"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."
--Mahatma Gandhi--
"The hatred you are carrying is a live coal in your heart - far more damaging to yourself than them."
--Lawana Blackwell--
"The stupid never forgive or forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget."
--Thomas Szasz--
Michael Vick will be a free man on Monday. His home incarceration will be officially over and he will be allowed to re-enter society. That is when the drama may begin.
Michael Vick may have many talents that the general public do not know about. However, he has one talent that many people do know about and that is a talent for playing football. His actions after he was drafted and given millions of dollars by the Atlanta Falcons have cost him a small fortune, his freedom, and possibly his career. The actions I am referring to was his involvement in a dog fighting ring that lead to his federal indictment, guilty plea, and incarceration. Michael Vick has paid a lot for his involvement in dog fighting. He should have paid a lot because there is no excuse or reason for him to have been involved in something as heartless and barbaric as dog fighting. Yet, the bottom line is that Michael Vick will either demonstrate through his actions that he is worthy of a second chance or he will show that he is not. In any case, he should be given an opportunity to show which category he belongs.
There are probably several teams that are willing to give Michael Vick an opportunity to show that he is still a very good football player, which means Michael Vick still has a chance to salvage his name, reputation, and financial future. When and if he is given that opportunity, he must work hard to show he is still a NFL star and he also must work hard to educate people (especially young men) about the barbarity of dog fighting and how it is not worth the potential costs. The only thing that may stand in his way is whether organizations like PETA will stage protests of team(s) that may give him a chance. The ironic thing about that is that any protests by PETA or any other animal rights organization or activist may pose more of a risk for that organization(s) than it will for Michael Vick.
Any animal rights organization or activist that tries to keep Michael Vick out of the NFL runs the risk of being marginalized. PETA has to be careful with how they react to Michael Vick. If PETA or people that are members of PETA or people that are members of an animal rights organization decide to make it their mission to keep Michael Vick out of the NFL by staging protests of any team that gives him a chance they may find that that strategy will back fire on them. Their protests could swing public opinion in favor of Michael Vick and against them. They could appear to be a bunch of liberals that are so out of touch with the rest of the world that they value the life of an animal above a human's. Their best course of action is to wait and see how Michael Vick conducts himself after Monday.
PETA has a golden opportunity to bring animal abuse (i.e. dog fighting) to the forefront of the American collective consciousness. They can use the story of Michael Vick as a cautionary tale to let men and women (especially young men) know that dog fighting is a cruel act that is beneath any human being and that the price anyone will pay for engaging in such a cruel act is not worth it. They can also use the Michael Vick news story to enlighten America know about the dangers to animals and humans that dog fighting presents and how often it occurs in neighborhoods throughout the country. But most of all PETA can present itself to the rest of America as a reasonable, thoughtful, compassionate organization that is comprised of intelligent, caring, and reasonable people instead of coming off as mean, spiteful, and spoiled zealots that is hell bent on revenge and care more about animals than humans.
It may be in PETA's, other animal rights organizations', and animals rights activists' best interest to forgive Michael Vick but that does not mean that they must forget.
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