https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=518855

Especially the video.

 

 

I heard some athletic type defending him on the news today - he said shooting dogs and shooting deer was the same thing. In spite of dear old Walt, I don't think it's quite the same.... of course, maybe he eats dog.

 

^^

Unfortunately, Vick apparently did a lot more than just shooting dogs.

I always wonder how it is that these guys who are doing soo well self distruct so easily. And a playing career and 117 mil left on the table?

 

Not to defend Michael Vick in any way and certainly not to downplay cruelty to animals but the area where Michael came up and in many of the rural areas around this part of the country (and other southern states) dog fighting is quite accepted. Pit bulls are bred in many places purely for their fighting ability and in that particular "culture" it is no big deal but is considered a sport. A dog is only as good as his ability to fight. It is my understanding (and I have absolutely NO desire to know about this horrible thing) that dog fighting is done in some of the counties around here and HUGE sums of money are won and lost in the wagering that accompanies the fights. Dogs are not considered members of the family in some places. There are a lot of pit bulls in my city and I've seen many, many of them that are malnourished and mistreated. It would appear to me that when people are arrested at the dog fight arenas around here, their biggest crime is illegal gambling and the poor dogs are just an "oh by the way". Oh yeah and cock fighting is quite an "under the table" "sport" as well.

 

He certainly has my blessing to self destruct. Really!

 

Shooting a penned and captive deer might be the same thing. Shooting it just because it was "underperforming" would be pretty much the same thing.

The kind of hunting I used to do has nothing in common with what Vick was doing. I used to go out into open public land and stalk wild deer and elk. The animals could go anywhere they wanted, and just finding them was quite challenging. Most of my hunting was done with arrows, so I also had to get within a few dozen yards of them without them knowing I was there. Then I had to take a good shot. That's a pretty far cry from pulling a dog out of a pen in a kennel and hanging it and/or drowning it.

There are shades of grey everywhere -- there's such a thing as "high fence" hunting, where people own large game ranches with the animals restricted to certain areas, set up blinds in those areas, and have clients pay to sit in the blinds and "hunt" animals that are lured to salt licks. IMO, that's not really hunting, but it is legal in some places.

This dogfighting is not legal, so from that standpoint it is different regardless of how similar the ethics are to other activities.

 

Owning people as slaves used to be quite accepted in those same parts of the country. (Ironically, it would have been Michael Vick who would have been enslaved.) Didn't make it right just because it was traditional and accepted.

 

Astro: Rot ru ruck were you rinking!

I love Droopy's expression.