Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Well, Somebody Had To Say It

You really have to read Jasmyne Cannick's spot-on commentary on the out-of-balance reaction to Michael Vick's alleged dogfighting. She says what I've been basically thinking for a while now, although cruelty to animals isn't a small matter. An excerpt:

"I am not in the camp of people that think that dog fighting deserves this much of our attention. Sure it's not pretty and for the most part is horrific, but it's not the worst thing Vick could be charged with - try 14 counts of child pornography and having sex with an underage minor. Enter R&B singer R. Kelly. Set to begin his long overdue trial next month on 14 counts of possessing child pornography for allegedly videotaping himself having sex with a girl, prosecutors have said could be as young as 13, you wouldn't know it the way his albums are still flying off shelves and black people are still bumping and grinding to his music. So what does R. Kelly have to do with Michael Vick? While traditional black organizations have been quick to jump to Vick's defence, for the most part they've said nothing on Kelly. Last time I checked a dog was not human, but a 13-year-old girl was. And regardless as to whether or not she willingly engaged in the act, she was the minor and he was the adult."

Now, I'm not at all defending dogfighting either, and it is a horrible and sickening crime. If Vick actually allowed this to happen in his house, or enabled it, he did a horrible thing. Cruelty to animals is in fact a horrible thing, and as I said, not a small matter.

Here's the thing: I've seen serial rapists get less heat in the press than Vick's getting from some. A bit bass ackwards, don't you think?

HT: Booker Rising

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rafique,

Evolution Theory claims that humans evolved from an animal, a monkey. So, people that are pro-animal rights, in their mind, believe that humans and animals are one and the same. Unfortunately, a soulless animal trumps a human.

DaveG said...

I've seen serial rapists get less heat in the press than Vick's getting from some.

Two things at work here: super-celebrity status, and the novelty of the crime.

On the 'novelty' aspect, aircraft owner/pilots like me deal with that every time there is a plane crash. A single fatality, or even a benign off-airport landing, will be plastered on the front page of the paper, while a four-car pile-up that killed 6 will be back on the Metro page somewhere.

Serial rape? Not nearly as uncommon (unfortunately) as dog fighting, and thus not as exciting to report.

That doesn't invalidate your point, of course. The difference in public approbation between the two examples is, in fact, quite stark. And possibly quite telling.

Anonymous said...

Here's the thing: I've seen serial rapists get less heat in the press than Vick's getting from some. A bit bass ackwards, don't you think?

Amen!!! (light applause)

Anonymous said...

Can't argue with C. Banks, I was living in the Bay Area when a woman with kids was killed by a mountain lion with a cub, and the lion was hunted and killed. Two charities were set up for the de-mothered babies and the mountain lion cub outearned the human babies two to one.

Even Pacman Jones is a bigger asshole than Vick, maybe. It's all the electrocuting and body slamming that's weirding me out, I guess.

Rafique Tucker said...

Who knows. I've heard that mountain lion story before, and I honestly didn't believe it at first. Priorities are out of whack.