When DO You Deserve a Second Chance?

On Sunday a friend of mine on Facebook posted "Go Redskins" as they were playing the Eagles.  With her being a huge animal lover, I knew she did not want Michael Vick to do well.  Now, she and I poke at each other a lot and have very differing opinions on many things.  So...being who I am, I poked the bear and commented on her post..."Go Vick!" expecting her to respond.  She...did NOT, but a friend of hers did.

Instead, another friend of hers responded with a series of comments wishing bodily harm on Vick.  Now, let me be perfectly clear.  I do not condone what Michael Vick did with his dog fighting.  However, I also am smart enough to see that he did 18 months in prison and has tried to make some sort of amends within the animal lovers community whether it be financially or with volunteer efforts.  I can understand wanting him to fail in his bid to revive his career, or hoping he does poorly.  But to wish another human bodily harm and I quote, "I hope someone breaks Vick's backbone in three places!", is just a little bit more than disturbing.   When will he have done enough to make amends?  Who is to say?  At what point has he repaid that debt and can he be allowed to move on.

The biggest shock I had from this person's posting was that there was so much hatred for the man and such an unwillingness to allow him to have a second chance.  Apparently, no matter what he does, Vick should never, ever be allowed to make a living doing anything, let alone play football.  And cheering after he got hurt reminds me of the Muslims around the world cheering on 9-11 because some of their fellows had attacked the Great Satan.  At some point, he must be allowed to make a living again and provide for his family.

The most disturbing part of this is the misplacement on value of life.  I do not fault this gal's very passionate love of animals, but to put the value of an animal's life above that of a human being just doesn't make sense.  Because he harmed and even killed dogs, he deserves to be hurt.  Or, if I understand this girl's comment correctly, his backbone broken in three places, which would either kill him or paralyze him for life. 

This gal has a zero tolerance policy for an athlete that makes a mistake.  When I asked her why an athlete who gets stopped for DWI, who is accused/convicted of sexual assault, etc. is OK in her books to go ahead and play without her wishing him harm, she told me she didn't care what the other guys did, she was talking about Vick.  But the others matter, because she states that if you do a crime, you should be gone...never to play again.  Zero tolerance, no chance to make amends, no second chance.  In her form of justice, it would seem that an eye for an eye is totally acceptable.  Steal and lose your hand.

To my friend who had the joy of hosting this post...I am sorry that my attempt to get your goat a little bit brought this upon your page.  I was just trying to give you a good-natured poke. You commented later on that Vick is a thug and had weapons charges and gambling issues.  I am not sure of those, you may be right.  But if they are true, should we still wish him bodily harm.  Our love for our pets and other animals aside, should we really put the value of an animal above the value of a human?  If that were true, no woman could ever wear makeup, for it was the unfortunate suffering of a rabbit that allows you to now put eyeliner and other makeup near your eyes and on your face.

The mistreatment of animals is not to be condoned, but neither should be, the desire for harm upon a person.