My daughter has decided to make protecting animals her passion. She has learned many things along the way, and taught me many lessons, for which I am grateful. She has witnessed first-hand the cruel way we treat animals, and the inhuman emptiness found even in some animal lovers.
Her most important lesson is that, even if we eat or breed them, we have a responsibility to animals. They have souls, simpler, more basic perhaps, but souls nonetheless. Heeding this lesson is part of man’s own civilizing process.
Thus there is needful cruelty and there is needless cruelty.
Raising dogs to fight, to kill other dogs, and murdering those who don’t do well is needless cruelty. When the Humane Society or ASPCA breaks up a dog-fighting ring, all the dogs involved must be put down. It is needful cruelty. Their training makes them impossible to place as pets. It’s not their nature which is bad, it’s their nurture. And it can’t be unlearned.
People who engage in dog fighting dehumanize themselves. They hold all life as cheap. They forfeit all sympathy, all claims on our emotions. They deserve nothing more than what they dish out to the animals.
Fortunately we don’t usually do that. We have courts, we have a legal
system, we have the presumption of innocence, and a range of prisons
that treat people differently depending upon how dangerous they are. We
even have, in this country, an 8th Amendment on which you can make a
claim of cruel and inhuman punishment.
Dogs don’t have this. All they have is us.
As you may have guessed by now, I should not be on any jury which would
decide the guilt of Michael Vick, nor on the location where he would
spend any jail sentence. The evidence against him looks very clear to
me. He has been a terribly cruel man, and lied to everyone who believed
in him. The people who bought his denials, from Falcons owner Arthur
Blank on down, are going to take terrible losses by washing their hands
of him. But this is what they must do.
No one can be a fan of someone who practices evil in their daily life.
No one can have sympathy for those who engage in this kind of casual
cruelty. It is a very short distance from the attitudes Michael Vick
exhibited with his dogs and those Saddam Hussein exhibited with his
political opponents.
And as to those who would defend Michael Vick at this point, I feel the same way about you.
Boy, you ain’t kidding. I just heard about this this morning and was horrified. I hope they nail the bejeezus out of this guy.
An honest wonder-out-loud: I wonder how guys convicted of animal cruelty charges fare in prison, i.e., are they stigmatized like guys who’ve committed crimes against children?
Boy, you ain’t kidding. I just heard about this this morning and was horrified. I hope they nail the bejeezus out of this guy.
An honest wonder-out-loud: I wonder how guys convicted of animal cruelty charges fare in prison, i.e., are they stigmatized like guys who’ve committed crimes against children?
Many people hero worship football players. People like your daughter are the real heroes, because they really do contribute to the betterment of our society. Not many young woman have her sense of purpose and committment to such a noble cause.
Many people hero worship football players. People like your daughter are the real heroes, because they really do contribute to the betterment of our society. Not many young woman have her sense of purpose and committment to such a noble cause.
Given his inconsistent, sometimes out-to-lunch performance on the playing field, I wonder if Vick was more centered on this disgusting apparent hobby of his then what he is being paid to do-pass and run the football.
Given his inconsistent, sometimes out-to-lunch performance on the playing field, I wonder if Vick was more centered on this disgusting apparent hobby of his then what he is being paid to do-pass and run the football.
I’d never defend this activity but the one meme I’ve missed seeing in the blogosphere is that what Vick allegedly did to the dogs the American sports fan / gambler ACTUALLY come very close to doing to the players in a more “civilized manner.” Between required steroid use, repeated head injury related disabilities swept under the rug, etc., all in the name of entertainment and greed — the veneer of civility we barbarians wear is wearing pretty thin.
I’d never defend this activity but the one meme I’ve missed seeing in the blogosphere is that what Vick allegedly did to the dogs the American sports fan / gambler ACTUALLY come very close to doing to the players in a more “civilized manner.” Between required steroid use, repeated head injury related disabilities swept under the rug, etc., all in the name of entertainment and greed — the veneer of civility we barbarians wear is wearing pretty thin.
Hey Ed, none of Ron Mexico’s dogs had a shoe deal. Or got a free college education. Or could afford to have an entourage carry their weed for them even if they were too dumb to have them do it. Mike Vick is bad guy.
Dana, your daughter’s insights are spot on. I’ve had dogs for most of my life, and I can definitely say that each dog has its own personality. Even with the least affectionate dog, the love you give the dog will be repaid manyfold. And dog people generally (and I’m excluding the idiots that fight them) tend to be the best people, even the “crazy” dog people. I have yet to make up my mind about cat people.
Hey Ed, none of Ron Mexico’s dogs had a shoe deal. Or got a free college education. Or could afford to have an entourage carry their weed for them even if they were too dumb to have them do it. Mike Vick is bad guy.
Dana, your daughter’s insights are spot on. I’ve had dogs for most of my life, and I can definitely say that each dog has its own personality. Even with the least affectionate dog, the love you give the dog will be repaid manyfold. And dog people generally (and I’m excluding the idiots that fight them) tend to be the best people, even the “crazy” dog people. I have yet to make up my mind about cat people.
Nice blog on a gut-wrenching subject. I’ve spent the last several hours writing my representatives in Congress and writing Sick Vick’s sponsors (not an activity I’m moved to do very often).
Sen. Byrd made a speech recently which was very moving: “Who are the real animals? The ones inside the ring or outside the ring.”
To the above blogger: I’m the owner of 2 cats from the mean streets. I’ve consulted with them about your comments, and we don’t CARE if you like us (a little cat humor there).
Nice blog on a gut-wrenching subject. I’ve spent the last several hours writing my representatives in Congress and writing Sick Vick’s sponsors (not an activity I’m moved to do very often).
Sen. Byrd made a speech recently which was very moving: “Who are the real animals? The ones inside the ring or outside the ring.”
To the above blogger: I’m the owner of 2 cats from the mean streets. I’ve consulted with them about your comments, and we don’t CARE if you like us (a little cat humor there).
michael vick deserves to burn alive, not in hell,though he certainly will there, but before he gets to hell. he needs to suffer like no one else i can think of.
michael vick deserves to burn alive, not in hell,though he certainly will there, but before he gets to hell. he needs to suffer like no one else i can think of.