Brandon Sneed wonders if any good can come from hating the Eagles quarterback.
So, even now, three years after he was convicted of bankrolling illegal dogfighting operations and a year after he got out of jail, Mike Vick remains one of the most polarizing sports figures in America … and let’s be frank, some people still hate him.
In one way, I get that. Vick was responsible for some nasty, nasty things done to some sweet, innocent dogs, things that make me shudder and shiver and wish for a drink. I’ve got dogs myself, and trust me, as much as I love to watch him play football and as much as I believe in redemption and want to believe he’s experiencing just that, there’s no way he’s ever dogsitting.
However, some of the angry things people are spewing make me shake my head and wonder if they might need a drink or two themselves. Relax, neighbors. I mean yeah, Vick’s no saint, but some of the things being said about him are about as shocking as the things he did.
To be sure, these things come largely from the Internet, a place only slightly more savory than your local sewage pipe, and those who populate it with comments sometimes make me wonder if they somehow ingested, from said sewers, some sort of brainkiller mutated fungi.
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What most people get most riled about is when folks like me say, “Well y’know, it was horrible, yeah, but the man was convicted of his crime and he served his time and, y’know, they weren’t people he was torturing and killing.”
“Oh, so you’re saying they’re just dogs, then?”
“Well, I suppose so, yeah.”
“Ohh, so it’s acceptable then to be cruel to those who are powerless, who society sees as somehow less important? Well then, let me tell YOU somethin’ …”
And here’s what I’ve been told:
“That’s what the Nazis said during the Holocaust—’They’re only Jews’.”
“That’s what the slaveowners said—’They’re only blacks’.”
“That’s what pedophiles said—’They’re only kids’.”
“Do you get it? This kind of behavior is sick and purely evil.”
I mean, what is there to say to that? (Actually, I know: “Bartender!”) Comparing him to Hitler, to abusive slave owners, to pedophiles? Really? What he did makes any normal person cringe, but he’s nowhere near what some people make him out to be.
Regardless of how we feel about Vick, we all agree that the torture and murder of dogs is gruesome. That’s why it’s been criminalized in America, and that’s why Vick lost his fortune and his freedom for it.
But don’t lose yourselves to misreasoned hatred. While dogs are precious members of many families in our culture, they are food in other cultures, same as we consider cattle food while those in India consider them sacred. They are animals; Vick is human, and he has, as far as any of us know, repented. He served his time. He’s paid the debt our justice system required. There’s no need for you to add more to that.
I know he did unspeakable things to those dogs and he was responsible for unspeakable things done to other dogs, but they weren’t YOUR dogs. Let’s remember that.
Some of those who so hate Michael act like he broke into their homes, took Fluffy and Fido, set up a ring right there in the living room, and made them go at it. Heinous though his crime may be, Michael did not personally harm anyone’s animals or property. In fact, he spent quite some money on financing personal property and purchasing the animals. And bear in mind that that is actually the crime he went to jail for, not the torture of animals.
Those of us who cheer for Michael to succeed … It’s not like we’ve forgotten what he did. We’ve just moved on, because it looks like he has.
Hating Michael Vick doesn’t bring back the dogs. Hating Michael Vick doesn’t stop others from killing dogs. (In fact, some studies suggest that the firestorm of attention around Vick actually only further popularized dogfighting in some areas.) Hating Michael Vick doesn’t make the world better.
All hating Michael Vick does is leave one full of hate, and the only impact that has is on the hater.
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Maybe this whole redemption narrative is fabricated and maybe these messages that he’s saying when he speaks to crowds of teenagers are all scripted and maybe it really is all some elaborate public relations scheme. But you can’t manufacture the unbelievable talent Vick exhibits on a football field. You can’t fake the mental fortitude and the uncanny ability to command a team that he’s shown since returning to the game.
Sports aren’t always a metaphor for life, like people like to make them out to be, but sometimes they’re a good barometer for how a person’s personal life is going. (Reference: Woods, Tiger.) And if that holds true for Vick, it looks like, in short, the young punk has grown into a man.
I’m not saying you have to like Vick and if you never do, I’ll understand. And look—I know he has publicists helping him out. But I also believe there’s more to it, too, and until he gives me reason to think otherwise, why not?
It goes against the cynic in me, but here’s why: Life is hard enough, and these days, it’s about as hard as it’s ever been for Americans and it’s certainly as hard as it’s ever been for my generation.
And so, with the economy, the housing market, the national debt, the wars, I think that a story like Vick’s is good for us. I think it’s healthy to believe in something like what we’re seeing there.
Maybe last season was a fluke, and maybe one day soon this new world Vick’s built to live in will fall to pieces like the proverbial house of cards, but I doubt it. There’s a reason the Philadelphia Eagles just offered him a six-year, $100 million contract: They believe in him.
Originally posted at brandonsneed.com.
—Photo AP/LM Otero
Why must we forgive? Just because he has? utter rubbish!! He isn’t sorry for what he did, he’s sorry he got caught!! How can any normal parent see Vick as a good role model? He tortured dogs for fun, he killed them in a way they suffered for hours, he pulled every single tooth out of his ‘top breeders’ mouth so she couldn’t fight off the stud, he threw stolen pet dogs from everyday people to throw into the pit with their legs tied so his dogs ripped it to bits in order to keep them wanting the taste of… Read more »
Michael Vick deserves to rot in prison for life. Two years wasn’t enough. If he tortured dogs, imagine what else he’s capable of.
I’m not a vegan or anything, but if you buy eggs from the store you’re probably supporting an industry that causes more animal suffering than dogfighting ever can or will. Does that make you a horrible monster worthy of death? I don’t see why so many Americans freak out over killing dogs, comparing the killers to Hitler, pedophiles, etc., yet are fine with treating animals terribly for higher profit margins/cheaper Egg McMuffins.
Vick haters are a bunch of self-righteous as ses like Rhea Hughes who put themselves in the place of God deciding who is worthy of forgiveness and for what offenses. As I remember Jesus’ words there was only one unforgiveable sin and it wasn’t for killing a dog!
I don’t hate Michael Vick. I think he is a diseased individual who has proven to be capable of horrible atrocities, and should be kept away from animals and children and other human beings for our own safety. He can certainly play football, and I can certain choose to spend my money on everything but football, and refuse to purchase any product endorsed by a torturing sadistic creature. I think that, aside from football, he is a waste of human life; a pathetic and small man who needed to abuse the vulnerable to feel big. That is worthy of pity,… Read more »
Michael Vick was needlessly cruel to those dogs. It wasn’t just about the dog fighting, it was the horribly inhumane treatment that those dogs had to endure. It is nothing like raising animals for food. Farmers don’t torture their cows and pigs just for fun, which is what Vick and his friends did. It was sadistic. That isn’t just a mistake, that comes from something deep inside. In that way, he IS like a murderer or a pedophile. He has an evil streak. I don’t hate him, but I don’t think 2 years in prison changes a fundamental character flaw.
Y’all don’t rally against Jared Allen every time he goes out and kills a dear…
I never understood how some animals get put on pedestals but with others its totally fine to kill for sport.
If you “hate” Michael Vick you have issues in my opinion.
He did his time. He’s moved on. You should too. Get over yourselves.
Deer*
I have news for you, the Falcons offered him an even bigger contract and look how that turned out. Being offered a boatload of money doesn’t speak to how you are a person, and sometimes not even as a player. I hated Michael Vick before I knew about dogs. I hated him because he’s so overrated it’s not even funny. Yes, he had a great year last year. But what about 2001-2007? All he was was a athletically gifted guy who couldn’t master the QB position. And yes, I do think last year was a fluke. We’ll see. If he… Read more »
That he is more hated than Albert Haynesworth who killed a human being sexually harassed and totally disrespects women is beyond me.
. . . and sexually harassed . . .
Chris, don’t get too carried away. Again, yes, he did horrible things to dogs, but calling him a “murderer” implies things that aren’t true. Technically, yes, he murdered dogs. But you know as well as I do that “murderer” is a term reserved for a human being who’s killed another human being, and to call Michael Vick that is unfair and—again—suggests hatred that only serves to tear down. And that sort of thing is worthless.
And dude, dogs’ lives worth more than humans’? C’mon. That’s a stretch.
Well, Brandon, that actually opens up a completely different can of worms, one which isn’t constructive to this conversation. Yes, I believe dogs lives are worth more then some humans. I also believe that humans have no more inherent value then any other animal on this planet, as we are all animals. So to me, the label applies. Regardless of what label I choose to place on him, my opinion remains the same. He committed a crime and should live with the “convict” label. Again, he is free from this point to go about his life in whatever way he… Read more »
So you’re arguing that because Michael Vick didn’t personal electrocute MY dogs, I shouldn’t be so upset? If your neighbor’s house burns down, do you just shrug your shoulders and say “sucks to be you”? I agree with Chris and Jack. How can anyone claim Vick is remorseful when he asks “what did I ever do to anybody?” Clearly he doesn’t think his past is any big deal. Brilliant editorial on the same topic here: http://dogtime.com/michael-vicks-latest-comments-off-the-cuff-and-unbelievable.html
No, Tom, that’s not what I said at all. Of course what he did is upsetting. That’s why he WENT TO FEDERAL PRISON. I said it’s fine to be upset, and if you’re upset, then I understand. But being upset doesn’t do any good, either. It was an encouragement towards something positive. Nothing more, nothing less. And the neighbor’s house burning down metaphor … that’s nowhere close to the same thing. If it’s a neighbor, then you probably know them personally, and there is actually something you can do. And I think that the people who are raising and rehabbing… Read more »
Therein lies the problem: the value of dog vs. human life. Evidently, some or many Vick hatera hold the view that dogs hold as much or more value than humans. As such I’m their view, Vick’s actions were as bad or worse than serially torturing and killIng children. For people who feel that way about animals, his actions are unforgivable. In that context I inderstand their outrage, as much as I disagree with their view. This is like people who consider embryos to clumps of cell not understanding why people who consider embryos to be Homo sapiens oppose abortion. Of… Read more »
I agree, comparing him to Hitler or a pedophile is a couple steps too far, and I certainly don’t waste a whole lot of time hating Michael Vick. But I will argue that a dog’s life is just as valuable and worthy (in some cases, more so) as a human beings. I understand that some cultures eat dog meat and we do horrible things to other animals, and I don’t believe any of that is morally right if the end result isn’t food for sustenance. Dog fighting is not about slaughtering an animal to put a meal on your child’s… Read more »
Being from Atlanta, and having seen the way Mr Vick, paraded around town, doing whatever he wanted, in the name of being a “star” and rich, before all this happened I am reminded how much more there is to any story. I am all for second chances, I’ve had mine. I’m for redemption, I’ve had mine, and do believe that whether or not I like him now or if he has paid his debt, much is lost in this story that is not about him at all. Being a sports hero to many kids, and presenting yourself as such while… Read more »
Jack, how did Vick pay his way out? He spent nearly two years in a federal prison, where he got into fights and regularly just wished for a G-D honeybun. Our system isn’t perfect, but it got to Vick about as harshly as you can get to someone. If you want to rant about someone beating the system, rant about Albert Haynesworth, who KILLED SOMEONE while driving drunk and got virtually nothing. The lesson from this is that people are human and the products of what they’re taught as children, for better or worse. Far as anybody can tell, Vick… Read more »
But seriously, thanks for the thoughtful reply. Really appreciate that. I mean it.