Is The Michael Vick Dog Fighting Saga Really A Racial Divide?

Now that the Michael Vick dog fighting saga is really starting to heat up, we are beginning to see the “twistings of truth” that are common place in this situations. On July 26, 2007 Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports wrote an article about the scene that played out in front of the court house that is handling Vick’s trial.

The author writes about the racial divide that is surrounding this issue. In the article Wetzel discusses how whites have already convicted Vick and about how blacks say that someone accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty. It is pretty clear that he is saying that both side’s opinions are racially based.

While the article is seemingly unbiased and thought provoking, it is in fact flawed by its lack of attention to detail. Let’s examine more thoroughly the powers and demographics that are taking sides on this issue and see how racially divided this really is.

There are a few issues that need to be looked at here. This issue is not as black and white as Wetzel would like you to believe.

The Protester Side:

Wetzel leads you to believe that the white protesters at the courthouse are all racists. If say for instance a white NFL Quarterback had been accused of the crime, then they wouldn’t be there.

Sure that could be one reason. All the whites there could be racists and are chomping at the bit to lynch a black man; especially a highly successful black athlete who is tarnishing their view of a perfect white power society.

Or they could be PETA supporters who would be there regardless of who was accused of this crime. Could it also be that PETA supporters also tend to be white middle class Americans? Would it not therefore be logical that more whites would tend to be there protesting?

Could another reason for the lack of blacks on the protestor side be that they tend to think that “the system” is designed to keep them down? Just as they supported OJ when it was clear he was a murderer, they are supporting Vick with blind loyalty.

It is pretty clear that PETA supporters do not care who is violating the rights of animals. There have been many high profile whites they have gone after. They aren’t a racist organization by any means.

The Innocent Until Proven Guilty Side:

This side was made up of mostly blacks. Why are they there? This is the only part of this issue that can be explained by race. If Vick was white, they wouldn’t be there. Are blacks supporting NBA referee Tim Donaghy saying that he deserves a fair trial? Would they if he was black?

You see, this side isn’t really the innocent until proven guilty side. They aren’t the defenders of the constitution. They are the side that feels oppressed by “the system” and think every time a person of color is charged with a crime it is because they are colored not because there is credible evidence to go to trial.

Message To The Media:

Please think things out next time you decide to write about some kind of racial divide. You are only making the problem worse. This issue has nothing to do with racism and everything to do with the violation of animal rights. The vast majority of whites wouldn’t care who was in Michael Vick’s shoes. If it was Brett Favre, he would be getting the same treatment.

Written by admin on July 27th, 2007 with comments disabled.
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