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Michael Vick
What do the Boston Strangler and the Columbine killers have in common?
Or, for that matter, Jeffrey Dahmer? If your answer is that they are
all mass killers, you are correct, but you only get a C+ grade. You “A”
students know the underlying answer.
All of them had a history of animal abuse.
"Animal cruelty... is not a harmless venting of emotion in a healthy
individual,” said FBI Supervisory Special Agent Allen Brantley, quoted
in
Pet-Abuse.com. “(t)his is a warning sign.” That web site also
quotes Dr. Randall Lockwood, senior vice president for anti-cruelty
initiatives and training for the American Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals: “A kid who is abusive to a pet is quite often
acting out violence directly experienced or witnessed in the home.” He
added, "So much of animal cruelty... is really about power or control."
Individuals who abuse animals frequently transfer their abusive behavior
to fellow human beings. The young animal abuser is a nascent spouse
abuser. The most dangerous ones are those who abuse animals for no
reason other than that it makes them feel good. They are psychopaths in
training. Whether people harm animals because of violence in their
childhood, or because they are mentally ill, one fact is beyond
argument: they don’t need role models to encourage their behavior.
And that’s where Michael Vick comes in.
Is
Michael Vick a role model? The answer is as close as the nearest store
that sells mockups of his Atlanta Falcons jersey. Millions of kids want
to be “like Mike,” whether it’s Michael Jordan or Michael Vick. If you
watched a Falcons game on television during the last NFL season, you saw
a lot of adults wearing Michael Vick jerseys as well. Americans tend to
elevate professional athletes to heroic status, and frequently fail to
distinguish the star on the playing field from the falling star on the
police blotter. Every society has a cult of celebrity. That’s human
nature. And it’s human nature to want to emulate celebrities and deny
facts that undermine their superhuman status. People who should have
known better marched in support of Michael Jackson and Paris Hilton.
And people who should know better are lining up to support Michael
Vick. Know-nothing celebrities like basketball star Stephon Marbury and
football star Clinton Portis glibly defend Vick and dismiss his
well-documented animal cruelty. They, like many athletes and other
entertainers who inhale the thin air of celebrity, don’t see why Vick’s
behavior is a big deal.
Here’s why it’s a big deal: If Michael Vick the role model encourages
susceptible youngsters and adults to emulate his cruelty to animals, if
his behavior signals to them that it’s okay to slaughter dogs and cats
and other animals for self-gratification, if he models animal cruelty
and makes it acceptable in the eyes and hearts of those who look up to
him and want to be like him, he’s going to get human beings killed.
There is a social consequence to Vick’s behavior, because, as a
professional football player, he is a role model. Michael Vick is an
inspiration to psychopaths, child abusers, spouse abusers, and killers.
By wantonly killing innocent animals he encourages and inspires those
who might wantonly kill innocent people. He blesses their darkest
impulses with the gloss of celebrity. He tells all those kids who wear
his jersey that cruelty is okay.
Michael Vick has been criticized for making an obscene gesture to fans
during games. He mysteriously escaped prosecution on a drug charge when
marijuana residue was allegedly found in a hidden compartment in a
bottle he tried to slip onto a plane. His younger brother Marcus,
equally talented but more careless, will never enjoy the professional
football celebrity that his older brother, Michael – his role model? –
has enjoyed. Michael Vick was far from a model citizen, even before the
dog-fighting activity came to light.
There is speculation that Vick will rehabilitate himself and return to
the playing field. Commentators suggest that he needs to provide
financial support to the Humane Society and other animal welfare
organizations, and that society will forgive him for his misdeeds and
readmit him to celebrity status. In other words, pay enough money and
say the right things. They overlook the fact that his modeling behavior
will probably get people hurt or killed. No amount of money or
falsified contrition will correct that.
American society will be much better off if he slinks into obscurity
with his sorry tail tucked between his legs and dies in obscurity like
one of the dogs he drowned.
© August 24, 2007 by Mike Tully |
