HATE THE SIN, NOT THE SINNER?

Not so much where Michael Vick is concerned. Vick is not a hero. Vick should not be back in the NFL. Vick has never been and will never be a compassionate, caring human. He destroyed the lives, hearts and spirits of too many dogs in the most callous, disgusting manners he and his partners in crime could devise.

Hate is not a good thing. It isn’t a quality that I like in myself, but I find there are truly some things worth HATING with all of my being. At the top of the list are those who, with no twinge of compassion, torture, mutilate, neglect and/or torture innocents and those weaker than themselves. This is done to nonhuman animals, children and women routinely every second of every day on this planet. And, in the overwhelming majority of cases, it is done by men. Testosterone loaded, aggressive, violent men. In our society, in particular, violence is not only condoned but applauded throughout all forms of media. The most popular movies and video games are those which are the most violent. The messages: violence is good, clean fun; violence solves problems; violence is necessary.

What set me off this morning? The story of Mel, a little black dog who was beaten, tortured and used as a bait dog by Vick and his friends. You can read the LA Times story here: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-plaschke-20101117,0,4438010,full.column

Mel, a black pit bull, cowers to the corner while another dog, Pumpkin, shields him. Mel was one of the 47 pit bulls in Michael Vick's interstate dogfighting ring. (Richard Hunter / November 16, 2010)

Years after surviving this chamber of horrors, Mel has found a safe, loving home. He suffers still from the damage inflicted by the monsters of Bad Newz Kennels. While Mel still trembles and fears new people, Vick is being lauded for his record breaking performance as quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles. Football fans are going crazy for Vick’s amazing skills. Some are predicting he may take his team to the Super Bowl and win them Super Bowl rings, the Holy Grail for all NFL players. Then there is little Mel and the other survivors from Vick’s “past” life, the one he has “paid his debt for” according to many.

Something is broken in Vick that can never be fixed. No fully human person could ever do what he did to those dogs and be able to live with themselves. He is not a role model. He is not a hero. He is not repentant. He is a monster and will remain one. He doesn’t deserve fame, accolades or rewards. It isn’t up to the fans to forgive and forget the transgressions of this pond scum of a person – his victims continue to work through their recovery and they are the REAL HEROS & HEROINES of this story. We must never forget them.

To read more about the story of the surviving dogs, check out The Lost Dogs by Jim Gorant. You can read a review here: http://badrap-blog.blogspot.com/2010/08/jim-gorant-lost-dogs-our-review.html written by people who took in many of these dogs.