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The dogfighter within us
Michael Vick, scapegoat
Maria Thompson Corley
The prospect of Michael Vick as the Philadelphia Eagles' starting quarterback alarms many football fans and animal rights activists alike. Why, they ask, should anyone convicted of an activity as repugnant as dogfighting get a second chance, even if he's paid his debt to society?
I hold no brief for Vick or for dogfighting— a cruel enterprise conducted solely to entertain the bloodthirsty. But I do offer an observation.
Sports like cockfighting and dogfighting have deep roots in certain communities in this country, just as bullfighting is widely honored and respected in Spain and Mexico.
For that matter, throughout history humankind has made a sport of watching the pain of others, human as well as animal. Roman slaves were put in the Coliseum to do battle with ravenous lions. Bear baiting was once a popular sport. The bulldog, as its name implies, was originally bred specifically to do battle with bulls.
Public hangings, guillotinings and stonings were long perceived as legitimate and even festive entertainments. More recently, lynchings were often combined with family picnics.
Today the spirit of these deadly public entertainments survives in slasher films and torture porn, which flourish because people keep paying to see them. Less gruesome, but to me still difficult to watch, is boxing.
And when you think about it, football itself is basically a controlled combat between two armies. At least part of its appeal stems from the human desire to watch others pummeled for our amusement.
To be sure, modern humans who batter each other in the boxing ring or on the football field are consenting adults, and often very well compensated adults. The same can't be said for the dogs that were ripped apart for Michael Vick's amusement.
On the other hand, if Michael Vick were an accountant, nobody would object to his resuming his profession after serving his jail term for dogfighting. Football fans object to Vick's pursuing his chosen trade— professional football— because his continuing presence reminds them, however subconsciously, that to some degree we're all guilty of glorifying senseless brutality.♦
To read responses, click here.
I hold no brief for Vick or for dogfighting— a cruel enterprise conducted solely to entertain the bloodthirsty. But I do offer an observation.
Sports like cockfighting and dogfighting have deep roots in certain communities in this country, just as bullfighting is widely honored and respected in Spain and Mexico.
For that matter, throughout history humankind has made a sport of watching the pain of others, human as well as animal. Roman slaves were put in the Coliseum to do battle with ravenous lions. Bear baiting was once a popular sport. The bulldog, as its name implies, was originally bred specifically to do battle with bulls.
Public hangings, guillotinings and stonings were long perceived as legitimate and even festive entertainments. More recently, lynchings were often combined with family picnics.
Today the spirit of these deadly public entertainments survives in slasher films and torture porn, which flourish because people keep paying to see them. Less gruesome, but to me still difficult to watch, is boxing.
And when you think about it, football itself is basically a controlled combat between two armies. At least part of its appeal stems from the human desire to watch others pummeled for our amusement.
To be sure, modern humans who batter each other in the boxing ring or on the football field are consenting adults, and often very well compensated adults. The same can't be said for the dogs that were ripped apart for Michael Vick's amusement.
On the other hand, if Michael Vick were an accountant, nobody would object to his resuming his profession after serving his jail term for dogfighting. Football fans object to Vick's pursuing his chosen trade— professional football— because his continuing presence reminds them, however subconsciously, that to some degree we're all guilty of glorifying senseless brutality.♦
To read responses, click here.
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