UPDATE I appreciate everybody's input here. Thanks!
Wow. All my strongly held beliefs, creeds, pithy pronouncements are being put to the test. Do you believe as I do that a convicted felon, once all his terms are paid, deserves another chance? Must he serve an additional life sentence of harsh scrutiny according to public opinion? Talk about teachable moments.
I am a huge Philly fan that moved to North Carolina in 1988, but I return to the city at least once a year. My 14 year old daughter was born in Charlotte, Pantherland, and yet we sport the green on any given Sunday -- Miss E wears no. 36 and right now I'm looking for a replacement for my 20 jersey. What jersey should I choose?
Maybe I'll wear a green no. 7.
Please join me down yonder
I had a strong reaction to the news of Vick's unthinkable animal cruelty. I admit I'm critical of careless dog/cat owners who really don't have the patience, time, or resources to keep a pet, but this went beyond the pale. Miss E was twelve at the time, and all these details weren't lost on her. It spurred some frank discussions about the many roles that our society performs when it comes to the animals we bring into day-to-day life.
I recounted to my daughter a story about Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War, when a horse handler's misdeads elicited a powerful response from the legendary general. She was quite versed with horses at the time, and like many girls she fancies herself a future vet. Even though 99% percent of the population have little need for horses, the passion for them still runs deep in our culture. But what about dogs? Just check out the woozle/pootie diaries here, little else can stir up stronger emotions.
Lucky for me, Miss E is away at summer camp :^) so I've got a little time here to formulate my "teachable moment". Truth be told, before the Vick story broke and Philly fans had a chance to react, a thought bubble popped up in my head -- who'll have the courage to give him his chance? I imagined my favorite team making the move, and what Peta's response would be. Honestly, I'm no fan of Peta. With a couple of exceptions that are yielding some impressive changes, I think they lacked vision here when they called for the euthanasia of the rescued pitbulls (missing an important chance to educate) and fall for knee-jerk grandstanding, and self-promotion. But that's just me -- my feelings of discomfort from obvious emotion-tweaking action can sometimes give way to a secret admiration for any group that has the stones to confront comfortable ignorance. But I digress (stalling?)
Here goes: despite the overwhelming initial response, I'm whole-heartedly in support of the Eagles' acquisition of Michael Vick's NFL contract. Philly fans have a bad habit of second-guessing every sports move, and exhibit spiteful responses that embarrass me -- I see this move as a useful tonic to jolt these uncharitable sensibilities. Everybody can grow up a little here, including yours truly.
Philadelphia is a bastion of illegal and immoral dog fighting. Through his rehabilitation, Vick can expose this seedy underculture and reach out to a few young men who would otherwise follow this ugly path. I welcome this opportunity to make my favorite city measurably better in this regard.
I believe it takes courage to confront some ugly truths that permiate our society, and if you truly crave meaningful change, you gotta take the lumps that often go along with this exercise. Some people (guilty as charged:^) can view sports as a distraction from the serious problems that mire the nation; I see these popular culture moments as rare look-in-the-mirror opportunities, and frankly, we oughta take as many of these as we can get!
So, what say you?