Being that I am such a huge sports fan and one of my favorite players is Michael Vick (hey, the brother plays for the home team so of course I am going to root for him), I've been trying to stay out of the debate concerning this dogfighting debacle this brother finds himself in. Trust me I really tried to stay neutral on this situation and wait to see what the court outcome was going to be, but after some time I realize I was not going to be able to remain quiet. I was going to have to say something on this topic no matter how much I tried to resist. So here I present to you my Going Off piece about Michael Vick and mainstream media. Don't get me wrong this is not a Pro-Vick essay, but rather a pro-justice one.
The Fifth Amendment
"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."
Source: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment05/
Now you may be wondering why I am starting this piece off with the fifth amendment; the answer is really simple. In this country, we don't seem to realize that the fifth amendment actual exists. That a person deserves due process before guilt can be issued might seem a little far fetch to a lot of people. A person is supposed to be presumed innocent until guilt has been proven, but that appears to be the opposite in this country. Once the mainstream media has declared you guilty you are automatically guilty. Please don't get me wrong I not saying whether or not Vick is innocent or guilty, but I do think that brother deserves his day in court just like any other American. We have to stop trying people in the court of public opinion because if that person is found innocent in the judicial system it's too late because the damage has been done. A lot of people don't come back from damage like that. Is it fair to destroy Vick's career just because he is rich, and you think that rich people should be held more accountable than other people. The answer is no. The one thing I have learned is that you can't be angry at people for being rich (even if they did not earn the money and they received it from mommie and daddy). You have to look at these people outside of their money because at the end of the day they are people too, and they deserve to be treated fairly. I know the system might not be fair, but it is the only system we have in this country.
Kobe Bryant received more favorable treatment when he was going through his ordeal than what Michael Vick is receiving now and he was accused of raping a woman. I bet you can't recall a U.S. senator writing a letter to David Stern (NBA commissioner) telling them him that Kobe needed to be suspended or removed from the team like John Kerry did concerning Michael Vick. I bet you can't even recall Kobe Bryant missing any games during his entire trial. Now isn't that interesting.
Here in Pittsburgh a reporter was fired from his job because he said that perhaps Michael Vick would have been better off raping a woman than being involved in dogfighting because of the way he is being treated. Now this reporter was fired because his analogy was deemed offensive, but I don't think it was offensive. What's offensive to me is the fact that his words are true. Where were the outrage and protesting when Kobe was accused of rape. Oh I know, they had automatically assumed the woman was a whore and some sort of temptress so Kobe had to have been the victim in that case and not the woman. I keep forgetting we live in a society where women are so expendable, silly me.
So in closing I just want to say that that brother deserves his day in court just like anyone else. If he is guilty for what he is being accused of then yes he deserves to go to jail, but if he is innocent are people going to make public apologies to him for potentially destroying his life.
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