Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Michael Vick is a waste of oxygen and food resources
I am not sure who's dumber, the hosts of workday morning radio shows, or the people (like me) who listen to them. The topic du jour this morning was Michael Vick, the best running back playing quarterback in the NFL, and now an admitted dogfight enthusiast. Once a person admits to propogating dogfights, they are officially a pile of shit on feet. There isn't much of a case to be made for redemption. It's like arguing the personal merits of a child molester, or rapist. What's the point? But that didn't stop 97X's Fisher from proffering potential explanations for Vick's abhorent behavior. Things like childhood influences, social background, cultural issues, etc were all mentioned as potential justifications for forgiving such deplorable activities. He argued that Michael Vick was not this evil monster organizations like PETA are making him out to be. As a result, Fisher believed that Michael Vick, aka Ron Mexico, was worthy of being reinstated to active status in the NFL when his prison term is complete.
The argument goes that he will have paid his debt to society, and that this payment should be enough. Sounds good on paper, and as someone who believes in the power of redemption, I can appreciate the sentiment behind such thinking, but in reality, redemption is more than just paying a legal penalty of time and/or money. Redemption starts within and generates a pervasive, fundamental shift in mindset or behavior. Michael Vick is the sort of person who kills animals for his own amusement. He has given the finger to his fans and faced allegations of knowingly spreading herpes to a random trollop or two. If these sorts of behaviors do not make him a fundamentally evil person, they certainly indicate a total lack of character. This is not an honorable man who fell from grace, this is a dishonorable soul with a history of conducting himself with little class or humility. He was an asshole before, but now it should be obvious to anyone with an IQ over 15 that he is nothing more than a common, thuggish scumbag.
When two humans willingly enter a ring to engage in a sanctioned, regulated prize fight, they do so knowing full well that they are risking life and limb for money. Some condemn such fights as barbaric, but the fact remains that the fighters are being compensated and are voluntarily putting themselves at risk for said compensation. When two dogs are pitted against one another, the fight is for the sole benefit of the crowd that has gathered to gamble on the match. The dogs are compensated with beatings, starvation, and abuse. These are not animals partaking in a natural, kill-or-be-killed encounter like you might see in a National Geographic documentary. They are being pathologically abused for the sole purpose of being trained to fight to the death. Losing animals are often beaten to death, or in the case of Michael Vick's dogfighting ranch, drowned after submitting in a fight. Animal fighting of any kind is a disgusting and revolting activity fit only for what should be looked at as lower life forms. An intelligent, healthy human being looks on such brutality with disdain, not glee and excitement. Something is fundamentally wrong with Michael Vick's psychology. Much like the child molester, there is no real hope of redemption. If he finds his way back to the NFL someday, I can only hope (futily, I know) that the league's fanbase reacts in a decisive and clear way.
I hardly watch sports at all these days, because of the innumerable controversies and general lack of class exhibited by a large number of today's star athletes. Michael Vick is just the latest, and perhaps one of the more heinous examples, but he is certainly not alone. The fact that there are people who would excuse his actions speaks to just how low-class and devoid of honor our society really is. People will forgive just about anything, so long as they are amused or entertained by those being forgiven. Forgiveness is fine, I believe in forgiveness. The real problems arise from society's willingness to forget such transgressions. Michael Vick is a horrible human being. Forgetting that is tantamount to condoning his behavior. When the argument is framed in that context, the thought of putting him back in the NFL becomes absolutely unacceptable.
Labels: football, michael vick
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this whole vick ordeal has been hard for me to swallow. when he first emerged on the nfl scene, i was a big fan of his. at the time he was young and exciting and that's all anybody knew, and what else really mattered, right? part of me wants to believe he was only a nominal participant in all of this, and that his transgressions have simply been exaggerated in proportion to his fame and fortune. it's almost a personal affront to have to accept that someone you once followed with admiration is the kind of person our society sends to prison.
It's tough to watch personal heroes go down in flames, but then is it really a surprise that so many celebrity athletes, politicians, etc are incredibly flawed people? I grew up idolizing Michael Jordan. In my mind, MJ was basketball at a time when basketball was by far my favorite sport. Eventually, we would discover that his airness was something of a gambler. No big deal, he was super wealthy and it was his money, so I couldn't care less. But eventually it came to light that he was a philandering adulterer. Typical, I know, but still disheartening. By that time, I had come to understand that such behavior was part of the larger norm, so I shrugged it off. That said, it was a bit more discouraging because he was a hero of mine dating all the way back to my early childhood. I had a part of the first Air Jordan sneakers ever made, for Jebus' sake! Lol
I think you'd be well advised to accept that Vick is a bad guy. If the Ron Mexico fiasco wasn't enough to convince you, the fact that he took a plea deal instead of facing a jury trial should probably raise some red flags. In my opinion, death by stomach cancer would be too lenient a fate for Vick, after what he was involved in. If you Christians are right, there's a special place in Hell for guys like Vick. I'm inclined to believe that his spirit would be well served being freed from the shitbrick it is imprisoned within. How do you kill dogs for fun? How can that be excused? We are still a primitive, savage species...