recovering_fan wrote:I can appreciate your point of view, Fat Man, and I always like to see people go against the grain in a thread and state their heartfelt beliefs. I find it especially impressive and telling, about the kind of fair person you are, that you would stand up for a jock like Vick. I don't believe he should receive the death penalty, and it is true that he has served his time and should be released.
However, do you think that anyone besides an athlete would be able to walk back into his multi-million-dollar job and simply pick up where he left off? I don't. Most ex-cons live crumby lives, and it seldom matters whether you were in prison for psychopathic behaviour (like torturing animals) or for something trivial. The real hypocrisy, in my opinion, is on the part of a society that would just shrug at Michael Vick's story, or even applaud his comeback, the way ours has. Athletes enjoy unfairly blessed and pampered lives.
--RF
Yeah, I don't believe any person should get the death penalty for cruelty to animals, but they certainly should do some time for it.
I'm not one of those PETA nannies who value animals over human lives, because I like to eat meat, chicken, and fish myself, and I enjoy fishing, and I have hunted quail, and I have even killed and slaughtered a couple of roosters and made soup from them. It was delicious.
I see nothing wrong with killing animals for food, as long as it's done as quickly and as painlessly as possible. But I won't torture animals, and dog fights or cock fights almost amounts to torturing animals.
Now, if he had raped somebody or sexually molested a child, then he would certainly deserve the death penalty in my books.
Yeah, I know what you mean about how he was able to return to his life in sports despite his past criminal record, where as, if you or I were ex-convicts, we would be pretty much fucked up for the rest of our lives, not being to get a job anywhere or housing anymore. We would have to commit another crime, and go back to prison for our meals and a place to sleep in order to stay alive.
When I was 17 years old, I had an emotional and mental breakdown and spent 3 weeks in a mental hospital, and there was when I was beaten and raped by an older man in his 40s. My emotional and mental breakdown was brought on my years of bullying from, not only the jocks, but also the PE coaches when I was in school.
In order to survive, my parents helped me to apply for disability so I could get my monthly SSI check. Yeah! My monthly crazy check!!!
An ex-mental patient has it even worse than an ex-convict, even when he has never violated any laws, and even after having been a victim or criminal violence.
Even though I have never committed any crimes, never stolen anything or assaulted anyone, no crimes at all, yet it's even harder for an ex-mental patient to get a decent job.
Also, some mental hospitals are even worse than prisons.
While some drooling moronic football player gets released from prison, and he is hailed as the Hometown hero!!!
That really sucks!!!
But someone who had suffered an emotional and mental breakdown, and spends less than a month in a mental hospital, even though he has never violated any laws, he gets treated worse than any ex-convict.
In the USA, suffering from a mental illness, or being physically handicapped are treated like crimes. Just being different is a crime.
So, I guess that makes me a worse criminal than some monkey boy who has raped someone.
That's because I can't get a ball through a metal hoop, or drop-kick a hunk of pigskin a hundred yards over an iron post.
So, I guess I deserve to die! Just for being different!