Quarterbacks, Dogs & Racism
The Michael Vick story isn’t a political one, but it relates to racial politics in that a tactic used by those who want to defend him is often used when discussing political and social issues within the black community and it is a tactic that prevents our community from being honest with each other and finding solutions to our problems; especially those problems most affecting black males.
I was reluctant to blog about the whole affair because it’s just sick. Dog fighting is a felony and is deserving of a fine and restriction from owning any animal, mammal or fish. I wouldn’t even give that person a plant. I realize these are dogs and not humans, so I wouldn’t put that person in prison. But if you want to put a dog down, you euthanize them. The way it was alleged to have been done in this case, is sick. Electrocution, hanging and bashing their heads into the ground is indicative of a psychopath and someone who needs to be locked up.
I decided to blog about it because I happened to be listening to the Jim Rome show online yesterday. It’s a sports show, so of course the host brought the topic up. Not seconds later, a brother called up and accused Rome of being racist. He said Rome was only bringing this up because Vick was black. If Rome really cared about the cruelty of dog fighting, he would have brought it up before. Yes, I was just thinking myself that I don’t hear nearly enough about dog fighting as I want to. Actually, Rome had brought the topic up a few years ago when it involved another athlete, but this caller wasn’t interested in any facts.
The caller knows he was wrong, but it’s such a familiar and successful tactic of deflection used in cultural politics and racial issues. Anytime someone is criticizing an act or behavior of someone who happens to be black, especially a black man, you threaten the “racist” label. This makes them either shut-up or veer off of the real topic; a topic that needs to be discussed if we are ever to find a solution. So, even though a couple of brothers phoned in to call that guy out for what he was doing, his tactic worked. For the next 2 hours, Rome spent most of the show explaining why he isn’t a racist instead discussing the real issue.
The caller said he’s listened to Rome for 3 years now. So have I. So I know that he knows Rome isn’t even remotely racist and doesn’t tolerate it from his audience. Rome never fails to mention when a white athlete gets in trouble or acts the fool over something. People who make racist comments are banned from the show and he refuses to read racist e-mails even though he admits he gets many. He rails endlessly against people in the world of sports who make racist statements no matter what color they are. Because the caller knew this, he knew that all he had to do was put the suspicion of racism on a well-intentioned person and “the black man” in this case, Vick, suddenly becomes the victim. Shame on him for doing it and shame on Rome for falling for it. www.politopics.com
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18 Responses to “Quarterbacks, Dogs & Racism”
“I realize these are dogs and not humans, so I wouldn’t put that person in prison.”
I’m sure Dr Estés would be able to explain it better, but it’s not too far from doing these things to animals to doing them to other Humans. The racist card is pulled too often. Sometimes it’s true, but in this case.
The reason this issue has suddenly gained such attention and why the host of the call-in show brought it up, had nothing to do with the fact that Vick is black, but because he is a high profile NFL player.
Actually, much to my surprise, Sharpton has already weighed in on this subject in a letter to the NFL, the Falcons, and sponsors coming out AGAINST Vick.
If you are a high-profile black, and you can’t even get Sharpton on your side in a legal dispute, you’re screwed.
Ms Winters,
Thank you for listening to the Jim Rome show so I didn’t have to!
Gosh that guy annoys the heck out of me more than Hannity.
If Vick’s involvement involved dog fights and abuse on his property lock him up in prison. It appears the idiot is so arrogant that the fights were on his property, this brings up conspiracy charges even if he wasn’t physically involved. The Latin countries still do bull fighting and cock fighting, so the Vick incident does involve “machismo” factor. Bull fights are still legal and popular in Mexico and Spain, dog fighting is “more bad” because of Fido.
[...] I decided to blog about it because I happened to be listening to the Jim Rome show online yesterday. It’s a sports show, so of course the host brought the topic up. Not seconds later, a brother called up and accused Rome of being racist. He said Rome was only bringing this up because Vick was black. If Rome really cared about the cruelty of dog fighting, he would have brought it up before. Yes, I was just thinking myself that I don’t hear nearly enough about dog fighting as I want to. Actually, Rome had brought the topic up a few years ago when it involved another athlete, but this caller wasn’t interested in any facts. (more…) [...]
1. There is no racism here. Excuse-makers for Vick should stop lying, and at least try to find a better (still-worthless) excuse, such as that other things are worse.
2. “dogs and not humans” [sic; "dogs, not humans"]: Most people here are hardly the extremist types like the worst of ALF or PETA or Peter Singer, but we know what’s bad and wrong when we see it. Vick and the other dogfighters should be fed to crocodiles.
[...] I decided to blog about it because I happened to be listening to the Jim Rome show online yesterday. It’s a sports show, so of course the host brought the topic up. Not seconds later, a brother called up and accused Rome of being racist. He said Rome was only bringing this up because Vick was black. If Rome really cared about the cruelty of dog fighting, he would have brought it up before. Yes, I was just thinking myself that I don’t hear nearly enough about dog fighting as I want to. Actually, Rome had brought the topic up a few years ago when it involved another athlete, but this caller wasn’t interested in any facts. (more…) [...]
Cruelty to animals is a felony- and this case represents extreme cruelty. The perpetrators had scheduled ‘events’where they forced the dogs to fight sometimes to the death, and gambled on the results. The’ losers’ were hung, electrocuted or shot. Even the rescued animals had to be destroyed because they were trained by the owners to draw blood for sport.
What could be any crueler or more barbaric than allowing this type of “entertainment? Is it that much different than feeding Christians to the lions in the Colisseum?
I’ve been to dogfights, when I was a kid. In my nabe it was mostly poor folk- Hispanics, blacks, and Italians, that ran the rings.
Cockfights, too.
It’s sick and sadistic. Period. There is no sport, anymore than a hunter w a gun vs. a deer is a real sport. But, at least the hunter ends it quick, and uses the animal for meat and leather. There is nothing beneficial from dogs killing each other.
And, yes, dogs are not humans. They are not perverse enough for sadism.
Not quite the subject but I feel I must defend my nation. The national shame that is bullfighting is still legal here yes, but it is against the wishes of the majority of the population, that favors it’s prohibition. The very rich who own the business are what keeps it from being touched. More than 70% have never seen and have no intention of seeing a bullfight in their lives and only 11% ever regularly go to such events, despite heavy coverage by the media. 11% is still monstrous, but it’s not exactly soccer.
As to the racism label, there really needs to be a point where you can just say “that’s ridiculous” and simply move on. The fear of the label lends it a power it does not deserve. Nazi or Fascist is a far nastier insult and no one feels the need to spend hours explaining why they aren’t one.
Electrocution, hanging and bashing their heads into the ground is indicative of a psychopath and someone who needs to be locked up.
Davebo:
I’m glad I’m not the only guy who not only finds Hannity strident but who also knows that sports talk is worse. Rome is a model for sports talk: loud and low-class.
Sports talk (if we could ever succeed at forcing them to listen to it) would make other liberals like K. Ritter and farther-left Chris flee to Hannity, Boortz, Beck, or, better, Limbaugh (aging, zzzzz) for behavioral relief and intellectual uplifting.
Actually (no Peter Singer philosophy intended), what these people deserve is electrocution, hanging, and bashing their heads into the ground. I can think of other fates they deserve, but these would be fitting.
I have to agree with DLS. Whatever the legal remedy for this is, it is not severe enough to fit the crime of doing this to these dogs. I had the misfortune of watching a video of this on the news and my pessimism about the depths some humans will go to to entertain themselves now knows no bounds. It hit a new low for humanity.
Rome is a gasbag, I prefer Mike and Mike, and they slammed Vick bigtime as well.
I couldn’t care less what race someone who takes part in this kind of cruelty belongs to. I agree that the level of sadism involved here makes me think that the participants aren’t that far from being willing to treat humans the same way.
It all makes me think fondly of Childhood’s End by Arthur c. Clarke. No cruelty allowed by the new alien overlords. When a bullfight was held anyway the audience got to feel what the bull felt.
Now THAT’S a fine idea if I’ve ever seen one.
I’ve always thought that someone who would torture a dog for fun would likely do the same to a child and simply doesn’t (usually) because they know they can’t get away with it.
Trying to hide behind claims of racism is doubly disgusting.
First, it’s an obvious attempt to get away wihout punishment for this ugly crime.
Second, and most important, it casts a shadow over all claims of racism, and makdes racism harder to fight. If I were an Afro-American, I would be furious.
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I keep thinking about the spectators. What kind os people think this is entertainment?