Well I am glad if people spoke out about Mike Tyson mistreating women. I am, however, talking about something systemic- something that happens over and over and over again (i.e. football players abusing women). Since it's in the news on a fairly frequent basis and there's lots of football fans here, I find it a bit strange that people put so much focus on Vick but I haven't seen discussions about things that happen much more frequently to women at the hands of many players and not just one.

I'm not saying that I wouldn't support ANY business that hired ANYBODY who had a criminal record. I'm saying that this man - in what I have seen of HIS public statements, does not yet "get it". He doesn't get that animals are beings that have every right to a peaceful existance, without suffering beyond words at the hands of people like him and his cohorts.

Let's make a comparison. Bully has brought up the topic of abuse of women. Would you support a team that re-hired a quarterback that had beat up his wife or girlfriend? What about if he had beaten up HUNDREDS of women? What if he'd tortured them, had a "rape machine" so that they could be immobilized for sexual intercourse, electrocuted them, and then killed them when they were no longer of use to him? THIS is the magnitude of Vick's crimes. I don't use the same paint brush for everyone - I don't boycott every man who has a criminal record. But I'd be willing to make an exception for the likes of Mr. Vick.

Suebee, unfortunately there are quite a few football players playing in the NFL today who have beaten up their wives, girlfriends, or women they have met somewhere. Some have been suspended by the league for certain periods of time and some have not.

But then we'd have to have the discussion about how Fame/Professional Sports/The Music Industry supports behavior in men that it would never support in women (and then inherent ingrained sexism as the root of it all):hangloose:

Hey Gang, you people are really rocking in here. Maybe tonight or over the holiday I can get time to come and read everyone's contributions and opinions. Hope so. I have not had much time to be online lately.

Lunch hours go by too quickly ... back to work now and you later.


:byebye:

Suebee...I get what you're saying, but I really don't think we can compare humans and animals...I really don't.

We employ horrible, barbaric acts against animals in the process of raising them and slaughtering them for meat...and it isn't even considered a crime.

We feel differently (as a culture) about dogs than we do about cows or turkeys or pigs...so we criminalize those acts. And, no, I'm not objecting to that...I think those acts are rightly classified as criminal.

But, honestly, to compare forced breeding of dogs (which we do all the time with all kinds of animals) to the rape of women? Sorry...it doesn't fly for me.

The rape of a woman, to me, is infinitely more serious than the forced breeding of an animal...as horrible as that may be.

IF - you can't deny that within some circles (queer females and young urban hipsters specifically come to mind) that it is currently VERY cool to be vegan/vegetarian yadda yadda yadda.

I am not criticizing that. I myself am a big fan/lover of animals (as you know, I'm sure, all of the cats I've had since I was an adult (except for my orange tabby) have been strays or rescued (stolen in one case) from abusive/neglectful situations). My parents took in abandoned dogs while I was in highschool. I still have nightmares about the fur farm video from China that Rhon posted on livejournal fucking YEARS ago.

That said: there is no ignoring the fact that -many- of the hipsters I mentioned above postulate about what friends of the animal they are (oh, and the environment. recycling is also hip.) but completely ignore issues around HUMANS who also need our defense.

Posting this while I have a pit asleep on my feet.
 

The system gives children back to abusive parents or households back, I have to ask why an animal has priority over our countries kids. You can see a child be slapped at a Target- that happens at Pet Smart the cops are called & your dog is taken away.

I pray he changed but this witch hunt on a black man and now death is wished upon him is just as gross if not even MORE gross than what he's done.


Why?

It's been done in this country since it's start.

Now you're reaching.

I love dogs. But certainly I feel that the assault of one woman is more important than the abuse of hundreds of dogs. It doesn't have to be hundred of women by one man for it to be abhorrent.

We -are- more important (to me) than dogs are.

For fucking real.

I can get behind this thought process to a large degree!

I agree that there is a somewhat pervasive "right now" groove to animal rights, PETA, The Trevor Project, Barefoot running shoes, etc. among young hipster-type Queers. The thinking that to "be" the right kind of Queer or to attract the "right" kind of Queer, that those things are prerequisite.

I used to have a friend who viewed herself as a staunch animal rights advocate and who was vegetarian but wore leather shoes every day, owned a ton of leather furniture, had a purebred dog that she bought from a puppy mill, and loved going to the zoo.

It seemed like she was an animal advocate only to the degree that it wouldn't affect her tastes, comfort, or entertainment value.

This isn't an either/or issue, but rather multi-layered. I see some intersections of race and class with Eurocentric idealization of pet animals. Interesting discussion to say the least. :rubberducky:

I think it's a multi-layered discussion too, that's why I don't see why I am supposed to go start a separate thread.

The fact that the Vick thing got tonnes of media attention and the other crimes of NFL players didn't is symptomatic of a bigger problem.

Anyway! You kids have fun! I gotta get offline because I'm ignoring my spouse and playing on BFP which is impolite of me.

Bingo!

I didn't see lots of uproar over Ben Roethlisberger (except people were bummed he was going to miss 6 games- which got cut down to 4 games for "good behavior").