Originally Posted by
Flasteel
You seem like a pretty intelligent guy, so I'm trying to figure out how you can't see the impact of culture in this type of behavior. Culture is the lens by which all people view their moral, ethical, and value systems. There are very few behaviors which transcend all known cultures and can be agreed upon as good or bad everyone. If you think that the torture and killing of animals is among these sacred behaviors, then you are simply wrong.
In Spain, bulls are not only tortured and killed for sport; the top matadors are revered like all-star football or baseball players in America. It's not just bullfighting over there either. They torture and kill animals all across the country and throughout the year for myriad different festivals.
Look how animals are treated within the food industries - in this country and every other one for that matter. Some are treated in unspeakably inhumane fashions for the sake of mass producing food, while others are killed and tossed aside like garbage in the pursuit of the target prey. Look at how the Japanese fishermen treat the dolphins which get caught in their nets or what they do to sharks, just to lop off their fins. Look at zoos, lab experiments, canned hunting camps, or a hundred other examples of culturally condoned animal cruelty...they're everywhere.
In some countries dogs are on the menu. In others, they are treated as nothing more than a lowly beast whose only purpose is to serve man. Drop you in the heart of China as a baby and I guarantee that you’ll grow up to be a dog-eating, finger-licking fool, who routinely asks for second helpings. You might look at a dog no different than you look at a rat (which was on your dinner plate the night before).
You and I view this type of behavior as wrong because we were raised in cultures which value animal rights and largely view dogs as man's best friend. Other people aren't. Whether it's in China or an area in our own back yard, there are segments of people everywhere who are raised to think differently. I'm not even talking about individuals who are raised in specific households without morals or values, I'm talking about whole populations and societies which condone and normalize cruelty to animals. Dog fighting alone has been around for centuries and is still widely practiced across the world and across this country in black, white, and Hispanic cultures. Usually they are poor and ignorant communities, but they none-the-less shape the morals and values of those who are raised in them.
In Mike Vick's case, he probably never started to live outside that culture until he got to Virginia Tech. I can easily see how someone born and raised in an environment where dog-fighting and killing is the norm, would carry that belief with him. I'm sure he's known it was an illegal act since he was a small child, but the law (and law enforcement) in his community is most likely not in step with most folks' value systems. Mike Tomlin is from the same town as Mike Vick. I'm sure he knows first-hand the exact environment Vick was raised in and how that shaped his views. It seems pretty natural to want to give him a chance, if he thought he could help this team.
Now that Vick has been properly introduced to the concept of humanity and paid his debt, he should be given that second chance to show that he can operate within the acceptable laws and mores of our larger society. If you are the type of individual who is normally in the business of given others a second chance, then how can you not extend that same courtesy to someone who by all other measures (well...most other measures) is a decent human being?
How could others take such umbrage with Tomlin for having that type of understanding and forgiveness...to the point where they would give up Steeler football? I don't even get that, but hey…I support anyone's right to feel that way.
How many of you who hold that opinion, call yourself a Christian? Isn't forgiveness a core value of your professed belief system? I'm no Christian, but I find it funny when people wear that label, but do so only when it's convenient.
I take great issue with what Mike Vick did and I passionately believe that every single animal deserves our humane treatment. I eat them, but I profoundly respect them and they are delicious. But I also understand that you are a product of your environment. Any adjustment one might have when fitting into a larger society with competing norms will invariably involve second chances. Mike Vick gets that chance from me.
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