Dogs Are Bad; Humans Are Worse

by Dbiderman

Enough ink has been spilled over the whole Mike Vick that I need not explain how terrible the situation is. Dogs were killed, horrible things happened, Vick's career is, for the foreseeable future, over, etc.

But what I don't get is why VIck is getting killed so much worse than other criminals in the league. THe main reason people are so adamant about condemning dog fighting is because of this logic: "if a guy can so easily harm such an innocent thing like a dog, he could just as easily harm another human" Well I agree with that. But if we run with that idea, than why is Vick in so much more trouble than guys WHO"VE ACTUALLY HURT OTHER HUMANS.

While VIck has done some stupid stuff, give him credit for not being in the "i've beaten my wife/girlfriend/friend/randomassperson" group. Vick is getting the media death sentence for doing something that people assume might lead to other worse things. Other guys have actually done those worse things and no one seems to care.

I'm not defending Vick by any means. I think he should be out of the league for doing something so reprehensible. But at the same time I think other guys should be in just as much trouble. How is PacMan Jones not officially out yet? I couldn't have been the only person to see the ESPN thing about the guy who IS PARALYZED because of that strip club incident. People are flipping on Vick because they think his dog fighting or involvement with dog fighting could've led to harming of other humans... well, PacMan did harm/become involved with harming other humans.

Vick's situation is a bad one, but anyone who thinks he isn't also the victim of his own fame in this situation is insane. A few years back Qyntel Woods formerly of the Portland Trailblazers got nabbed for dog fighting and it was hardly a story. Skip Bayless never cried over it nor did David Stern issue mandates that he couldn't go to training camp.

Vick should be in every drop of hot water he is, but he shouldn't be the only one.

RawbeezeitzMajor Leaguer

885 days ago

Score 2

Jason Kidd beat his wife, and yet nobody really talks about it all that much.

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Tyrone BriggsHall of Famer

885 days ago

Score 1

You are right. Here is damning evidence that the bastard tried to drown his entire family!

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JuTMSY4Legend

885 days ago

Score 2

If you've ever heard from Joumana kidd, you'd understand that she ain't completely innocent in that incident...Vick's dogs didn't provoke him to kill them... I'm not saying its alright for Kidd to beat his wife, but there was more to it...

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RawbeezeitzMajor Leaguer

885 days ago

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I never said Joumanna was completely innocent. But Jason was completely guilty.

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MegECass110AAA-er

885 days ago

Score 1

Interesting stuff. I definitely agree that Vick's "superstar" status has elevated the level of the dogfighting story's exposure; if it was someone nobody had heard of, it would still be a big deal, but not as nearly as much as it is with Vick. I agree on Pacman too; that piece John Barr did was great work. If the league lets that piece of crap go to training camp just because he dropped his appeal, that defeats the entire purpose of the suspension. Anyone know the status of this, by the way?

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Tyrone BriggsHall of Famer

885 days ago

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I agree completely with the title of this article. Humans are definitely worse than dogs.

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Moritz WollertWaterboy

885 days ago

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Good read!

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Simms1156Div-I Stud

885 days ago

Score 2

I think Colin Cowherd perfectly said the problem on his radio show "the herd" the way he explained it was "In todays world if you watch a movie, you see human beings getting shot everyday and nobody blinks an eye, If a dog dies there isnt a dry eye in the house." Basically what I think he is saying is that we are so desensitized to human death that creulty toward an animal that cant protect itself evokes much stronger fealings.

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JuTMSY4Legend

885 days ago

Score 0

Well, your first problem is Cowherd is an idiot... But you're right...a general rule in movies is Kids and Dogs don't die (circumstantial of course...like pet cemetary or homeward bound)...but ask yourself, in an adventure flick how often does a kid or dog die...practically never

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Simms1156Div-I Stud

885 days ago

Score 1

Oh and about the Trail Blazers player he is not Mike Vick. Vick is one of the most polarizing and well known athletes in all of sports. PacMan is a great kick returner and not a bad corner but at one point Mike Vick was the face of the NFL which makes his story a huge fall from greatness. That makes people talk about it more on tv because personalities get ratings

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JuTMSY4Legend

885 days ago

Score 0

Vick is also the best madden player this decade...

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Baltimoresports247All-American

885 days ago

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Vick should pick up basketball and go play for the Trail Blazers...

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ASwaffAll-American

885 days ago

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"THe main reason people are so adamant about condemning dog fighting is because of this logic: "if a guy can so easily harm such an innocent thing like a dog, he could just as easily harm another human""

I've NEVER heard that logic before, and definitely never heard it in relation to Michael Vick. The only thing I've ever heard close to that is statistics showing that animal cruelty tends to lead to violence against people. However, those statistics are in the context of children, and were warnings of early signs of violent behavior.

I don't think this is necessarily a big deal because of his start status. I think it's because it's a new crime. People have heard about athletes beating their wives. Shooting up strip clubs has almost become routine. Dog fighting is something new, and people are always fascinated and/or horrified by new things. I think that's the big issue here, is that we're dealing with a crime most people are unfamiliar with, and simultaneously being hit with facts that this is probably wide spread among athletes and that measures may have even been taken to cover it up.

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ASwaffAll-American

885 days ago

Score 0

By the way, I think the other thing that's different when comparing dog fighting to things done to humans is that dogs are victims, 100%. They're mistreated and FORCED to fight. With these strip club incidents, bad as they are, there's usually a two-sided altercation where two hot-heads are at fault. Losing your head in the heat of a moment is FAR different from pre-meditated, well-planned, malicious dog fighting.

Now, as you said, I don't say this to pardon the people who have been involved in such incidents. Merely pointing out that these situations are different on a number of levels. And I'm not saying his celebrity has NOTHING to do with it, but I think you're overlooking a number of factors when you try to make it seem like it's the only reason why this is a big story.

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ASwaffAll-American

885 days ago

Score 0

Sorry to post so many in a row, but I also think it's important to point out that things are different when talking about the NFL than the NBA, in terms of star status. It's not JUST that nobody had heard of Qyntel Woods. Anything that happens in the NFL is bigger news. The NFL is huge, it's out of control. We talk NFL non-stop during the season, and when the season's done, we spend months talking about the impending draft, and then we spend the next several months talking about what will happen with the players just drafted. We're not this obsessed with any other sport. So, when talking about this being a big story because Vick is a big star, I think you also have to take into account that this would be a bigger deal for ANYONE in the NFL, because NFL news just makes a bigger splash. It always does.

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Moritz WollertWaterboy

885 days ago

Score 0

I would say that it isn't a matter of NFL or NBA. Imagine how big a story would be with, let's say TMac or Garnett holding dog fights...

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ASwaffAll-American

885 days ago

Score 0

I'm not saying it's a matter of NFL or NBA alone. I'm just saying that there are a number of factors at play in the size of this story, and one of them is that NFL news is always bigger than news in other sports.

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