A lot of people are angry about Michael Vick being signed onto a NFL playing contract with the Philadelphia Eagles football team. I understand and respect that anger from people who place a very high value on animals and deplore the despicable crimes of animal cruelty that Michael Vick was convicted of. Many feel that he should never be allowed to work in his trained field which is professional sports. I however don't care whether he plays sports again or not. I just hope he doesn't end up living off the tax payers (welfare) as I don't care to support him financially.
It is hard to answer it without sounding like one is defending Michael Vick or his actions. Most of us don't know the full details of the situation except what he was accused of and for what he was punished for doing. But I must say that honestly, while the outrage is well deserved I feel it is also misplaced.
People often refer to Michael Vick as a "dog killer". And I love dogs as much as anyone maybe even more. But what about "people killers", like the many professional athletes who regularly risk killing themselves or other HUMAN BEINGS from the wheel of their expensive automobiles? For every "dog killer" there could be a dozen people who drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI) and some of them even kill people and the level of media coverage or public outrage is next to nothing compared to the coverage of the dumbASS Michael Vick, an overrated football player that was the great promise of success for the Atlanta Falcons but was a disappointment on the field as well as off.
Dante Stallworth, a player for the Cleveland Browns recently KILLED A HUMAN BEING. A 59 year old Miami resident was stuck and killed by the vehicle that Dante' Stallworth was driving and Stallworth's blood level was .12 which was well above the .08 legal limit considered to be drunk in the state of Florida. Dante' Stallworth made the choice to drink then get into an automobile and drive the four wheeled weapon in which he ended up killing an innocent human being. And for murdering a human being, Dante' Stallworth was sentenced to 30 days in Jail, thats 17 months less than Michael Vick served for is responsibility in having some dogs killed.
(http://www.nationalpost.com/rss/story.html?id=1888777)
I hate to say this but there is something wrong with the world when the penalty for murdering a human being doesn't get the scorn as that of an animal who mostly relies on the human being for its care and survival. Both are precious living creatures but honestly, it is SHAMEFUL that so much anger can be placed on one STUPID athlete yet so many other STUPID athletes also conduct themselves in a disgusting manner that puts another life at risk or destroys a life and it hardly makes news on ESPN other than an afterthought or a little blip on the bottom of the screen ticker. In the recent cases involving professional athletes, one who killed dogs got the harsher punishment than one who killed a human being and thats just wrong. Some think that Michael Vick's punishment was not enough. I think Dante' Stallworth got off with a slap on the finger. So the NFL suspended him for a year without pay. WhoopTee DO! The family of the man he killed will serve a life sentence of mourning the loss of a loved one.
And while don't know the names of the dogs Michael Vick is responsible for having killed or injured, the man that Dante' Stallworth killed with his car was MARIO REYES.
I don't mean to diminish what Michael Vick did. I would not mind if a pack of rabid pit-bulls had his sorry ass for lunch then vomited that all over "Lincoln Financial Field". But I do wish the people who are so angry about Michael Vick earning a living would focus a little of their anger and passion toward the other spoiled brat athletes who also kill. Like the ones who risk killing HUMAN BEINGS with their vehicles after having a few drinks.
I also have another idea. Can someone please tell the fanatics at P.E.T.A. that their mission to prevent Michael Vick from having a job that pays more than minimum wage is such a waste of energy when ANIMAL SHELTERS around the US are crumbling with little to no financial or physical support. Where is the anger and outrage over that? And why not take this anger and make a real difference by lobbying our politicians to establish stronger and uniformed laws to prevent the very things that you are so upset at Michael Vick for. Wouldn't that give the organization more creditbility as a group that is concerned for the ethical treatment of animals? How about being a group that educates and enlightens the uninformed about these issues instead of being a bunch of whiny brats over a sport that surely most PETA supporters were not fans of in the first place. Just a thought.
As for Michael Vick earning a living. The National Football league is a private business and they are free to make their business decisions. I support a free market society so I don't have a problem with the NFL or the Philadelphia Eagles in putting him back to work. That was their decision to make. But it is also the decision of the fans who are consumers of the private business (corporations) who often make decisions that we may not agree with. And we have the freedom to choose if we wish to do business with someone we disagree with. So I respect those who choose to NOT support the team or league who made such decisions. Freedom of choice and how to spend our money. Your dollar has a voice. It can be a loud one in either direction.
Somewhere along the line people may listen or maybe someone can redeem himself. But the whining is more of a waste of energy when so much positive energy can be placed on finding a longer lasting resolution to the problem. That would be education, enlightenment and the establishment of laws to prevent past situations from happening again.
And finally I must mention the difference in the outrage over Michael Vick and another person responsible for a killing. STEPHEN MOELLER beat a GAY man to death in South Carolina in 2007 and as of July 2009 he is free to roam the streets. The family of the late Sean Kennedy has to deal with the injustice of their loved one's murder and the fact that the legal value of a human being who happens to be gay is considered less than that of a dog. And some dog lovers (and many P.E.T.A members) happen to be gay. Think about that. Someone can take a bat to your own head and in most areas of the US get a lesser sentence than if that same person took the same bat to bash the head of a puppy.
I dare someone to tell me where there is any fair justice in that.
