Vick to go to Capitol Hill to support crackdown on dog fighting

[seabeyond]

Vick will be joined at a news conference on Capitol Hill by Wayne Pacelle, the head of the Humane Society of the United States, Vick announced on his official website.

The bill, H.R. 2492, seeks to penalize people who finance and bring children to dog fights and cock fights.

*

The bill would help strengthen penalties against those who are knowing spectators at such animal fights, Pacelle said.

"Spectators are participants and accomplices who enable the crime of animal fighting, provide a large share of the funding for the criminal enterprise through their admission fees and gambling wagers, and help conceal handlers and organizers who try to blend into the crowd when a bust occurs," Pacelle said in a statement.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/07/19/vick.dogfight/index.html?&hpt=hp_c2

[ej510]

1. Don't post this don't you know Vick should be hated forever.

:sarcasm:

[Webster Green]

2. He should be. He's a fucking piece of shit.

He proved that beyond a shadow of doubt. It's lovely that he's paid his debt to society, and he's a big shot jock, but anyone who tortures any living being is a fucking piece of shit.

The only bit of empathy I could possibly muster up would be to assume that his brain wiring is fucked up. He is mentally ill, and it's not entirely his fault if that's the case. Honestly though, I think he's just a jerk.

[ej510]

9. You know he did not actually engage in the act, but funded it.

You hate him because he is a symbol. Dog fighting was around before Michael Vick and will be around after he is long gone.

[Forkboy]

13. Oh...whew.

[Dappleganger]

38. I hate him because there's a lot of folks who have done far less

and were punished far more, and they never got a second chance, much less a free pass by the NFL.

The only reason we are even talking about this lowlife is because he can throw a pigskin, that's all. It's all about worshiping football players and treating them like royalty.

[Papagoose]

46. Does your argument reflect badly on him or society?

It's not right to hat Michael Vick because you feel he got off too easily - he didn't set his own punishment. Your anger should be with the criminal justice system and the NFL.

[seabeyond]

3. i kinda like the thought of someone becoming educated and doing something productive

with his lesson

;)

[11 Bravo]

5. Mee too, but post #2 is fairly reflective of how this will be received at good old tolerant DU ...

where redemption is just some kind of candy-assed abstraction.

on edit: post #4 is even more reflective of the prevailing attitude. No doubt more egregious examples will follow.

[seabeyond]

6. sigh... what gets me is the lack of consistency with this. pick and choose

who gets redemption.

[Webster Green]

8. Why should I be tolerant of torturing animals?

I don't know him, but my male intuition says he's a fucking jerk. H's a big bad ass jock, but I'm a bigger man than he is. I could not torture any living thing. Ever!

[11 Bravo]

11. Ahh, shit, I'm sorry. I didn't know about your fucking intuition.

Why don't you hire yourself out to the judicial system? For a couple of bucks we could have judge, jury, and executioner.

[Webster Green]

29. DU is not a court of law.

Some folks here will express an opinion that someone is a jerk.

As Mr. Natural once said: "Don't mean shit."

[seabeyond]

12. "Why should I be tolerant of torturing animals?" where has anyone suggested being tolerant

of torturing animals?

[ej510]

15. You hate him because he is a sports star.

[Webster Green]

21. Nonsense.

Just like the two replies above yours.

I'll give all three of you the same slack I give the dog-fighting jock. Maybe you are all mentally ill. I do know that I'm just fine, and will not tolerate torture or brutality.

Thanks for playing though. :thumbsup:

[seabeyond]

22. sad post. whatever. nt

[ej510]

23. Or maybe you should get out more, but your posts about Mike Vick,

show jealousy and envy.

[Webster Green]

26. Right. Got it.

:rofl:

[11 Bravo]

28. Wow, thanks for the slack! But just to be clear ...

if I ever want anything from you, you sanctimonious, self-important schmuck, I'll ask for it. (Don't hold your breath. Or better yet, do.)

[Webster Green]

30. Ease up on the pearl-clutching, will you?

"Sanctimonious, self-important schmuck". Really? Because you think the guy is a hero, and I think he's a dick.

Calm down. Jeez.

[11 Bravo]

48. And, predictably, you and every other Vick-hater says the same thing:

"Just because you think he's a hero", because God knows, believing the guy should be allowed to make a living is tantamount to abject hero-worship. For the record, Sparky, I'm a Redskins fan, have been for about 50 years. I can't stand the fucking Eagles! I don't particularly care for Vick now, nor did I like him when he was at Virginia Tech.
But the fact is, he paid his debt, (serving two years in a federal prison for a crime for which you would have received unsupervised probation), and is now trying to make amends. He fucked up ... BIG! What he did was unspeakably cruel. But since then he has done more to advance the case against dog-fighting and the culture that surrounds it than you will ever accomplish.
Just because you still have your knickers in a twist does not mean that he should be banned from the NFL or reviled for the rest of his days.
I would settle for him getting his dick knocked off twice a year when he faces my Skins.

[Dappleganger]

39. No, because dog abusers are sick in their head.

[LynneSin]

24. Why should I be tolerant of anyone who ever commited a crime in the past?

:shrug:

Maybe because that's what progressives do. And what if, from the horrors of what Vick did years ago, and paid both the penalty and served time, we could strengthen the laws in regards to animal cruelty and dog fighting.

There are plenty of criminals out there who have turned their lives around and done something good with their second chance in life. Michael Vick is probably one of the best people to go to DC and argue for support of this bill since he can talk about first hand not just the cruelty he witnessed but also was a part of.

[Webster Green]

31. It's not really about doing something illegal.

A lot of the stuff I really like to do is illegal.

I'm not even suggesting that he should have done more time, or be punished by the NFL or whatever. I'm just expressing my personal opinion that the dude is a fucking dick.

If that's offensive to anyone, tough shit. :smoke:

[LynneSin]

34. Look, I don't care whether or not you like the guy

but do you agree that he is probably one of the strongest people out there that could go to DC and talk about the problem with Dog Fighting. He knows what he did was wrong but he knows more about this culture the most of us do.

He is talking about the spectators - those that watch and those that bring their kids along so they can be a part of it. Many of the people who participate in dog fights do so because they were taught at a young age that dog fighting is ok to do.

I know alot of dicks out there that even if I don't like them at least they are pushing a good message

[Webster Green]

45. OK.

I'll concede that. If it has a positive impact, that's good.

[Dappleganger]

40. In agreement with you.

[Myrina]

4. Support a crackdown on dogfighting by being electrocuted, shot, drowned, ...

... hung, then mauled to bits by starving dogs for all potential cronies to see.

That's about all he could do that would satisfy me.

[Cali_Democrat]

7. How dare Vick speak out against dog fighting! Who does he think he is?!?!?

In case you didn't get it ----->>> :sarcasm:

This is actually a good thing. Anyone who says otherwise has no credibility in my book.

[DiverDave]

10. GOD FORBID that someone

Gives someone a second chance here...

I really dont need the sarcasm thing, do I?

Go Mike, you are doing good.

[LanternWaste]

17. I thought the NFL already gave him a second chance...

I thought the NFL already gave him a second chance worth endorsement deals and large, rotund paychecks.

What precisely then is the effect if I myself on a personal level denies him a second chance...? With relevance, how does it negatively affect him?

[Forkboy]

14. The journey of a 1,000 miles starts with a single step, and all that shit.

[mfcorey1]

16. Vick has done more to make people aware of animal abuse than the phonies that tie their

dogs up and leave them in the house alone all day while they are at work. He paid his dues for involvement in the dogfighting and there are still those who refuse to allow him to make amends. To hell with them, Mike. Continue to be a voice for animals and animal rights.

[Johonny]

18. sort of ironic huh

I don't know if Vick really cares about this bill or just trying to look good for Nike and the Eagles.

But I do know because he did this, the bill will get vastly more exposure including coverage on every sports page in the nation and most sports internet sites. That means they will have reach an audience that would never of heard or cared about this bill. Seems like a good thing to me.

[ej510]

20. How do you look good for Nike?

[Dappleganger]

37. Yep, and none of that would have happened if he hadn't been involved in abusing and killing dogs.

There's a silver lining in everything, right?

:sarcasm:

[roody]

44. People who love dogs picked up the pieces of his

crime, and are bearing the economic costs of them. Unlike Vick, many fulfill their obligations (lifelong) to their dogs and cats.

[rocktivity]

19. I didn't know he was an authority on the subject.

He knows he'd still be doing it if he hadn't gotten caught.

:eyes:
rocktivity

[TEXASYANKEE]

25. Right on.

Vick is a scumbag who did more than simply own a kennel -- he was actively involved in the torture and killing of dogs. He was no innocent bystander.

[LynneSin]

27. He knows there are alot of people still out there doing it and teaching it to their kids too

He understands this culture way more than most of us here at DU ever will. What Vick did - was something that was normal for him - there's a bit culture in the city where people want to breed these big bad dogs for potential dog fights. I think alot of it is just image but some of them want to prove they have the toughest dog on the block.

Someone like myself could go in there and try talking sense to these kids but I would just be mocked. But Michael Vick is someone who has been there, done that, got caught and lost everything because of it. He is someone that these kids could better related to and perhaps he can get more of them to understand that dog fighting is not right.

[Dappleganger]

41. Quite true.

[tabasco]

32. Oh, fuck him.

Sorry fucker is sorry he got caught.

[flvegan]

33. Glad he's doing it, but he's still a piece of shit.

[fishwax]

35. a good thing for him to do n/t

[spanone]

36. good for him

[w8liftinglady]

42. Seriously. Vick is trying to make things right.

I see ex-cons here in my area who try to reform and are ignored by society.Is a person guilty without forgiveness for life?Is there no chance to make amends?

[Papagoose]

47. I believe in his sincerity.

I wish him the best and above all, hope he can inspire other offenders to turn their lives around.

[roody]

43. They couldn't find anyone who loves animals to do it? eom