For American Pitbull Terrier owners, and dog lovers around the United States, the Philadelphia Eagles recently turned our world upside down. They not only signed Michael Vick, and in doing so, began to nurture his self-destroyed image -- but they named him as their starting quarterback, and thus, the face of their franchise and organization. From a purely football standpoint, this could be understood.
What cannot be understood, however, is how the fans of the Philadelphia Eagles have opened their arms to embrace this criminal -- a man who has been convicted of murdering innocent dogs. Let us elaborate, this man has admitted, under oath, that he has not only shot dogs that either lost a fight, or would not fight -- but that he has also electrocuted them for the same reasons.
This low born, depraved, pathetic individual is now being embraced by the very Eagles fans that picketed around Lincoln Financial Field when the Eagles announced that they had signed him.
What, you may ask, was the cost for which the Eagles fans would sell their souls? Well, the answer is quite simple -- a lousy three point victory over the worst NFL team in the last decade, the Detroit Lions.
The hypocrisy of the Philadelphia Eagles organization was to be expected, they are a business, and they have proven time and again to do whatever they think is most marketable, and profitable, for their franchise.
As for the Eagles fans.. I expected more, even from them. I think those who have supported, or now support, Michael Vick, need to take some quality time to themselves and reflect on their most distasteful decision -- and ask themselves -- Does marketability supersede morality? Is the success of a football team really worth abandoning their principles? And, is the success of a football team worth setting back a gold standard of our culture and civilization - that dog is, in fact, man's best friend?
1 comment:
Very well argued and presented. The reality is that dog fighting, as with hunting or coursing live game, has always been with us. A remnant of our primitive past that men seem loathe to part with. Yes,it represents a mystical bond with nature for the unenlightened.
That being said, the issue with mr. vick is different. As Sin stated, and rightly so, mr. vick engaged in vicious and cruel violence against his dogs, torturing them with electrocution and hangings. He behaved in an inhuman way, not acceptable to modern Western culture . His mentality can only be regarded as a throwback to a more ignorant and primitively brutal age. It should be condemned by all, since this type of behavior is rarely exclusively practiced on animals, but often is turned on fellow human beings as well.
Bravo to Sin for fearlessly and convincingly calling attention to the spineless capitulation-- on the most vital moral issues--by the fan base of the Philadelphia Eagles-- never a hotbed of intellectual discernment to begin with. Andre Gide
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