Mistakes

In today's blotter, I read about a college student who drove his car down an embankment and crashed. When asked about the accident, he explained that he was turning around and "accidentally" hit the accelerator when he should have hit the brake. No one was hurt and this fellow's insurance company will certainly appreciate his more generous monthly contributions. Honest mistake. Could happen to any of us, I suppose.

This story comes on the heels of continuing coverage of Atlanta quarterback, Michael Vick's involvement in a dog-fighting ring. Yesterday's story included a picture of a young boy holding a sign that read, "Everybody makes mistakes." True. But what exactly was Michael Vick's mistake? Transforming Virginia farmland into a chamber of horrors? Turning perfectly healthy and potentially friendly dogs into vicious killers purely for profit? Callously drowining dogs who didn't perform up to his standards? Denying his involvement while continuing to rake in fistfuls of cash from the Atlanta Falcons?

According to Michael Vick, his mistake was getting involved in criminal activity, and he's sorry. I don't think it counts if you deny your "mistake" until your "business associates" turn you in. If he's honest, I think Vick would say that his biggest mistake was choosing to get involved with this particular group of "business associates" - associates who can't hide their criminal activities and then squeal like little girls when they're nabbed.

One of Vick's attorneys has asked that we all reserve harsh criticism because Vick is beating himself up enough about this. The attorney asked that we all remember that Vick is a father, not just a football player. In other words, we should show Vick's family more respect than he has. I hope his young son has some serious questions about why his father chose to squander his future on this "mistake."

If we're making a list of the people who made mistakes in all of this, I think the Atlanta Falcons organization deserves top honors. Seems Vick's contract is so airtight that even a felony conviction doesn't absolve the Falcons of their obligations. Vick is suspended, but not terminated. Something about if he's terminated, he gets to keep all the signing bonuses and whatever else the Falcons wooed him with. May we all find such generous employers.

Next on the list would be the people who suggest that this whole affair has anything to do with race. It doesn't. It has everything to do with greed, cruelty, brutality and callous disregard for life. To hide behind race is cowardly and it's stupid. Characterizing dog-fighting as a cultural pastime puts you on a very slippery slope. In the late 19th - early 20th century, white supremacists made the same argument about lynching, a crime that actually had everything to do with race. I don't care how bad-ass you are, you don't want to keep company with white supremacists.

In the end, "mistake" seems terribly inadequate to describe Vick's actions. "Mistake" implies that it can all be erased with a simple, "oops, my bad. Do over." No, "mistake" might describe the college student's trip into the embankment, but it doesn't cut it when over 50 dogs will pay the ultimate price for Vick's decisions.