Michael Vick

[Sam]

Michael Vick should have been killed for what he did. They let him off easy because he was a god damn football player. No dog deserves what he did. He should still be in prison for his crime. I would love to get me hands on that man he wouldn't be alive I guarantee that much.

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

For some reason we do not punish people very severely if they harm what American society considers living personal property. If Vick had done burglary he would have received a harsher sentence. I can't believe this man still is playing football. What does that say about a sizeable group of people? These animals are bred to love and support humans and this is how many people abuse that trust and faith. I share your outrage. But rather than simply condemning Vick, the real question is why he has fans and why those fans are cheering him on. Vick was caught, exposed and served his punishment. Now he's earning millions of dollars playing with a ball, cheered and respected. I think THAT is even more obscene.

[Dachokie]

I disagree ... living in Blacksburg, I have seen both the good and bad of Michael Vick. From a football perspective, he was probably the best thing that EVER happened to Virginia Tech and (for the most part) he was not a problem when he was a student. From a personal perspective, I had a great deal of animosity and disgust toward the man after his dog fighting ring was busted. What bothered me the most was the likelihood that other people's dogs were stolen as bait for his dogs. However, as time has elapsed, my emotional sentiment has softened to a degree because he 1) drew national attention to the issue which probably saved more dogs from similar fate 2) he confessed and served his time (OJ and Casey Anthony were set free) and 3) I believe he still faces the consequences for his actions every Sunday in the form of late hits.

Michael Vick is an easy target ... people don't seem to have a problem cheering for Ray Lewis his potential role in a homicide 10 years ago ... the Steelers QB and the numerous sexual assault charges he keeps sidestepping ...the cop killers that garner so much sympathy from celebrities. Or the iconic status that Charles Manson has attained over the years ... where's the outrage over this stuff?

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

Like I said, fans are the problem. They keep supporting criminal stars.

[Sam]

I know it's the fans. The ones that still cheer for him have no companion for dogs none at all. I still think he should be killed.

I wish I had the power to change the law when it comes to the animal laws...anyone that commits any kind of animal abuse should be thrown into jail for 15 year and no less and then be watched to make sure the never get an animal again. And if they have killed and animal they should be killed.

I can't stand animal abusers..If you didn't notice. And I can't stand animal abuser supporters.

[Lis]

Dachokie, he "confessed" only when he was proven to have lied. He tortured dogs to death. He has never expressed any remorse whatsoever for what he did to the dogs--only for letting down his fans and his teammates. And he has served Not. One. Single. Day. for animal cruelty; at the end of the trial, he was allowed to plead to the racketeering charges only.

OJ--the prosecution failed, badly, in presenting a case on which the jury could convict. They relied too heavily on the testimony of a cop who clearly would have lied if he believed OJ guilty, and who had the opportunity to plant evidence--and then the blood evidence was mishandled. It was a disaster of a case.

Nevertheless, despite the acquittal, OJ was never again the hero he had been. Everyone believed he was guilty (even before the civil case proved it with a far more competent prosecution), and everybody thought it mattered.

Casey Anthony--they over-charged. They couldn't prove murder because they couldn't even say how the little girl died. They could have proved lesser charges, because she clearly behaved in a way that endangered her daughter, and she lied to the police. But no, they had to go for first degree murder when they didn't have the evidence for that.

In Vick's case, we have copious evidence of exactly what he did, and of the utter depravity of it--and he's a hero again. His teammates even voted the scumbag a good character award--and fans like you continue to make excuses for him. If he's getting late hits, it just proves that the moral bankruptcy of the Eagles doesn't extend to the entire league.

[Dachokie]

I wouldn't usually consider someone who personally holds a "great deal of animosity and disgust" toward an individual (which is what I stated my feelings were about Vick) ... As a "fan" (which is what you called me). But, your general assumption that Vick has somehow escaped his crime unscathed because he still plays football is unfounded. No matter what the guy does with the rest of his life, he will never erase the label of being a dog killer nor erase the hatred felt by many towards him. His kids will live with it and Vick will never be a "hero" again, no matter how hard the media tries to spin his less-than-believable "remorse" (unlike you, I actually don't know how Michael Vick really feels about his crimes). But, beyond the shallow "he must die" for his actions sentiment is the FACT that such a crime would not have gotten the attention it deserved without him ... The usual rednecks and gangbangers getting caught for dogfighting year after year never seemed to get anyones attention before.

And what about Ray Lewis? Do you know who he is? He, like OJ and Casey Anthony, might have murdered ... A human being. Do you have an explanation in your bag of reasons as to why that trial ended up allowing him to continue a sure-bet Hall-of-Fame career?

Bottom line is that while I despise Vick for what he did ... he did go to prison and he did ruin his life whereas Ray Lewis (and possibly even Casey Anthony) have arguably bettered their lives after killing people. whether you believe it or not, Vick did ruin his life ... And if you knew anything about the man before you read about his crime, you would understand this. Sometimes the media doesn't provide all the details.

[Lis]

Michael Vick's life is so "ruined" that he is once again a star quarterback, making millions. His teammates voted him a good character award; Eagles fans object vigorously to any suggestion that he's not worthy of hero-worship. Maybe you'd care to list for me the movies OJ did after the murders of his ex-wife and her friend?

As for OJ, Casey Anthony, and Ray Lewis, do you really not understand the significance of the difference between may have and proven to have? The law in this country doesn't punish people because we're pretty sure they're guilty; the prosecutor is required to actually prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If the evidence isn't there or is seriously tainted, or the prosecution doesn't do a competent job in presenting the evidence, the person is acquitted, and can't be tried on the same charges again.

Oh, and last time I checked, Charles Manson was still in prison, with zero chance of getting out in this lifetime. He is iconic, but not in a good way, and he's not a free man making millions, either.

That's not what happened to Michael Vick.

As for lack of remorse--he has apologized for letting down the fans, letting down his teammates, letting down his family, letting down the kids who follow football and think star players are role models. He has never apologized for, or expressed any regret over, what he did to the dogs. That matters--to me, and to many other people, even if you think they're just dogs and it doesn't matter how much they suffered, because Ray Lewis may have been involved in a homicide, but nobody has substantial evidence for it.

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

One really has to wonder about people. If you go on line, there are so many pictures of abused animals suffering and the men (usually) involved are laughing and don't even cover their faces the way terrorists do. They obviously are NOT embarrassed, ashamed or feel like they have to worry about the law. I cannot really look much, I know what I know about this because of the few pictures friends linked to me. Mostly men are giving Vick his career back with their admiration for his football skills. Animal abuse is endemic around the world, China-Indonesia-India-Europe-South America-and it also goes back in history. Half the human race is missing a gene for empathy, despite the fact that dogs and cats, in particular, but also cows, and other ruminants, have been bred for peaceful co-existence with humans and so do not live long without us. They cannot live long without us due to their breeding for tameness and lack of passed down training for hunting, although some pick it up. Most of these animals depend on us like children, and see what half of us do to them. It's inexcusable.

[Lis]

April, sorry, but if you are going to claim that half the human race either horribly abuses animals or thinks it is either funny or unimportant when others do so, I'm going to ask for better support for that claim than some pictures a friend of yours found in the internet.

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

I'm a writer brained person, strong in history, reading and language arts. I'm not in the least molecule of my body scientific or anal. I've always got comments like yours from more anal types, Lis. I'm married to one and my conversation has annoyed the crap out of him when I speak generally. Sorry. I can speak more scientific when required, since somehow I graduated from college. I type fast so my writing comes out speaking conversationally, not writing a dissertation to be defended. It's simply an impression at this point from my life experience, not graphs and math. My husband and many of his friends, as well as my blue collar background, the men in particular seemed to have a 'I can out-bastard you if you want a contest.'. The pictures I saw online all had laughing men-no women. Completely subject, absolutely nothing science to back up my comments at all.

[Audra]

As a football fan since childhood, I was neutral to him before the fighting came to light now I will not support any team he plays for. I originally wanted him to not be reinstated but have since decided I'd rather a player take him out of the game.I'm a current dog owner but at the time had pit bulls, I was raised around pits and have written 2 papers for college on BSL and have advocated to my representatives about it; to say the least, I was incredibly angry, for me, he can not redeem himself nor will I forgive it.

[Suzanne]

This book was extremely hard for me to read; I wanted to read it to see what had happened to these dogs and where they went...Michael Vick to me is still a monster, anybody who treats animals like this is a animal...cannot forgive anyone who does such things to God's creatures!!

[Keisha]

i cant believe he got let of so lightly, his cruely inspired my writing of one of the books i wrote, and all i can say is i cant wait for Karma to happen

[Deon]

Michael Vick is breathing oxygen that could be put to much better use. Being able to play a game with a ball does not excuse the guy at all.

[Dawn]

Did anyone ever hear or read that he asked the courts if he could get a pet dog for his children? I don't know if it was true or not? And did not hear what was the response.

[Suzanne]

Dawn wrote: "Did anyone ever hear or read that he asked the courts if he could get a pet dog for his children? I don't know if it was true or not? And did not hear what was the response."

Yes, I did hear about that...awhile back it was on news with a pic of milkbone dog treats on his table while his kid was doing homework...He STILL SHOULD NOT BE ALOUD A DOG!!!