Michael Vick and Job offer

[kstar]

Originally Posted by PhiGam

If I was his agent I would tell him to:

1. Volunteer for a tour of duty in Iraq
2. Train hard for special forces
3. Write a book about his life after he got out of the military
4. Sign million dollar NFL contract as he is now "reformed"

I think that he's suffered enough already and would like to see the guy succeed. Its funny that we allow people who have taken other people's lives (Leonard Little, Ray Lewis) in the NFL but if you hurt a dog then they send out the lynch mob.

They used to refuse felons from serving, and still should. I don't think he has suffered enough, because he still doesn't think that he did anything wrong. To him, it was just a dog.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by kstar

They used to refuse felons from serving, and still should. I don't think he has suffered enough, because he still doesn't think that he did anything wrong. To him, it was just a dog.

This is kind of a bizarre thing to say - first, because I haven't seen anything resembling these statements since he started serving his sentence (so you seem to be reading a lot into this). Can you cite anything in particular that gives you this impression? Or is it just general cynicism?

Second, the "to him, it was just a dog" portion seems like an odd choice of damnation - to you, it's a family member. To him, it's not. Why is he more 'wrong' in the abstract (i.e. removed from the actual cruelty)?

The guy's pretty f-ed in general - it'll take something extreme on his part to entice a team to suffer the PR backlash of taking a chance on him years after his last productive season (and there were general questions about productivity even then). I can relate to the anger and outrage, especially from dedicated animal lovers, but the guy's served his time and will now serve a very public penance. That seems like enough for me - he's lost the overwhelming majority of everything.

[kstar]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

This is kind of a bizarre thing to say - first, because I haven't seen anything resembling these statements since he started serving his sentence (so you seem to be reading a lot into this). Can you cite anything in particular that gives you this impression? Or is it just general cynicism?

Second, the "to him, it was just a dog" portion seems like an odd choice of damnation - to you, it's a family member. To him, it's not. Why is he more 'wrong' in the abstract (i.e. removed from the actual cruelty)?

The guy's pretty f-ed in general - it'll take something extreme on his part to entice a team to suffer the PR backlash of taking a chance on him years after his last productive season (and there were general questions about productivity even then). I can relate to the anger and outrage, especially from dedicated animal lovers, but the guy's served his time and will now serve a very public penance. That seems like enough for me - he's lost the overwhelming majority of everything.

His "apology" was ridiculous, he spoke of himself in the third person like it wasn't him that did these horrible acts, but another "Michael Vick." Second, it just wasn't sincere. Finally, his actions since then haven't reflected proper remorse.

I realize that different cultures (even inside the US) view animals differently, but the crimes he committed go far beyond cruelty to sociopathy.

I also have issues in general with the idea of felons serving in the military, which should be full of noble, courageous men and women.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by kstar

His "apology" was ridiculous, he spoke of himself in the third person like it wasn't him that did these horrible acts, but another "Michael Vick." Second, it just wasn't sincere. Finally, his actions since then haven't reflected proper remorse.

Totally serious (and not challenging you at all): what could he have done, from prison and while fighting over his money, to "reflect proper remorse" in your eyes? I suspect the answer is (and should be) "nothing" but I'm genuinely curious.

I also have issues in general with the idea of felons serving in the military, which should be full of noble, courageous men and women.

I applaud your idealism, but this isn't even remotely the case today, is it?

[kstar]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

Totally serious (and not challenging you at all): what could he have done, from prison and while fighting over his money, to "reflect proper remorse" in your eyes? I suspect the answer is (and should be) "nothing" but I'm genuinely curious.



I applaud your idealism, but this isn't even remotely the case today, is it?

For Vick to actually show that he regretted what he did, he should be doing more than paying for the care of all the rescued dogs. He should be donating 95% of any paycheck that he ever gets to animal charities, I doubt the courts would have fought that. He should be apologizing and meaning it, not talking about the different "Michael Vick"s. He should be voluntarily entering the care of a psychiatrist.

And while it isn't the case today, since more soldiers are dying in an unjust war and causing more people to not want to join the military, it used to be the case that felons were refused, and not just accepted to make quota. Though, I think that more than one felony is still a disqualifying offense, and he has 3?