Metal Lungies

Chances are you were born yesterday if you thought that Michael Vick’s indictment on charges of dogfighting was not going to turn into a race issue sooner or later. And if that is the case, then don’t feel bad, young’n — your reading level is impeccable considering that you exited your mother’s womb a mere 24 hours ago.

Yahoo!’s Dan Wetzel illustrates the scene outside of the courthouse where Vick pled not guilty to the charges against him last week — on one side, an overwhelmingly-white crowd suggesting Vick “burn in hell” and “die like those dogs,” and using language much more colorful than that (certainly not what our readers who were born yesterday should be reading). And, on the other side, an overwhelmingly-black crowd defending Vick’s Constitutional right to be considered “innocent until proven guilty,” and choosing not to vilify a man whose “day in court” (by that I mean his trial, not his arraignment) has yet to arrive.

I doubt that I’m shocking anybody by saying that black people and white people don’t see eye to eye on plenty of issues. Of course, I’m speaking quite stereotypically here, but that’s because, for the most part, stereotypes are rather truthful. If I had the time to, I would speak upon every single exception to every stereotype that exists, but since I can’t, I’ll just apologize in advance to all Asians with poor math skills, all white people who don’t walk holding their butts tight, and all black men with less-than-average-sized penises (nh). Moving on…

Expect many comparisons to be made in the coming weeks to O.J. Simpson’s “Trial of the Century”, in the sense that the alleged criminal is a black, male football player, and that the country’s racial make-up (at least, as represented outside of the Atlanta courthouse) will likely remain divided over whether Vick should “burn in hell” now or if/when he’s found guilty. However, the big difference between Vick’s and Simpson’s respective cases is that race didn’t play a role in just the public’s perception of the Simpson case, but also in the outcome of the case. Simpson’s acquittal struck a nerve amongst so many white people because a (*ahem*black*ahem*) man, who seemed oh-so-guilty, got off with no reprocussion — at least, up until the civil trial — for the murders of two innocent (*ahem*white*ahem*) people, thanks in large part to a masterfully-shrewd attorney (R.I.P. Johnnie Cochran) and a racist cop (R.I.P. Mark Furhman… oh wait, he’s not dead? Can someone fix that?). Meanwhile, Simpson’s acquittal was reason for rejoice amongst so many black people because, so often in the past, the system has worked in the opposite fashion for the black male defendant — without turning this post into a case study on racial injustice, I’ll mention the names of Emmitt Till and Mumia Abu Jamal, and the case of McCleskey v. Kemp (which produced the Baldus study, which uncovered possible racial implications in the administration of the death penalty) as prominent examples.

The victims of the actions allegedly done by Vick are — newsflash! — dogs, not humans. On the surface, you might say, “So what? A human life is worth much more than a dog’s life!”; and, considering that we humans run shit (at least in comparison to the world’s dog population), you’d be right. However, the lack of a human victim in Vick’s case also eliminates a lot of the issues that were present in the case of, and ultimately helped acquit, O.J. Simpson. For example…

• The race of the defendant isn’t really an issue in Vick’s case — ask yourself, would a white defendant facing similar charges be sent through the judicial system any differently than Vick?

• The race of the victims isn’t an issue, either — shit, dogs don’t even have races. (Canines, such simple creatures.)

• And then there’s the ethics surrounding the circumstances of the case — the Simpson murders were a senseless act of violence seemingly motivated by spur-of-the-moment rage (not trying to say that O.J. is guilty… just trying to imply it), while the allegations against Vick are motivated by financial gain. Those dead dogs that were found on Vick’s property ended up that way because it was cost-effective.

I’m not trying to stamp “GUILTY” on Michael Vick’s forehead here — I mean, I did use the word “alleged” about, what, 10 times? The fact that there are race issues involved here is apparent, but those issues are more than likely going to remain on the sidewalk, outside of the courthouse, where people will march in circles and chant their feelings about Vick. All I’m saying is that race will NOT decide Michael Vick’s fate — whether or not he’s guilty will. Or if one of his co-defendants cops a plea (which may already be happening), then that’ll decide Vick’s fate. Or Vick’s money may decide it — that’s always a possibility.