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Talkback About Micheal Vick
On Saturday, I posted about Michael Vick’s first public speaking engagement as part of the Humane Society of the United States’ “team” of anti-dogfighting agents. I wanted to share some of the feedback with you that I got on the blog. Not one, but two people from HSUS came to defend their side of the picture, and other commenters were not happy. (I think this is a touchy issue.)
Anyhow, please see some of the comments below, then let me know how YOU feel in the Comments section.
From Samantha: “What insanity! I totally agree with you. HE should be the one demanding widespread publicity before he appears somewhere, especially in neighborhoods such as the one in Atlanta. That way, the public he needs to reach would be “allowed” to attend and hear what he has to say. One wonders if he’s truly been rehabilitated if the scores of folk who need to hear his message aren’t invited. Crazy.”
From Jan: “I think they are trying to avoid a media circus and to make sure Vick stays on task. He was well known for flipping off fans and the media in his playing days.”
From Carie at HSUS: “It wasn’t that the event was not well-attended. It was that it was heavily controlled. From the AJC: “The organization wanted to maintain a “controlled setting” and to avoid “Vick mania,” -Wayne Pacelle, HSUS President and CEO.
This is not about the media. It’s not about publicity. It’s about reaching one kid, one person prone to dogfighting, at a time.”
From Khyra’s Mom: “Time will tell how khontrite he really is…”
From Fui and Suey: “It just sounds weird to us. I get the ‘one person at a time’ theory, but then is a speech really the way to go about it?”
From Mia: “I agree with Fui and Suey. Yeah 1 kid at a time sounds nice, but is it realistic?? I dont think so… I think they need to bring in as many people as possible to these speaking engagements.”
From AnimalLuvr: “1 kid at at time is not what we need right now Carie. We need a massive overhaul of the dogfighting scene in inner cities, we dont have the time to go 1 kid at a time on this one. This is pointless. And irritating. HSUS was willing to take him on but then wants to avoid the media? WTF??”
From TrueAgendas: “re: “This is not about the media. It’s not about publicity…” ~ oh, please. HSUS gets negative publicity every time Vick is mentioned nowadays – but it’s still publicity. D&D/AD&D gamers, remember the initial controversy when the public thought kids were actually casting spells? Yep. That bad publicity drove sales through the ceiling. Publicity = more product/ideas sold = more $$$ in the coffers. At $100M+ in liquid income assets (2008), HSUS is all over that.”
From Sarah at HSUS: “I also work at the HSUS – First I would recommend that you visit http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2009/06/charity-navigator.html. To quote from the blog, Ken Berger, president and CEO of Charity Navigator, wrote in his letter to The HSUS, “Only 7% of the charities we rate have received at least 4 consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that The Humane Society of the United States consistently executes its mission in a fiscally responsible way, and outperforms most other charities in America.“ @Shelia As you probably know, the HSUS has a policy of recommending that all dogs seized from such operations be professionally evaluated to determine whether they are suitable candidates for adoption. Before you get upset – to address the NC case specifically, the HSUS has issued a statement on this, which states that fighting dogs confiscated in raids against organized dogfighting rings should be indivually evaluated before their future is determined. In the case of the dogs seized from professional dogfighter Ed Faron in North Carolina, the HSUS offered to pay for such an evaluation. North Carolina officials however, decided they were bound by state and county law to act as they did. Defining and advocating sensible policies for the humane treatment of animal victims of dogfighting is an important issue, and we are engaged in dialogue with a number of groups with a keen interest in that topic. We welcome the Combating the scourge of illegal dogfighting is a top priority of The HSUS, and should be a major concern of all animal-loving Americans. Debates within the humane movement are healthy and valuable – but no one should lose sight of the fact that dogfighters themselves are at the root of suffering that staggers the soul. A single dogfighting breeder like Faron could doom 1,000 dogs or more to bloodly, violent deaths each year in this criminal underground.
Imagine that….
Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra and Her Mom
1) … that all dogs be evaluated????? We seem to remember that HSUS said all Vick’s dogs should be killed. Now they’ve changed their tune and “forgotten.
2) We also remember that while HSUS wanted all the dogs killed, they were actively soliciting funds for the Vick dogs.
We lost respect for the HSUS over Vick’s dogs and now they’re using Vick to get more publicity … and more donations. Controversy keeps their name before the public.
I’m unsure what to think. I guess like Khyra said, time will tell. If they can use Vick, rather than allowing themselves to be used, this could work out to be a great tactic. I do hope they’ve learned a lot from all the amazing work groups like Bad Rap did in getting the dogs a good life.
I wish all orphan animals had lavish homes, food, bank accounts and transportation like all the executives of HSUS have.
Vick is a whaciko and I would never trust HSUS. JUST LIKE PETA DID, THEY RAN A FLIPPING FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN for the Vick dogs eventhough they recommended the dogs be KILLED. Thank God for places like Best Friends Animal Sanctuary but ever since that little episode I have not trusted HSUS. And now that they took Vick on, I lost even more respect for them, Shame on HSUS.
Mia
I agree Michael Vic should never be allowed to play professional sports again, and the fact that the NFL have reinstated him is sad. The things he personally did to those dogs and unforgivable. Ask the dogs how they feel and I am sure they would have a lot to say it they could. But then again they are pit bulls and just love people so they would want us to help him. Not. Pit bulls are banned in Ontario Canada and it incidents from idiots like Vic that make people afraid of them