Like an Avalanche

Society begins to reconcile

It is a familiar pattern. Bad thing happens, populace holds breath, hopes for best, tries to see good in man's efforts. When the final resolution confirms all the worst fears the process of closure inevitably draws to the source, or any readily available proxy thereof. And unleashes hell.

It's happening in Utah with the mine collapse. It happened with hurricane Katrina and with September 11. And it's happening with Michael Vick. He's pleading out on Monday, we know the general terms and we know he is going to jail so it's ok to start talking about what this all means.

Wednesday the Washington Post ran an enterprise piece on dogfighting, where it came from, how it's done, who does it and what happens to the dogs that survive. After reading this piece you will have the inevitable, why are we just reading about this now? reaction. Bad things happen in the shadows all the time and when light is shed on them we realize why they shrouded in the first place.

It is bad enough for Michael that he has to go through it now. It's worse for him that his name is forever being seared into the public's conscience in association with dogfighting.

It's even worse that state charges may be coming, in both Virginia and South Carolina. He's not out of the water with this plea.

Michael's legal setting is news too. US District judge Henry Hudson has been described by a lawyer that went up against him as 'tough but fair.' That seems to me to be a repeating redundancy since the judge is by definition supposed to be fair, so is there a racial overtone in there? That the judge is fair so Michael can't claim discrimination but tough so Michael can expect no special treatment?

And society is already finding sick humor in the case. One of the most popular items on eBay recently: dog-chewed Michael Vick trading cards.

But not everyone gets that this is a bad thing. Clinton Portis made some regrettable remarks, as did Deion Sanders and Courtland Milloy. Now NBA guard Stephon Marbury has chimed in:

I think, you know, we don't say anything about people who shoot deer or shoot other animals. You know, from what I hear, dogfighting is a sport. It's just behind closed doors.

Uh wrong, hunting is a protested activity that as little as 5 percent of the population still engages in and even those that choose to do it must prove they are competent to do so through the legal registration process.

And if that's your bar for a sport then prostitution and drug use are sports too because they are usually done behind closed doors.

All together now: Stephon Marbury is an idiot. A big one.

Michael is being branded, a scarlet letter, before our eyes.


Complete Vick brothers coverage on Curly R here.



Michael Vick: Ric Feld / AP from here.