The Vick School of Journalism
This will be a short blog. Just about everything has been said about Michael Vick's indictment on dog fighting charges, but not much has been said about the politicians and journalists who have come out and suddenly realized that dog fighting exists and, gee, isn't it horrible, and wow, those poor dogs were victims of such a sick man.
It is an unfortunate testatment to society that it takes a celebrity to get the media and politicians to care about something that has been happening for well over a century in this country (and longer in other countries). Dog advocates and Pit Bull lovers have been saying all along that Pit Bulls are victims of sick human beings that raise and breed them (and other dogs) for vicious so-called "sport." Whenever Breed Specific Legislation raises its ugly head and politicians decide to villify dogs, the truly educated have pointed out that PEOPLE are at the root of almost every dog problem our society places, and the only way to truly target the problem is to target people.
But Michael Vick got indicted, and suddenly even Nancy Grace, who once villified a six-week old puppy that was mistakenly identified as having chewed off an infant's toes (the ferret did it!), is jumping on the "those poor dogs" bandwagon. Politicians are making speeches about the evils of dog fighters. The media is doing stories on how Pit Bulls, once America's sweetheart, has been victimized by evil people who torture them, make them fight to the death, and kill them in a variety of painful ways when they lose fights.
I can only hope that, sometime very soon, a celebrity joins the military, is stationed overseas, and has to send his or her faithful canine companion to a shelter. Maybe then, the media will focus its lense on that problem.