Shame on YOU Whoopi!!! DEFENDING VICK???

[golden's mom]

I personally sent the view an email. I said that it was immoral for anyone to even defend someone that has plead guilty to dog fighting. I personally will never purchase or watch anything that she has a part in. Luckily, I was at a PTA "party" and the show was on. Everyone was horrified...and vowed to boycott her as well. As well as Jamie Foxx and anyother moron who defends that monster...or dog fighting.

 

[golden's mom]

I just want to add one more thing. I am from the south, born and reared. Dog fighting is NOT part of my cultural experience. It is abuse!

 

[Swanky]

you know, it's not just the dog fighting. . . it's the inhumane treatement aside from the fighting.
NO ONE can possible think a 'rape stand' is "considered normal where he grew up"
If we took away the fighting, it's all still completely grotesque.

 

[Couturegrl]

Good point, Swanky!

 

[Prada Psycho]

you know, it's not just the dog fighting. . . it's the inhumane treatement aside from the fighting.
NO ONE can possible think a 'rape stand' is "considered normal where he grew up"
If we took away the fighting, it's all still completely grotesque.

As I've had the misfortune of learning more and more of this hideous practice, I tend to use "dogfighting" to include those other things as well. Unfortunately they go hand-in-hand....

Or as my DH put it: These are just ******* that aren't man enough to do their own fighting and use something they can control instead... Sort of like "Little Man Syndrome" in the worst possible way.

:true:

 

[OHgirl]

That is ridiculous! I live only 15 minutes from where Michael Vick is from and where this happened at and have lived here for 20 years and have NEVER known anyone or have heard of anyone talk about dog fights! And this area is not the rural south. I did know about dog fights from shows on Animal Planet like Animal Cops, and it seems to take place in the large northern cities too. It always seemed to be done by individuals who engaged in other criminal behavior as well. IMO, Michael Vick (and his brother Marcus) have always been thugs and hang with that type of crowd. I'm ashamed that he represents my town.

 

[piperlu]

Whoopi lost many fans over this one. I always liked her movies too, but I'm not wasting my time with her anymore. I can't believe she said what she did. Side note - I hate The View.

 

[nathansgirl1908]

I have to be honest. I really don't think Whoopi is trying to backtrack. Nothing in that first statement that she made ever actually said it was okay to dogfight. She was merely pointing out that he was raised in a culture that thinks dogfighting is a sport. And I know MANY people who dogfight. In all honesty the main people around my area who engaged in dogfighting were drug dealers. They also feed these dogs gunpowder to make them even more mean and aggressive. And yes, to them it is a sport. I suspect that really is what Whoopi was getting at, but she had to put it in a more diplomatic way since she was on screen. I think her point was that it never occurred to him that people would be so outraged and disgusted. Sometimes you have to think about the environment that people are raised in and how it affects what they do in moral terms.

At any rate I think some people (not all) are just using this as an excuse to not like Whoopi and potentially request her removal from the show. I have never seen anything in the past that indicated Whoopi doesn't care about animals. In fact it seems that I remember her getting involved with PETA on some issues.

As for the poster who said there are more important issues to worry about, I can understand where she was coming from. I love dogs and I hate to think about them being tortured, but I think that sometimes in this country there is too much focus on matters that don't necessarily affect the nation as a whole. Vick is getting more severe penalties than many of these white collar criminals who spend their time stealing the pensions of hardworking people and for me that presents a real problem. Teachers have sex with students and they don't even always get punished as severely as Vick is getting punished.

 

[CleoCouture]

That is the craziest thing I ever heard of..."Because it's where he came from". So does that mean it's ok for people who live in, Say, South Central to continue shooting each other because it happens often there? No, I dont think so!!!! Any one who defend animal cruelty is a sick twisted individual!!!

 

[nathansgirl1908]

That is the craziest thing I ever heard of..."Because it's where he came from". So does that mean it's ok for people who live in, Say, South Central to continue shooting each other because it happens often there? !!!

That's not what she said. She was explaining why he didn't see it as a big deal. I'm really surprised at how many poeple aren't aware of how much dogfighting actually goes on. Going back to what I said earlier, Whoopi was just trying to be diplomatic when she made her reference to the South. Vick is a thug. He hangs with thugs. Lots of thugs dogfight. But as I said before, she couldn't actually say that on television.

Of course he should be punished, but from what I understand the punishment that they are planning for him exceeds the actual crime. Obviously he should lose his endorsements because he isn't a good role model, but I say that because of his general character.

I will add though that there were only two arrests in my area some years ago for dogfighting. The police around that area know it goes on and don't care. I only think Vick is experiencing this because he is famous. I wish they were as stringent with ALL dogfighters as they are being with him.

 

[asark]

Do not add to my comment or attempt to twist what I said. No one said anything about minimizing the brutality those helpless animals endured. However, in my opinion, there are more important issues to be focused on. I am more outraged about what is going on with the education of our children (the lack of in many instances), the increasing number of people without health insurance, and many more issues that are truly important. No one is excusing his cruel actions....but really, how long are we going to talk about this one issue when there are other issues that are more important in that they impact the entire country? He's no different than all the ball players that cheat on their wives and destroy their families. Sin is sin. You are entitled to your opinion. I am entitled to mine. With that said, I outta this thread!

This statement merely demonstrates how lowly you view the seriousness of animal cruelty. This is not my opinion, just an obvious observation derived from YOUR opinion.

You are entitled to your opinion, but luckily it does not matter. As long as the courts see the seriousness of abusing, torturing and murdering pets your opinion is moot.

Dare I breach the subject of "making an example out of famous people" for crimes? Yes dog fighting happens all over the place, and YES it is rightfully illegal. Perhaps by making an example out of Vick other "thugs" will be deterred… Just as Martha Stewart was publicly lynched for insider trading, I hope Vick gets punished to the extreme.

 

[surferchick2]

Sin is not just sin...there are different levels. Having an affair, as pathetic as that is, is nowhere near mutilating, torturing, and murdering living creatures...especially in the name of illegal gaming. I see this as truly important and like I mentioned earlier in the thread, it's perplexing when someone who sees other issues as "more important", proposes ditching all other crimes that is considered a nationwide problem that inflicts severe brutality on animals that we've brought into our world. Yes, it needs to be talked about and continued to do so, so it doesn't die down. The controversy surround this doesn't cancel out other heinous "issues" (these issues aren't considered a brutal CRIME, which to me is more important). If those are "truly important", then bump those threads up, start new ones, and keep the issues going that YOU feel are important instead of proclaiming what isn't to a group who are passionate about animals who feel that rape stands shouldn't be forced on a female dog any more than on a female human. In the meantime, this ILLEGAL act which involves animal cruelty will be kept alive by those who have to speak for living creatures who don't have a VOICE in defending themselves.

 

[nathansgirl1908]

This statement merely demonstrates how lowly you view the seriousness of animal cruelty. This is not my opinion, just an obvious observation derived from YOUR opinion.

You are entitled to your opinion, but luckily it does not matter. As long as the courts see the seriousness of abusing, torturing and murdering pets your opinion is moot.

Dare I breach the subject of "making an example out of famous people" for crimes? Yes dog fighting happens all over the place, and YES it is rightfully illegal. Perhaps by making an example out of Vick other "thugs" will be deterred… Just as Martha Stewart was publicly lynched for insider trading, I hope Vick gets punished to the extreme.

I get tired of using others as examples. The way to deter people from doing wrong is to punish EVERYONE who commits a crime. I the police are going to be lax about others who do it, then they should not be so hard on Vick. They need to be consistent. That is my biggest issue.

As far as the issue on whether this situation is more or less important than other things...the fact of the matter is that no matter how much I care about animals, they are still just animals. There are people who commit far worse crimes against HUMAN BEINGS and they don't get punished as treated as harshly as Vick is being treated. Sometimes they don't even do time in jail/prison.

 

[surferchick2]

Too bad for Vick that he was the "famous" person who brought about this awareness of the brutality of dogfighting by using him as an example, but just like anything else, bad OR good, that's what does it. Charitable organization and sponsors hire celebs to promote their organizations because they do have an influence. Unfortunately, in his case it's not a good service. Maybe it's a good thing or this world would still be an underground one. And, the level of crime/issues is relative and animals that we brought in this world to make money off of by mutilating them will never be considered "just animals" vs humans. This sparked an outrage since for the most part, we were unfamiliar with what's involved in dog fighting. I'm sure if cockfighting were uncovered, it would bring on more shocking info people aren't aware of. It's not like boxing or wrestling...it's way beyond that. There are murderers who get more jailtime than others, some face the death penalty, some don't. It depends on the region, the judge, the jurors, the state, federal, etc...but that's our justice system. I'm sure there are also those who didn't do half of what Vick did that will get even more than he, so comparing penalities to some convicted crimimals that may have done worse means nothing since there's also those who did less but got worse. Doesn't mean we should feel sorry for him or that poor him shouldn't have received what he got. Maybe whoopi's right in essentially saying he's a product of his environment (reminds me of Trading Places..but I'm not familar with his upbringing), but you get to a point you know what's illegal and what murding a living creature for money is. He said it was "immature", but he grew up a long time ago.

 

[asark]

Too bad for Vick that he was the "famous" person who brought about this awareness of the brutality of dogfighting by using him as an example, but just like anything else, bad OR good, that's what does it. Charitable organization and sponsors hire celebs to promote their organizations because they do have an influence. Unfortunately, in his case it's not a good service. Maybe it's a good thing or this world would still be an underground one. And, the level of crime/issues is relative and animals that we brought in this world to make money off of by mutilating them will never be considered "just animals" vs humans. This sparked an outrage since for the most part, we were unfamiliar with what's involved in dog fighting. I'm sure if cockfighting were uncovered, it would bring on more shocking info people aren't aware of. It's not like boxing or wrestling...it's way beyond that. There are murderers who get more jailtime than others, some face the death penalty, some don't. It depends on the region, the judge, the jurors, the state, federal, etc...but that's our justice system. I'm sure there are also those who didn't do half of what Vick did that will get even more than he, so comparing penalities to some convicted crimimals that may have done worse means nothing since there's also those who did less but got worse. Doesn't mean we should feel sorry for him or that poor him shouldn't have received what he got. Maybe whoopi's right in essentially saying he's a product of his environment (reminds me of Trading Places..but I'm not familar with his upbringing), but you get to a point you know what's illegal and what murding a living creature for money is. He said it was "immature", but he grew up a long time ago.

Well said :okay: