August 17, 2009
An Open Letter to Michael Vick
Dear Michael Vick,
I hope you are enjoying your “comeback.”
I’m not a religious person, but I try to follow the Buddhist doctrine of feeling compassion for a depraved soul rather than burning myself up inside with hatred. I’m trying. At least I’m at the point right now where I close my eyes and will myself from hate and negativity when I read your name, so that’s positive. And you did your time; for that I am grateful. You have, in the eyes of justice, “served your time,” and “paid your debt to society.” That I cannot argue. A round of golf claps for you. And, you know, I deeply want to believe that you are contrite, that you want to help animals, that you have “realized what [you've] done.” I desperately want to believe that because if that weren’t the case, it means that you’re probably stewing over your conviction over “just a few worthless animals” and you’re probably more angry and full of more hate for animals than you were in the first place, and that is just too much to bear. It would mean that you’re getting a kick out of people genuflecting you and your newly gained compassion for all living things and that you can finally come back and make your money and do whatever it is that you do. And whatever it is that you do – football, whatever – does not make you a man. The uniform, the notoriety, the money…none of that makes you a man. Maybe you think that you are a real man because you can throw a ball around and be seen on the teevee, or because no one ever told you “no” in life and you think you can do what you want. But a real man does not torture, mutilate and kill for fun, and a real man would especially never do it to a being that can’t fight back fairly, who can’t even beg you to have some mercy.
Sure, a person can argue that pit bulls are inherently savage and evil and that, maybe, it wasn’t as bad as they say. Trouble is, they’re not evil and they’re not bad. When you train any animal to act a certain way and beat them into submission and fury, of course they’re going to be set off easily. You trained them to. Pit bulls, when they’re in a loving, compassionate home, are not feral animals that tear apart innocent things. You, however, are just that; you have torn apart so many living, feeling beings just for your enjoyment. You trained so many dogs by beating and torturing them so that they would wind up so tight they’d fight with each other and kill each other. And, to you, that was – hopefully that remains past tense – a “sport.” So not only did you torture, mutilate, kill and train them to fight for their death, you no doubt gathered with your bros in a circle and cheered. And I’m sure you felt completely justified in slaughtering those poor animals who didn’t “perform” as well as you wanted them to, didn’t make you enough money. Because that’s all they were to you. Not living beings capable of feeling as much, if not more, pain than you or I. To you, they were nothing.
You make me sick to my stomach. Seeing your name in my newsletters from the Humane Society of the United States makes me sick to my stomach. It makes me want to punch something, get violent, think of ways to torture or hurt you just like you tortured and hurt those innocent animals. But then, I’m not like you. I, like many, many others fortunately do, have an “off” button. A fence. That little chip you’re missing is called “conscience” and “compassion.” It’s that silly little thing inside that dings a little bell and says things like, “Hey, Vick, maybe you shouldn’t torture or kill living beings for fun,” and “Hey, Vick, hurting anything smaller than you, anything innocent and can’t fight back fairly, is a sign of cowardice.” Or, you know, “Other things not named Michael Vick can feel pain and deserve compassion, love and mutual trust.” That I have to open my email inbox and see anything about you other than news of you receiving any more justice is sick. There are some things you can never pay off. There is no amount of jail time that makes up for some things. You killed animals. You tortured innocent souls who love unconditionally and ask nothing more of us than the chance to sniff the world and receive endless belly rubs. You savagely killed and tortured living, feeling beings who trusted you. Animals cannot cry for help with words. They cannot plea for their lives. They are completely reliant on the person who raises them.
Who raised you? Who raised you to have such disregard for suffering?
If any of this mattered to you I wouldn’t be sitting here writing this. So, deaf ears and all that.
I’m not a sports fan, so I will never know where you go from here. So, you’re not really missing a fan in that sense. I hope, though, that you go through the rest of your worthless life feeling an endless crushing shame for what you’ve done. See, this is where I’m learning disabled in terms of that Buddhist doctrine of having compassion for people like you. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to a point where I learn it and truly feel it in my heart because you, Michael Vick, incite in me such anger and sadness that I want – nay, hope - you feel every single bit of pain you have ever inflicted on those or any other animal. And I hope you feel it for the rest of your sad and empty life. There’s a special, warm seat in Hell for you, but I think Cerberus would like to have a few words with you first.
Karma’s a bitch, asshole.
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Filed under: Daily, Letters to People I Don't Know, Life, Why I Hate People
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whoa dude. i love the vitriol in this post. i cannot stand animal abusers, either. i truly think there must be something missing in their heart-soul-mind to mistreat a trusting, loving, nearly-defenseless animal. it makes me absolutely sick.
*standing ovation*
As a pit bull owner I am disgusted and so enraged that this ‘celebrity’ has furthered the hatred and stereotype of these wonderful dogs.
It’s not *just* what he’s done to the pit bull breed, but the violence he committed against another living being incomprehensible. He’s a vile and deranged person. I would love nothing more than for him to suffer the same horrible disgusting acts he inflicted upon these animals.
I am disgusted, infuriated and down right pissed off to the point where I wish physical harm to him for what he has done. His smug grin angers me to no end.
I will forever HATE Michael Vick.
Thank you for writing this.
sam {temptingmama}´s last blog ..Floating like a rock
Twitter: jurgen_nation
Says:
Thanks, girls. If there is just one thing that cheers me up about this kind of thing is that for every shriveled heart like his, there’s one that has quadruple or more amounts of love and compassion for animals. Willikat, I agree 100% in that there is something missing in a person who either just doesn’t like animals or who go farther with that disgusting hate. I don’t trust a person who doesn’t love or care about animals. It is just so much more than a dislike. It’s like, I don’t know, how can you not even appreciate the unconditional, innocent, defenseless love they have for everyone? Even after they’re hurt? My heart hurts about this whole thing, the whole issue.
And Sam, thank you. I had the pleasure of “meeting” a pit bull at a bar one night (I know, I know. It was Berkeley.) and he was just the most gentlest, most curious and intelligent pup. He had the disposition of Jürgen – no thought in his eyes but “More pets, please! Let me sniff you! Belly rubs!!” For over an hour I just petted this little baby. It’s wrong to think that just because the news shows only the bad, the whole breed is assumed dangerous. We just hear about the poor dogs who were abused into acting like this. And any dog will snap if it’s treated so badly for so long. I want to shake people sometimes. They’re no different than us in that regard, only THEY will suffer longer before snapping.
UGH. I could go on and on. Thanks, girls. After seeing my HSUS email (and I’m on the list twice for some reason, so I get TWO) with that asshole’s name in the subject line, I guess I “snapped.” Pets and belly rubs to the pups in your life, both of you. And kisses from Jürgen!
JN´s last blog ..An Open Letter to Michael Vick
You took the words right out of my mouth. I am a football fan, and it disgusts me that the NFL would renew his contract. If a lawyer gets a DUI, she would certainly be fired from her firm. If a publicist is convicted of doing drugs, he would certainly not return to his company. Hell, if I published something that I stole from another writer, I could never work in this town again! So the fact that Vick can be welcomed back to his multimillion dollar career after being convicted of a felony makes me sick. He should never be allowed to play football again. He should have to start from scratch, working a job that doesn’t earn him the big bucks or make him a national star. Playing in the NFL is a privilege that you have to earn. Vick should have lost that opportunity when he committed a felony.
I completely agree with you — but just curious, are you a vegetarian/vegan? Cruelty on this scale happens every day in slaughterhouses, and thousands of factory workers participate…are you just as angry at them as well?
Twitter: jurgen_nation
Says:
Michelle, that is an *excellent* point. So true that anyone else would be ruined. I wish he was. The ONLY good thing to come of this is that awareness has been raised, but I resent that he get any good credit for it. What, are we supposed to be grateful? Is it somewhat justified? Ugh. I hope Karma intervenes swiftly and painfully.
Amanda, abso-damn-lutely! Awesome, awesome point. I am basically veg (I eat organic free-range poultry and wild fish from time to time). I will not eat red meat for the reasons you give. I know this sounds cliché, but it makes me cry, what goes on. One book in particular (Skinny Bitch) provided some powerful, disgustingly cruel practices. I’ve read more, but I am so sensitive to this kind of thing. I would very much like to be vegan, but I’m learning how to do it. I’ve just recently given up dairy, and I’m trying to learn how to get complete protein from beans and such. So the trip is slow and there’s a lot to learn, but I’m getting to vegan more and more. Are you? If you’ve any tips, I’d love it if you could share.
And thanks to both of you for your thoughtful comments. Welcome!! :)
well put. it’s a tragedy what has happened…i am NOT one of those people that thinks he has ‘paid his time’. I hate to say it, but I don’t see what would stop him from getting back into dogfighting. Even if he doesn’t, he has valuable information he could share to put other dogfighters behind bars, and we haven’t heard of him sharing any of that…and that is just as bad as being active in it, in my book.
How horrific…I guess if you flash wealth in front of people’s eyes and tell them what to believe, they’ll believe just about anything.
JN, my thoughts exactly. While I was reading your post, I was beginning to wonder who’d written it-me or you!? I hate that I hate Michael Vick as much as I do (which is, for the record, with the power of a thousand-no a million-suns), and yet I can’t seem to quit it. Kudos to you for being able to slowly will it away.
I’m vegan and I would love to help you out with tips! I’m actually in the progress of starting up a vegan blog at the moment…I will send it along later if you’re interested! In the meantime, I can recommend the following: Book – “Eat to Live” by Joel Fuhrman for a lot of nutritional details about veganism; Blog – “veganyumyum.com” for delectable and brilliant vegan cooking ideas; Website – “theppk.com” for foolproof-yet-delicious recipes (the author also has a cookbook or three, which are similarly awesome), Resource for finding vegan restaurants and stores in your area: “happycow.net” … I read Skinny Bitch, too. Those authors know what the hell they’re doing. Loved the sass-infused wisdom and delightfully placed profanity.
Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts with the world. I am going to try to wean myself away from your blog for the moment, as I’m at work and well, should probably, um, work.
Twitter: jurgen_nation
Says:
Laurie, I totally understand the thought that he really hasn’t paid his time. I am with you. On the one hand I can say that I appreciate that he served his sentence, just because it seems as though if you have money and fame you can buy your way out of anything. I’m glad he had time to pay, even though I agree that it was too short and certainly far, far from justice. And you’re right. Has he learned anything or has he just learned how not to get caught? It just makes me physically ill to see his face and be reminded of what he’s done.
Megan, you ROCK for these links; I can’t wait to check them out. Veganism is something that is just so serious and…big that it’s hard to embark on it because I feel like I would just be letting myself down by failing. I know too many people who claim they’re strict veg, but then turn around and buy leather belts and jackets and don’t check their labels to see if it was animal tested. Did you stumble a lot in the beginning, or was it easier than I think? I’d love to pick your brain on this. I’ve always been so curious how to actually make it work and make it mean something, you know? I really can’t wait for your blog!! Please let me know when it is up!
And WELCOME to both of you!! Thanks for commenting. :)
God he sucks. I just wish he would stop talking but I know that’s far too much to ask. Bah.
laurie´s last blog ..Blanket and other nicknames
Hey JN, veganism doesn’t have to be done all at once or an absolute way. If everyone just made even a *little* change (for instance, choosing to eat one vegan dinner one time a week), the world would be a better (maybe “less shitty” is more fitting) place. Sure, there are hypocritical vegans, who preach on the merits of eating a vegan diet without any regard for the leather on their feet or around their waists, as well as ill-informed vegans, who later become lapsed vegans after an unsucessful bout of eating a “healthier” vegan diet consisting only of white bread, Skippy, and iceberg lettuce (these are the people who end up saying things like, “I tried veganism but just couldn’t get enough [protein/calories/vitamins/hulk-like muscles].”)
I did have a few stumbles at first, but I tried to look at said stumbles as indicative of my “non-linear path to veganism,” rather than of stumbles per se. It’s now four years after I first decided to experiment with veganism, I’m still not what I’d call “100%” vegan. But I’m working on it. Maybe I’ll get there, maybe I won’t. Regardless, I feel and will continue to feel all the better for the vegan choices I have made.
And sure, I’d be totally happy to have my brain picked further! Feel free to email me with whatever questions or concerns you want!
-M