Michael Vick

...like any murderer, is the lowest form of scum. I have said it before, and the fact that he has served his sentence doesn't mean my attitude has changed. Yes, I have seen him on TV saying what a horrible mistake he has made, but I don't really believe him. As far as he is concerned, his horrible mistake was getting caught and having to cough up all that dough. As part of his probabtion, he should be forced to watch this on a loop every day:

Now, having said all that, I would be hypocritical if I did not believe that even a Michael Vick, having paid his societal debt, deserves a second chance-I am just immensely grateful that he did not sign with the Pats, and it is a testament to the desperation of the Eagles to win something in the McNabb era that they decided to take a flyer on this guy (Eagles fans are up in arms about it now, but win a Super Bowl and all will be forgiven, I'm sure). For the sake of society at large, I really hope he can make something productive of himself.

However, given his choice of mentor, I have no doubt that will not occur.

Have you noticed who has been showing up at Vick's side everywhere he goes, his protectant, his own personal Greta Van Susteran? None other than Tony Dungy, one of the most overrated coaches in NFL history and a full-fledged member of the right wing hate group Focus on the Family. With the pious Dungy by his side, the malleable Vick's path is now more predictable than Brett Favre throwing a pick at a crucial minute. He is going to "repent" and "turn his life over to Christ" (kind of like Josh Hamilton supposedly did, right?) There will be a lot of God talk thrown around. He'll get a license plate that says "JS SVS" and hold prayer meetings before Eagles practices. He'll go around to high schools preaching the gospel according to Tony. The guy who hung and electrocuted living creatures without remorse will ruminate on the evils of abortion. He'll make close friends with gay-bashers, and show up on Rush Limbaugh to tout his new-found Christianity. If it's good enough for Tony, it will be good enough for Mike, right?

I *suppose*, on a personal level, it is probably better to be a right-wing evangelical than a dog murderer, but not by much. After all, we have evangelicals and their fervent support of George Bush to thank for the illegal Iraq War and it's resultant hundreds of thousands of human deaths, not to mention the widespread torture and murder of detainees in American custody. We have right-wing Christian hate speech to thank for the murders of citizens like George Tiller and Matthew Shepherd. We have right-wing Christian rhetoric to thank for the obstruction of research into potentially life saving treatments for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. When you look on the stage at Mike Vick and Tony Dungy, is one really any better than the other? I don't think so. 

Michael Vick is at a significant crossroads in his life, and the path he chooses will determine the type of person he will become.  I can only hope he doesn't channel his callous disregard for animal life and rights into callous disregard  for human life and rights. He chose the wrong friends before. Let's hope, for his sake and ours, that history does not repeat itself.  

Comments

[Phillip]

Is this a baseball blog or bash America blog?

[Michael Leggett]

https://www.createspace.com/Workflow/book/preview.do?bookID=3390342

My 1st Novel has been accepted for publishing.

[Lisa K]

That is awesome, Mike! Congratulations!

[Lori]

I think Michael Vick deserves a chance to work after serving his sentence, also, just not as a pro football player. Not right away. I think he ought to doing some filing in the league's main office, or, I don't know, scrubbing toilets or something, for a year or two. Give him a chance to demonstrate that he has really reformed, before we hold hold up as a role model for our youth.

Oh, and Phillip? If you don't like what you read here, feel free to fuck right off. Turns out there are other blogs on the web.