Washington Post offers view points on Vick in Black and White

To say this discussion about Michael Vick has anything to do with race is utter bullshit. Read that last word again. B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T.

It's not about the color of the guy's skin. It's about the fact that a priviledged athlete is finally getting ready to face justice in a court of law. That is, if the law doesn't get soft and give him a slap on the wrist penalty.

Vick allegedly broke federal and state law. Let's not lose sight of that. He allegedly broke the law and allegedly took part in some severely cruel methods of treating animals. He deserves every second of time in the slammer that he could possibly get. He also deserves to get a lifetime ban by the NFL.

Were it a white player, I'd say the exact same thing. Lock his ass in jail and throw away the key in my book.

 

I agree completely. But a lot of people in Atlanta don't. That's truly unfortunate...

 

I really don't think the intensity of the outcry has that much to do with crimes against dogs vs. crimes against humans or other animals. It has to to with how seriously fucked up a person has to be to treat dogs that way. If a person is capable of that kind of cruelty, what else is he capable of.

 

What has always gotten me in the Vick case is the level of sadism by Vick. Drowning dogs, electrocuting them in a rather elaborate set-up. Wouldn't it have been easier and cheaper to just shoot them? It's disgusting enough to fight dogs, but the level of sadism exhibited by Vick is on a whole 'nother plane.

 

When I was watching the report, I got chills all over my body and felt sick to my stomach... He truly sickens me...

 

All those fuckers should be thrown out of the league too. Goodell can't undo 20 years of Tagliabue's candy-ass kid-gloves philosophy in six months. He's got to start somewhere, and Vick is as good a place as any.

 

Maybe not, but in the year or so he's been commissioner, he's definitely set a different tone that tells people who's boss.

Compared to just about any commissioner in recent years, he's Iron Roger. And I gave him that nickname with pride after he sat Pacman Jones's ass down for a year.

 

Well put, Jake.

 

Wanton cruelty to animals is one of the key predictive behaviors for potential serial killers. Race is always an issue in America, but sometimes it's less of a factor than others. This time, it's barely a factor at all. Vick's status as a human being on the inside of his skin is what matters here.

 

Obviously there are people that don't eat meat and people that don't eat certain kinds of meat. But I think most cultures have some kind of livestock that is commonly used for food.

That's beside the point though. Raising an animal for food is one thing. Hanging and drowning animals, whether it's puppies or piglets, is quite another.

 

The "human vs. animal" debate, broken down:
<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/29/INGOMR6VNC1.DTL&hw=animal+cruelty&sn=008&sc=801'>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/29/INGOMR6VNC1.DTL&hw=animal+cruelty&sn=008&sc=801</a>

As for the black vs. white debate, I personally preferred ESPN.com's enterprise piece on how public opinion of race in Atlanta shapes the Vick dialogue.