WhoopI Goldberg Attempts To Defend Michael Vick

[erpowers]

On her first official day on the View Whoopi Goldberg attempted to defend Michael Vick. As you will see from the video, which I will try to link to Goldberg pointed the fact that Vick grew up in the South. What do other think about Goldberg's attempted defense? I think Goldberg was wrong in saying what she said. There are many people who grew up in the South and did not start or continue to fight dogs.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/showbiz/2007/09/04/sot.whoopi.vick.comments.cnn

[cali]

1. Do we really need another thread about this? n/t

[BlooInBloo]

6. DUers are convinced that THEIR take, differing epsilonishy from every other, is IMPORTANT.

[erpowers]

13. Acutally I was not Aware of Another Post

I did not realize that their was another post on the subject (Whoopi's take on the issue) until after I has already posted mine. The other post that I saw was posted two minutes before my post. I think that during the time I was making my post someone else posted their post. Usually, I just post in another person's post if I realize a post on the same topic is already present.

[Forkboy]

19. Why do you hate DUers?

[truebrit71]

21. Yes. We can't get enough Whoopi bashing...

...and because she defended Micheal Vick (and very poorly) it's like a twofer....

[Taverner]

2. Jesus jumped, she wasn't defending him

She was providing context - she's not excusing his behavior, but merely placing a cultural context.

[atreides1]

3. What about the Jena 6? Is that also a cultural context thing?

Then based on the context that she was trying to provide, the current situation in Jena Louisiana can also be based on cultural context.

I'm not defending what's going on there, I personally think it's wrong and racist, but when you take the view on cultural context the actions being taken can be excused by some.

[BlooInBloo]

5. Putting something in cultural context does NOT excuse it. Just like southerners & their nooses.

[Taverner]

8. She wasn't excusing the dog fighting either

She was just setting context - and the media made it look like she was defending his actions (which she wasn't)

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

17. Actually, yeah.

I think there are a lot of cultural explanations behind the jena 6.

[pocoloco]

7. In my area of the country it was cock fighting!

Hell, in some areas of the US they like to start illegal, immoral wars that kill hundreds of thousands.

[Bluebear]

4. And away we go again . . .

[zbdent]

9. Question ... was Assh*lebeck one of these RW nuts who

always puts down PETA/people who are concerned about animal cruelty, who were probably going nuts over the idea that someone would get more jail time for killing dogs than for killing humans?

[T Wolf]

10. There is NO context! Abuse and cruelty, especially over an extended

time, is simply and without qualification, abuse and cruelty and any attempt to "place it in context" is nothing more than weak attempt at rationalization.

Whoopie, whom I love, is just wrong.

[leftyladyfrommo]

11. I saw that show - I don't think she was defending or condoning the behavior

She was just adding some context.

I think Vick is awful and what he did was even worse. But I don't think Whoopi said anything out of line. I thought her take on the affairs was interesting.

[Taverner]

12. Context does NOT equal agreement

Context is what gives you background over a given subject. She never agreed with Vick, or said he should be given a pass - but mentioned that among Rural Southern Afrian Americans, Dog Fighting is seen as a sport.

[Kahuna]

23. Heck! It's also done among urban black youth. I know that for a fact.

And believe me that they really don't realize that what they are doing is illegal. Now please do go around saying kahuna is defending Vick because I'm not. I'm explaining that it is done and the people doing it don't think they are doing something vile. I do think that Vick took it to another level with the organization, betting and euthanizing the "inferior" dogs.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. DUers continue to confuse explanations with defense.

I guess you've got to expect that sort of thing. Lots of people in this country graduate from high school but are still functionally illiterate.

[tears4terra]

15. She pulled this "so called" explanation out of her rear end!

Why did she do that if not to defend him?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

16. You're pulling this "so called" defense out of your rear end

Why would you do that except to make yourself look silly?

[BlackVelvet04]

18. Let's face it.....

the whole context thing is really reaching. It's not like Michael Vick is some poor, uneducated, stuck in the boonies hick who has nothing to compare his immediate environment to.

It's rather like trying to put bigotry "into context" by pointing to slavery.

[cwydro]

20. I am disappointed to hear this about Whoopi

and yeah, I was raised in the South and never even heard of dog fighting.

Not to mention, it was not just the fighting he was involved in - he seemed to get his kicks electrocuting, drowning and otherwise torturing helpless beings that could do nothing at all to protect themselves. He's a sick fuck a sociopath, and Whoopi has dropped in my estimation.

[Kahuna]

22. She was not defending him. Jeepers freepers. I feel like

I'm in a parallel universe when DUers are spewing talking points from wingnuts.