I'll save my forgiveness for those who deserve it

This post about Michael Vick’s dogs has been going around tumblr slowly for the past 2 weeks.  I don’t know where the article originated from, but it is quite good, and shed some light on disturbing details that I didn’t know about his crimes.

Many people argue that he is remorseful and deserves a second chance.  They defend him saying that it was part of the culture he grew up in and he didn’t know any better.  After all, don’t we all make mistakes?  

On the other side are people who think he should be tortured and killed in the brutal way his animals were.  Those who protest Eagles games and vilify the NFL for allowing him to play.  They write articles saying that if he had murdered a person no one would be giving him a second chance. 

While my loathing and disgust for anyone who abuses animals is endless, I don’t think he deserves to die.  I will never forgive him no matter how apologetic he seems.  Though I believe in second chances, I will never cheer for him no matter how good an athlete he may be.

After reading the details of his crimes I find that what angers me the most is the failure of the law.  Vick was not charged with animal cruelty, but dog fighting, which is essentially gambling.  A system that would put people charged with marijuana possession in jail for longer than those who commit vicious acts of animal cruelty is broken.

If Michael Vick wasn’t part of a majority of the US population’s Sunday football ritual, would people give him a second chance?  If a man in your city, that you didn’t know, was found to have drowned, electrocuted, shot, hung, or slammed repeatedly into the ground until death any dog who did not perform, would you defend him?  Probably not.  

If you really believe in second chances feel free to drop by your local SPCA, there are plenty of animals there who would love one.