretty deep. If the arrow was off a millimeter in any direction, it would have killed her,” he said.
Myers said he did not think she’d live.
He said her injuries were so bad, he considered euthanizing her.
But, he said, the injured dog’s eyes spoke to him and he heard her.
“You could tell she was innocent. Obviously somebody was very cruel to her and she just looked at you like, ‘Fix me.’ I just couldn’t do it,” he said.
Myers said the surgery went fine and that his attention is turning to getting the person responsible. He thinks the shooter was an adult.
“The aim is perfect. I mean, it was like someone who hunts, they were going directly for her heart through her back,” Myers said. Myers will keep her for observation for at least 10 more days then she’ll be ready for adoption.
August 30th, 2007 at 9:40 am
they’re just dogs?!?! i hope to hell you’re just kidding. i’ve heard lots of opinions different than my own, and i take everything i can with a grain of salt no matter how much i disagree. i’d accept being vexed by the media attention given to that worthless sack of igorant crap. jail is too good for him. but if your problem is the fact that they’re just dogs…i owe you a kick in the nuts.