For those of you who aren't familiar with my old blog, you probably haven't seen me do any of these yet. There are some days when I get up and just feel like writing. And I'll start writing with a distinct topic or point in mind. Then halfway through I'll go off on a tangent and never finish my original though. Get used to it, it happens a lot. And as a result the end of the article may be completely different than the beginning. Or I may have talked myself out of my original position somewhere along the way and end up debating the other side of the argument by the final sentences. You never know what you'll get. Heck, I don't know what you'll get. So get in, sit down, shut up, and hold on. Then tell me I'm insane when I'm finished. I'm used to it.
Here goes...
For the past month, in complete contrast to its position on last year's Duke rape case, the NAACP has urged the public not to judge Michael Vick before he has his day in court. But now that Vick has agreed to plead guilty and there won't be a trial, they've changed their tune to fit the moment. "At this point, you're not looking at guilt or innocence," said R.L. White, president of the NAACP's Atlanta chapter, "You're thinking, 'What I better do is cut my losses and take a plea.' But if he saw this as the best thing to do at this point for his future, then I think he made the correct choice." White continued that he regretted the plea deal will mean all the facts of the case might never be known.
My problem with that is that Vick isn't making a deal. He's pleading guilty to the full charges because there is overwhelming evidence against him.
But that wasn't enough for White. He is now also pleading his case that the NFL allow Vick to get back into the league once he completes his sentence."As a society, we should aid in his rehabilitation and welcome a new Michael Vick back into the community without a permanent loss of his career in football. We further ask the NFL, Falcons, and the sponsors not to permanently ban Mr. Vick from his ability to bring hours of enjoyment to fans all over this country."
My problem here is twofold:
First of all, where was all this NAACP support of the white Duke Lacrosse players? Oh yea, there wasn't any. Instead, the NAACP was standing next to Jesse Jackson and the Black Panthers protesting Duke University and asking the the players be booted from school and the team be kicked off campus. In fact Jesse Jackson went so far as to pay the college tuition of this lying accuser. The University bowed to this pressure and while these players were innocent, they and the rest of the team had the remainder of their season cancelled. And once the players were exonerated, there was no apology, nor any calls to make amends.
Furthermore, the NAACP's idea that the NFL should be the god-given right for anyone with enough talent is absurd. The NFL has a stringent code of conduct. There are countless cases of players falling to the late rounds of the draft or simply not being drafted at all because they are of questionable moral character -- no matter how solid their performance on the college football field. Playing in the NFL is a privledge, not a right. Just like a driving a car is. People convicted of drunk driving arent automatically handed their driver's license back once they step out of prison. And in that same mold, Vick shouldn't expect someone to hand him his helmet and shoulder pads back either.
The bottom line is the NAACP is wrong, and their actions are nothing but grandstanding for their own benefit. This organization and many of the other black leaders will do or say anthing to remain relevant, even if it's playing the race card at every given opportunity. They may not claim racism directly, but it's always implied.
For example, they claim that the white population simply doesn't understand the Black "subculture". Every time someone goes on TV or writes an article in the paper in an attempt to either explain or defend Vick, they invariably refer to this black "subculture". As in, "the subculture of dogfighting," or "dogfighting is part of the Southern subculture," or "a subculture many do not understand." The dogfighting subculture is apparently a subsidiary of the Southern subculture, which is itself a subsidiary of American culture. The problem I have with this is the usage of the word. They are trying to use this "subculture" a justification, as if attaching the word culture -- in whatever form -- somehow grants this activity with credibility. In other words: However depraved it might be, you have to somehow respect it because it's cultural. Sorry, I'm not buying it. Nobody should. It's not "keeping it real" (to use the another justification for this sort of behavior.)
Let me explain. Vick was on top of the world. He had a $130 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons, and countless millions more in endorcements in a city with the largest middle-class black population in the country. The fans adored him and his play backed it up. Then he threw it all away because he bought into the self-destructive, immature, hip-hop model (ahem, subculture) of "keeping it real." Regardless of the world set out before him by the Atlanta Falcons and the NFL, Vick wanted to do things his way - both on and off the field. On the field, he wanted to customize the position in terms of his style of play. And off it, he wanted to "keep it real" by remaining firmly entrenched in the seedy world he grew up in. Unfortunately these two worlds don't mix.
Vick financed his friends' illegal dogfighting activity. And he may have enjoyed dogfighting but he certainly didn't need it. He didn't need a home dedicated to breeding and training pit bulls. He didn't need to open and operate Bad Newz Kennels. Vick stayed involved with dogfighting, and he did so primarily because it was a way to stay involved in an activity in which his "boys" still participated. It was Vick's way of "keeping it real". He was fearful of being labeled a sellout -- fearful of having his blackness questioned.
For an athlete, or any successful person for that matter, "keeping it real' should mean offering your friends and family opportunities to acquire the skills necessary to join the mainstream. Instead of running a dogfighting ring with his friends, Vick should've paid for an education. Or he should have tried to help them establish a legitimate business. And if they weren't interested in that, Vick should've informed them that he had "nothing but love for them". No matter the problem, you can't help people who have no interest in helping themselves. Furthermore, to claim that the lack of interest in betterment is simply "black culture" is backwards and stupid. And to state so publically is not racist. However, blaming those who refuse to accept this "black culture" for the issues in society is.
In my opinion I think we should let Vick's prison sentence send the message that a continued allegiance to this street "subculture" helps keep black men behind in American society. Vick is walking proof that millions of dollars are little protection if a certain mentality remains. Until now, Vick was considered one of the lucky ones. He rose out of poverty and became a star. He went from nothing to millions. Yet at the same time, studies continue to show that black men are failing at an alarming and heartbreaking rate. More than half of black men in the inner cities don't have a high school diploma. There are more black men in prison than in college. Every other minority in society -- Latinos, Asians, women, etc. -- are gaining ground, but black men are falling further and further behind in virtually every category.
To me, the first step to a solution is to attack this poisonous idea in the black community that equates only negatives with success. That's one reason Vick kept his circle of friends -- because successful black people are pressured into keeping their toxic buddies around for the sake of "keeping it real." Vick was in a position to show that young, black men are no different than anyone else. But instead Vick will be in prison. Instead of wrapping himself in the support he received from millions of fans, Vick aligned himself with a destructive culture that is being indirectly endorsed as long as some African-Americans continue to make pathetic excuses for an immature millionaire. That's not "keeping it real". That's stupid.
At the end of the day, Vick has pleaded guilty and as a result will go to prison for his crimes. The justifications and defenses need to stop. The people who defend him on the basis of culture are demeaning themselves in the process. Don't tell me about Leonard Little. As bad as drunken driving is, what Little did was still an accident - a horrible lapse of judgement under the influence of vodka from a party, but still an accident. Vick not only knew what he was doing, he actively and willingly participated and funded it for FOUR YEARS. Don't tell me about Ray Lewis, he was innocent. And don't tell me everybody who eats a steak or a piece of fried chicken is as guilty as Vick because the meat-processing industry in this country is as inhumane as Bad Newz Kennels. Spare us both these false comparisons and the righteous indignation about hunting being the same thing, and see Vick for what he is.
Unfortunately too many black leaders and athletes still do not. On Monday, Stephon Marbury of the New York Knicks was in Albany promoting his brand of affordable sneakers. He was asked about Michael Vick, and said, "We don't say anything about people shooting deers and shooting other animals, you know what I mean? From what I hear, dogfighting is a sport. It's just behind closed doors and I think it's tough that we build Michael Vick up and then we break him down ... I think he fell into a bad situation."
Vick didn't fall into a bad situation. He jumped in willingly with both feet. Get over it. And I'm not a racist for wanting him to go to prison for his actions. If this was Peyton Manning instead of Michael Vick, I'd want him in jail just as much.
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