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| "I'm just asking?" |
I can remember watching the coverage of people protesting him before, during and after his trial and at times it got ugly. Things got even worse once the Eagles signed him to their roster. Folks were standing outside the Eagles practice facility with all kinds of hateful signs and saying things that I care not to repeat. Animal rights groups like PETA and ASPCA were in full protest as well. PETA eventually got Mike to become a spokesman for the organization but that didn’t even get people off of his back. Now I can completely understand why people were upset. There are a lot of dog lovers in this country and around the world for that matter. So I get it. Killing innocent dogs is just ridiculous and inexcusable.
What I can’t wrap my mind around is why there hasn’t been the same type of outcry over the behavior of “Big” Ben Roethlisberger. On more than one occasion he has been accused of sexual assault. Now granted he wasn’t charged with any crime. Not because he may not have done anything but because there wasn’t enough evidence to bring him to trial. Now I can hear those people in support of “Big Ben” saying, “he wasn’t convicted”. You’re completely right about that. However, his behavior was shameful enough for there to be a public outcry especially from women’s rights groups like the National Organization for Women (NOW) and Amnesty International NYC Women’s Human Rights Group. The NFL thought enough of what he was accused of to suspend him for four games this season. You and I both know that where there is smoke, there is fire. He may not have been convicted of any crime in a court of law but someone’s mother, wife, sister or even baby girl was disrespected by Ben. However, no one seemed to care.
Now I’ve got a wife, mother, sister and a baby girl and I love them dearly. Our women are the seeds of life. They are the comforters that allow us to make it in this cruel world. My wife and our women were taken from a man’s rib so they are of man‘s flesh. So when they are hurting we should be hurting. The two can’t be separated. So why have we put dogs before the very one’s that continue to love, support and encourage our dreams and imaginations? Our women should always be respected because they are the very foundation of our existence. Do we really love our dogs more than our women?
Jay Graves
I would have to totally agree with you on this comment Jay. Great analysis because I was thinking the same thing. Why is there static about Mike Vick and nothing is being emphasized on Ben Roth's behavior at all. Maybe to some people or culture dogs are being looked at as being more important than women. Great points, more to come.... Thanks, SDG
ReplyDeleteThere was a huge overreaction to Michael Vick's conviction--on both sides. And this includes tagging his dog fighting activity as the primary reason for his fall.
ReplyDeleteHe was convicted of carrying on a criminal enterprise across state lines, which made is conduct a federal crime. That enterprise happened to be dog fighting. He would have been convicted if he was selling Cuban cigars across state lines. The gory details of shooting and drowning of dogs (with intent to kill) made the story much more salacious.
Of course, the terrible news coverage would have impacted his endorsements even without a conviction (see Tiger Woods). Vick's denials, public professing his innocence, and eventual acknowledgment of his wrong (after all 3 of his co-defendants flipped) hurt his public image quite a bit, which led to the collapse of his contract and endorsements. And the owner of the Falcons, who was prepared to stay behind and support Vick withdrew that support after he lied to him about his involvement. I'm not sure if the money Vick lost should be a factor in him paying his debt to society. If he worked at Wendy's or Walmart, would the money he lost still be a variable in the repayment of his debt? I think that stems more from emotion because we (including me) hate to see someone we like lose that much money. I do agree that the time served is relevant to repayment of his debt.
NFL teams releases players all the time for breaking the law, and this includes incidents of domestic violence. The problem is that teams are not as willing to (immediately) release its star players. I read the indictment against Vick...and he would have went down for a lot more than dog fighting (i.e. tax evasion) w/o the plea.
As a husband, father, son, and brother of women (and a little girl), I'm not prepared to say we love our dogs more than our women. The decisions makers, however, put their bottom line before the another man's wife, daughter, and sister because they want their teams to be successful.
And I'm pulling for the Eagles to win the Superbowl. I am and have always been a fan of Vick and would love to see him take that team all the way! F.Roberson