Mistake, is an action or judgment that is misguided or wrong. Redemption is the action of being saved from sin evil or error. Forbearance is patient, self-control; restraint and tolerance. Opportunity is a set of circumstances that make it possible to do something. Michael Vick: a man, a project, human, sympathetic, misplaced, opportunistic. All of these words truly define Mike Vick and his story.
We as humans expect perfection, we want it, we strive for it, we desire it. But the truth of the matter is that we can’t have it. Our society is founded off of being better than the other, but not helping your fellow man or woman. Now at this point I know you are probably asking what does this have to do with Mike Vick? Well America is infatuated with success. I ask myself daily, would Vick have received this much love if he wasn’t starting, or playing terribly? I doubt it. If Vick would have returned to the NFL and nose-dived into the abyss, people would have given one of three responses; it was expected, he deserved it, too bad such another great talent failed.
My problem with this entire situation is that it shows Americans do not care too help one another, but we want to be better than one another. What I mean by saying this is, why couldn’t we offer a lending hand to this young man and help him understand the harm and pain he caused not only to those dogs he harmed, but dog lovers as well? Around this same time Mike Vick was being chastened two other professional athletes were also found guilty of crimes. Plaxico Burress and Donte’ Stallworth both were found guilty of crimes and served prison time. Personally I believe Donte’ Stallworth’s crime was the worst of the group. For you that don’t know Donte’ Stallworth was intoxicated and hit pedestrian who was crossing the street in the wee hours of the morning to catch a bus home. Stallowrth’s blood alcohol content was .126, which is nearly double Florida’s legal limit. Eventually Donte’ Stallworth Was found guilty and served 30 days in jail, some community service, probation, house arrest, and life time ban of his Florida driving license. Before I give my opinion on his sentence lets not forget about Plaxico “cheddar bob” Burress (if you’ve seen the film 8 mile you know what I’m talking about). I can sum this one up quick, ready? Plaxico Burress Cheddar Bob goes to a NY nightclub carrying a pistol that’s not registered and accidently shoots himself in the thigh. After shooting himself, Burress then goes to a hospital gives a false name (like no one would not notice the guy who caught the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl, and don’t forget he’s a mammoth) and eventually ends up serving a two year sentence.
Now with all three of those stories stated I am going to put them in order of worst, least important; Stalloworth, Vick, Burress. HOW DOES A GUY KILL A GUY SERVE THIRTY DAYS IN JAIL, CAN CONTIUE TO LIVE HIS LIFE, AND MAKE A SUBSTATIONAL AMOUNT OF MONEY. But a one-guy dog fights and the other shoots himself, and they lose everything they know. The whole situation is illogical and irrational to me. When was the last time you heard Donte’ Stallworth’s name even scroll across the bottom line on ESPN???????? ( I put all those question marks so you could have time to think). Side note: one of my favorite Kanye West lyrics is from his song Can’t Tell Me Nothing and he raps this line “To whom much is given, much is tested, Get the rest and guess until he get the message, I feel the pressure under more scrutiny, And what I do; act more stupidly” I feel that lyrics fits Vicks situation perfectly. A young man whose in a position that most of us could only wish to be in makes a mistake that is made out of pure ignorance. I do believe that we are responsible for our actions, but we all need guidance to understand what the consequences of our actions could be.
I do not know Mike Vick, I have never met the guy, I probably never will, but I will tell you this, if this guy is not being honest right now, GET HIM A DAMN OSCAR, because he is putting on one hell of an act. He is doing everything from playing football right to carrying himself better than ever. He really seems to be genuine and understanding of what he did. So my question is why are we still scrutinizing him? You want know why? Well I’ll tell you because we as Americans are selfish. No one scrutinizes Donte’ Stallworth for killing a man. Donte’ Stallworth is just as irrelevant as he was before the murder. I doubt anyone well scrutinize Plaxico Burress for two reasons; one I don’t think he has much left in the tank seeing he is going to be 34 and NFL recievers typically fizzle out by that time, secondly he shot himself so no one cares (may I use an LOL). Americans want the negative not the positive, because the negative sells. As long as Mike Vick keeps playing well he will be targeted, because there is a ton of money that could be made off of his downfall. I believe our society needs to figure out a way to help one another and not always pray upon someone’s downfall. By helping one another and carrying for our fellow man or woman we may deter another “Mike Vick, Donte’ Stallworth, or Plaxico Burress” from making a life altering decision.
wow so much to say, let me start by saying, I am a Mike Vick Fan I think he served his time and he deserves to be able to be a functiong member of society like everyone else and love watching him play football. Next, I wanna say something for Donte Stallworth ho I feel you have wrongly protrayed here, hes no irrelevant player, he isnt a number 1 but hes a number two just about an team hed play one and number one on some he had great seasons with the saints mediocre with the Patriots and never really played much for the Browns. Whoever being a Browns fan is the reason I know his story, and the difference between him and Michael Vick is he hit one guy, he tried not to and according to him the guy pretty much ran in front of his car, the only reason he didnt fight it was because if you have watched any interviews with him he is a depressed mess having to live with the fact he killed another human being. you make it seem like he has lost nothing and like no one cared what he did but he was suspended for a year from playing football, said he would give the family whatever they wanted from him financially and served 30 days. also it was the reason we cut him, he made a mistake one time and thats what the difference is between him and Vick, Vick not only killed tortured and fought dogs but he organized and funded the ring of people to do it in a grand scheme. hes not the kid on the street selling weed hes the crack kingpin flooding the streets with it so of course he is going to get a lot of scrutiny. Also what he did was not a mistake he didnt fight one dog or do it for a year this was something that was a bigger part of his life than playing football so I dont blame people who think he wouldnt be able to just stop doing it or think that that mindset is a good thing to have out in society. however they say the point of prison is rehabilitation (which i think is bullshit but topic for another day) and he cant do anything about the past so I say let him live. Now im interested to know what your watching when you say people have been crucifying him still most things I watch understand it s a great story that he could come back but also know hes no hero becuase this is a problem HE caused. I probably wrote too much but felt I had to say it. Lastly, Plaxico Burress is indeed an idiot.
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