Article from the Boston Herald on Michael Vick
Michael Vick proves only semi-tough
By Kelly Overton
Sunday, July 22, 2007
I am a sports fan. I know enough about sports to understand that excelling as a quarterback in the NFL takes more than talent and hard work. It takes intelligence - the intellectual ability to analyze complex situations and make decisions.
I know enough about football to know that Michael Vick is an intelligent man. What I don't understand is why men, even intelligent men like Vick, enjoy being deliberately cruel to animals? If it's not dumbness, is it numbness?
Science has proven that animals feel and respond to pain, stress and fear similarly to humans. A dog in distress will exhibit near identical physiological responses to a human in distress. The central nervous system of a canine - just like that of a human - is truly a marvel. We also know that dogs are intelligent and emotional creatures. Dogs (and other animals) that are abused feel both the physical and emotional pain of the abuse and - again, like humans - they attempt to alleviate that pain by fight or flight.
Dogs trained to fight do so only to secure food, shelter and affection or, sadly, to attempt to avoid emotional and/or physical pain.
In today's dog-eat-dog world the question is no longer whether the abused (even animals) can feel pain - but whether society can encourage the powerful to feel empathy for the vulnerable.
The measure of a man - even a talented professional athlete like Vick - should not be his professional abilities, but his ability to feel compassion for, and not harm, those more vulnerable than himself. Humans (even star athletes) who exploit and hurt the vulnerable, whether people or animals, are cowards.
It is probable that Vick is now intimately familiar with the feeling of fear: fear of losing his career, his fortune, his freedom and, yes, his place atop the vulnerability pecking order. Ironically, he may feel like a pit bull fighting for his very life as spectators observe, amused, betting on the outcome.
Even if Vick wins this fight and manages to get out of the dog-fighting doghouse, his days on top are numbered. Soon his reaction time reading defenses will slow, or a cleat will stick as he cuts left and in a one single moment he will cease being one of the big dogs.
There is little argument that professional athletes with the stature of Vick have been programmed to be aggressive and that sports franchise owners and demanding fans have somewhat hypocritical expectations of today's professional athletes. We as fans want toughness, but this is nothing new. Hank Aaron, Magic Johnson and Muhammad Ali were (and are) tough. But it is impossible to picture a scenario where they take joy in harming the vulnerable - person or animal.
Men who support wives fighting breast cancer are tough; men who raise disabled children are tough; men who work to protect the vulnerable are tough; men who stand up for what they believe in are tough. Men who put dogs out to fight are not tough. Game over.
-Kelly Overton
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Soapbox aside. I know I am probably preaching to the choir. But nothing in this world disgusts me more than when people are cruel to animals, especially when they are supposed to be 'role models'. Dog fighting is cruel, sadistic, and inhumane; not to mention cowardice. And from what I read, this guy has trained somewhere around 2,000 dogs over a 30 year period. This wasn't a one time thing. I hope he gets what he deserves.
-Angela
By Kelly Overton
Sunday, July 22, 2007
I am a sports fan. I know enough about sports to understand that excelling as a quarterback in the NFL takes more than talent and hard work. It takes intelligence - the intellectual ability to analyze complex situations and make decisions.
I know enough about football to know that Michael Vick is an intelligent man. What I don't understand is why men, even intelligent men like Vick, enjoy being deliberately cruel to animals? If it's not dumbness, is it numbness?
Science has proven that animals feel and respond to pain, stress and fear similarly to humans. A dog in distress will exhibit near identical physiological responses to a human in distress. The central nervous system of a canine - just like that of a human - is truly a marvel. We also know that dogs are intelligent and emotional creatures. Dogs (and other animals) that are abused feel both the physical and emotional pain of the abuse and - again, like humans - they attempt to alleviate that pain by fight or flight.
Dogs trained to fight do so only to secure food, shelter and affection or, sadly, to attempt to avoid emotional and/or physical pain.
In today's dog-eat-dog world the question is no longer whether the abused (even animals) can feel pain - but whether society can encourage the powerful to feel empathy for the vulnerable.
The measure of a man - even a talented professional athlete like Vick - should not be his professional abilities, but his ability to feel compassion for, and not harm, those more vulnerable than himself. Humans (even star athletes) who exploit and hurt the vulnerable, whether people or animals, are cowards.
It is probable that Vick is now intimately familiar with the feeling of fear: fear of losing his career, his fortune, his freedom and, yes, his place atop the vulnerability pecking order. Ironically, he may feel like a pit bull fighting for his very life as spectators observe, amused, betting on the outcome.
Even if Vick wins this fight and manages to get out of the dog-fighting doghouse, his days on top are numbered. Soon his reaction time reading defenses will slow, or a cleat will stick as he cuts left and in a one single moment he will cease being one of the big dogs.
There is little argument that professional athletes with the stature of Vick have been programmed to be aggressive and that sports franchise owners and demanding fans have somewhat hypocritical expectations of today's professional athletes. We as fans want toughness, but this is nothing new. Hank Aaron, Magic Johnson and Muhammad Ali were (and are) tough. But it is impossible to picture a scenario where they take joy in harming the vulnerable - person or animal.
Men who support wives fighting breast cancer are tough; men who raise disabled children are tough; men who work to protect the vulnerable are tough; men who stand up for what they believe in are tough. Men who put dogs out to fight are not tough. Game over.
-Kelly Overton
----------------------------------------
Soapbox aside. I know I am probably preaching to the choir. But nothing in this world disgusts me more than when people are cruel to animals, especially when they are supposed to be 'role models'. Dog fighting is cruel, sadistic, and inhumane; not to mention cowardice. And from what I read, this guy has trained somewhere around 2,000 dogs over a 30 year period. This wasn't a one time thing. I hope he gets what he deserves.
-Angela