the problem with michael vick/rape
unless you have complete apathy for all the things going on in the world, then you know about the legal problems atlanta falcons QB michael vick has been having. he (allegedly) ran a dog fighting ring, and now everyone is super pissed off. actually, people are really really really pissed off. nike, rawlings, and reebok have dropped their endorsement contracts w/ vick because of his involvement with this "severe form of cruelty," and the nfl is on a headhunting mission. DOG FIGHTING??? vick, you spawn of satan.
the NAACP chapter in atlanta is saying the persecution/prosecution is driven by the color of vick's skin. that is stupid, for all the reasons listed here by drew sharp. "Vick's problems involve race only from the human race perspective." (holy crap, i'm linking to drew sharp!) let's also not forget that vick is an asshole, and the press loves to pillory assholes. barry bonds is example #2.
but what's really dumb is the latest development. pittsburgh post-gazette reporter paul zeise has gotten in trouble for saying, "It's really a sad day in this country when somehow ... Michael Vick would have been better off raping a woman if you look at the outcry of what happened." people were upset by the insensitivity of his words. he apologized.
i wish he didn't.
zeise is absolutely right. it is a sad day. why are people more upset (and if not more upset, equally upset) by dog fighting than a woman being raped? dog. woman. dog. woman.
i don't actually think people care more about dogs than women (although some do), but in reality, the real issue is how controversial and confusing the charge of rape has become.
things like the duke "rape" case don't help. they put doubt into any rape allegation. it takes away the kind of moral clarity that is necessary to be outraged. admit it, when there's a rape charge, don't you automatically wonder if it's true?
granted, rape allegations do cause a hubbub (duke? kobe?) and maybe their frequency has dulled our sensitivity to it. i'll wait and see what happens to vick. kobe essentially admitted to assaulting that girl, and no one even talks about it anymore (except this guy), so if vick's transgressions fall equally into obscurity, maybe the feminist in me is all riled up about nothing. i just don't like being compared to a dog.
the NAACP chapter in atlanta is saying the persecution/prosecution is driven by the color of vick's skin. that is stupid, for all the reasons listed here by drew sharp. "Vick's problems involve race only from the human race perspective." (holy crap, i'm linking to drew sharp!) let's also not forget that vick is an asshole, and the press loves to pillory assholes. barry bonds is example #2.
but what's really dumb is the latest development. pittsburgh post-gazette reporter paul zeise has gotten in trouble for saying, "It's really a sad day in this country when somehow ... Michael Vick would have been better off raping a woman if you look at the outcry of what happened." people were upset by the insensitivity of his words. he apologized.
i wish he didn't.
zeise is absolutely right. it is a sad day. why are people more upset (and if not more upset, equally upset) by dog fighting than a woman being raped? dog. woman. dog. woman.
i don't actually think people care more about dogs than women (although some do), but in reality, the real issue is how controversial and confusing the charge of rape has become.
things like the duke "rape" case don't help. they put doubt into any rape allegation. it takes away the kind of moral clarity that is necessary to be outraged. admit it, when there's a rape charge, don't you automatically wonder if it's true?
granted, rape allegations do cause a hubbub (duke? kobe?) and maybe their frequency has dulled our sensitivity to it. i'll wait and see what happens to vick. kobe essentially admitted to assaulting that girl, and no one even talks about it anymore (except this guy), so if vick's transgressions fall equally into obscurity, maybe the feminist in me is all riled up about nothing. i just don't like being compared to a dog.
posted by alison at 11:08
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