This just in from The Berkeley Daily Planet: The Railroading of Michael Vick, in which writer Jean Damu blasts those who would label Vick’s crimes as heinous.
“Not that long ago mass murderer Ted Bundy was said to have committed heinous crimes. Today a young black man who bankrolled a dog fighting scheme is held to the same standard of hatred. To her undying credit comic Whoopi Goldberg was one of the very few public personalities who decried the racism involved in the public persecution of Vick.”
Ok, you’re posting on the Berkeley Planet, but which solar system are you broadcasting from? Making a life a living hell — personally inflicting massive physical and psychological trauma — on another individual is not heinous? Facilitating broken bones, dislocated elbows, and gaping bite wounds — and then denying medical care is not heinous? Killing by crushing a head against cement or slamming a body repeatedly into a tree is not heinous?
Perhaps the point of the article is that it’s wrong to place as much value on an animal life as it is a human life. Naturally I beg to differ. Animals — cats and dogs especially — are part of our family. They bring us as much joy, comfort, and laughter as our parents, siblings, and relatives. In many cases, more so.
But the point of my article is this: suffering is suffering and it’s heinous no matter the species. It’s not about Michael Vick’s past or race or railroading. It’s about valuing compassion, kindness, and respect over the sovereign right of “humans.”
