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jadakiss album kiss of death, michael vick, michael vick and dogfighting, michael vick convicted, why jadakiss song why
by vivrant thang on makes me wanna holler and the daily news
All that Ive been givin’
Is this pain that I’ve been living
They got me in the system
So why they gotta do me like that
Tried to make it my way
But got sent on up the highway
Why, oh why
Why they gotta do me like that
Micheal Vick is probably bumping this in his cell right now, along with this throwback.
So he gets twenty-three months (or a little less with good behavior) to sit and think about how he has gone from once being the highest paid player in the NFL to a “disgrace.”
Ya’ll already know, unlike most black folks, I take the hard line with these celebs and athletes. I have no sympathy for them at all. Michael Vick was priviliged to make it to the NFL – and play quarterback at that! Black quarterbacks have a much harder road to travel unlike the Tony Romos and Tom Bradys of the league. Entire books have been devoted to the subject (notice Michael’s name in the title).
Of course it’s not fair. We all know this. However, it’s still a privilege for him to play in the league and make millions. Therein lies his inherent responsibility to abide by a different set of rules. When he was called #1 on draft day and signed that monster contract, there are certain things he needed to leave behind. A certain type of lifestyle and associations that he should have dropped right then and there.
Sure, that’s easier said than done. It still needed to be done and Michael failed to do so. In fact, he used that contract money to finance illegal activities. That just can’t be ignored.
A lot of people [read: black people] are calling the sentence excessive. It probably is. Actually, he could have gotten up to five years so he should consider himself lucky. However, if he hadn’t been down with that “stop snitching” bs, he may have avoided this all together. He could have cooperated early, showed extreme remorse, and could have probably gotten off with probation and some fines. Basically a slap on the wrist.
Again, maybe that’s easier said than done.
Not for his boys though.
When facing a long sentence in the slammer, they started singing like canaries and left Michael holding the bag. So then he tried to tap dance and lie about his involvement after promising to be come clean, thinking he can beat the lie detector test. Of course the judge is going to throw the book at your black ass! He should have just accepted responsibility then and there, like a MAN, and he might gotten the same sentence as his “boys.”
Instead, he tried to be slick. Now look at him.
Dude, you can’t go around killing these animals! I hate to say it, but it might have been better if he had raped somebody. These PETA folks get RAW over the treatment of animals. They care more about Fido’s well-being than they care about human lives.
We all know that dogfighting is a criminal offense. Michael Vick knew that dogfighting was a criminal offense.. So, tell me how did he think he could get away with simultaneously being the HNIC of an illegal dog fighting ring called Bad Newz Kennels (ignorant) and a quarterback in the NFL? HOW? Did he really think no one would ever find out about that mess? That’s just it. He didn’t think. Now, he’ll have plenty of time for that.
I know I keep going back to this, but he was blessed to a natural talent. He was at the top of his game and had very lucrative endorsements with some of the top brands. Yet, he still felt the need to have a little criminal activity going on the side with Purnell aka “P-Funk” and them. (As we’ve seen, nothing good comes out of messing with anybody named Purnell.)
My thing is, they don’t want his black ass having all those millions anyway. They are always rubbing their hands together in anticipation of a screw-up. So why give them the ammunition? Keep your nose clean and let them hate. Michael didn’t make the right choice and I think he needs that time away to think about the mess he’s made of his life.
You know who I have sympathy for – his mother, who sat in that courtroom yesterday, weeping, and probably wondering how she could have raised two sons with so much talent that managed to screw up their lives. I am sympathetic towards all the people he was helping in the community and through his foundation because his finances are in ruins, a situation from which he may never recover. I particularly think about the young men from the same streets he grew up in, who looked at him and saw a dream realized. Now they see a horrible nightmare. What message does this send to them?
You know what they say. Once you’ve hit rock bottom, the only place to go is up. God don’t like ugly and He will take you down. However, He’s also forgiving so once he gets out, let’s see what happens.
I just hope we see a much wiser Micheal Vick emerge from that cell in 2009.
Update 12/13: I just may have to rethink some of this after seeing that one of the search terms someone entered that led them to my post was “vick stupid nigger.” Doesn’t surprise me, but it doesn’t sit well with me at all.
Update 12/15: Nah, I’m not re-thinking a thing. Mo Kelly reminded me that Vick’s associates in this “enterprise” was drug dealers and that’s how the feds happened to stumble onto all of this. I had forgotten about that. I stand by everything I said here. Can we say “personal accountability?”
Dude I like what I read. I agree whole heartidly with you. Michael had it all. I will say this though, walking away from a bad past is not hard. I did it and I have no regrets what so ever. I hope this is an eyeopener to all the kids from the streets that make it big that the past is just that….the past.
Val, thanks for stopping by and glad you like what you read!
You are certainly to commended for getting your life right and we can only hope Michael does the same. We all make mistakes and we have to pay for them. Let’s just hope he learns his lesson from all this and never looks back.
Dogfighting may be a criminal offense but it was a MISDEMEANOR until 6 days AFTER they indicted Vick and his boys.
“Not fair” doesn’t even begin to describe the situation. Pretty much EVERYBODY who has been convicted of dogfighting was given a fine, probation and sent their asses home.
This isn’t about Vick being stupid, no one denies that, but it’s about a criminal justice system run amok…one that likes to remind us minorities that regardless of how much money u make…you still a Nigger.
Arguing that Vick was stupid so he deserved what he got is like the folk who argue that because the Jena Six boys were on their MySpace page flashing money that they deserved their 2nd degree murder charges and that folk shouldn’t have helped them.
Black folk routinely can’t see the forest for the trees.
JJ, first, thanks for stopping by.
If you come back, I’m just curious to know what you think his sentence should have been – if anything?
While I appreciate your opinion and don’t necessarily disagree with you on most points you made, I just can’t get with your comparison of Micheal Vick’s situation with the Jena Six. My whole argument here is that I personally don’t feel any sympathy for Micheal Vick because he willfully put himself in this situation and threw a WHOLE lot of blessings down the toilet because of some foolishness. He made a CHOICE to fund Bad Newz Kennels with his NFL paychecks. It wasn’t the right choice and he should have to pay for that. It probably wouldn’t have been twenty-three months if he hadn’t tried to be slick with it. He should have come clean, paid his fines, and kept it moving. He should know by now after being in the league for 6 years that they pray and pray for his downfall. Again, why make it easy for them? Keep your nose clean and you won’t have to deal with the criminal justice system, which I agree has run amok. (barring being wrongfully accused of something of course).
Those Jena Six boys were defending themselves. TOTALLY different situation to me. Same justice system, but I don’t think Micheal Vick and those boys should be uttered in the same breath. They were defending themselves….not out there fighting for no reason and then going home to their multimillion dollar mansions.
I know my opinion isn’t a popular one. Oh well. My own Momma even vehemenently disagrees with me. However, she also thinks R Kelly is getting a raw deal…as most black people do. We support our people to a fault, which is not always a good thing. I guess if we don’t do it, who will?
I checked out your blog and you definitely have a lot of real talk over there. I love interacting with people that are passionate about something. I will definitely be checking you out.
Again, I really appreciate your opinion.
VT! (I hope it’s alright to call you that; if it isn’t I’m sure you won’t be shy about letting me know! {smile}).
Excellent post and thoughts on the Michael Vick saga. I agree with you about the feelings of sympathy, bad choices usually end up making for equally bad consequences. However, I also agree with JJ in feeling that the sentence handed down was excessive (12-15 months is more along the lines of what I thought would have been fair).
During this whole situation I have often wondered what all of the media coverage, outrage and sentencing would have been (all other things being the same) if the name was Brett Farve or Tony Romo instead of Michael Vick. In any case, while I agree that there were bad choices made by the individuals involved and illegal activities committed, I also feel that “Just-Us” wasn’t blind in this case either.
T, Haha! VT is alright with me 🙂
Thank you for stopping by with your thoughts. And I hope it’s clear that I don’t disagree at ALL with either you or JJ. I definitely think it was excessive because he is a black man. They would have spun it to death had Tony been caught dogfighting. Oh, he was stressed from carrying the Cowgirls on his shoulders and needed a hobby. LOL! So no, you can’t deny that. My argument again is that I’m extremely disappointed with Vick for willfully putting himself in this position. He KNOWS they have no love for his black tail. Why even get involved in that mess?! I’m working on it, but I guess I just have little to no patience with people like him and TI who were blessed to have it all and just throw themselves into the hands of the white man who welcome them with open arms. Leave that mess ALONE! You’ve made good, now stay good!
I’m more frustrated with Vick because I LOVE football and chose my team (Eagles) in part because of McNabb and the honor he has brought to the position. Here goes Vick casting a dark cloud on the position. Anyway, I’m getting way off topic here 🙂
Thanks again for your thoughts!
Hi,
I’m not comparing the situations of Vick and the Jena Six boys…I’m comparing the overzealousness of the criminal justice system when it comes to Black folk.
Example: A couple of years back Peyton Manning was accused with raping the woman. Outside of Indy the news barely broke anywhere else. Eventually Peyton Manning settled with the woman for half a million dollars…but once again practically no one..NO ONE picked up the story..no round the clock coverage on ESPN, MSNBC, CNN…no where.
Farvre used to show up to GAME DAY drunk as a skunk. His alcoholism is legendary…once again no major cover of this by the mainstream media. I could go on and on about other top notch white athletes who have MAJOR indiscretions….some illegal and they are NEVER addressed.
Should Vick have been punished…yes. Should he spend two years in Federal prison for breeding dogs to fight and then fighting them…NO. And believe me had it been Brady, Rotheslberger and yes Manning (hell even Eli Manning) we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
It’s not enough to recognize a double standard. At some point you have to say enough is enough and not be willing to tolerate injustice (and yes VIck being Federal prison for dogfighting counts as injustice) in any form…EVEN when the poster child is hardly what one might call ideal.
The man doesn’t deserve to lose his freedom and career over dogfighting. Child molestors and rapists don’t get two years in federal prison. Forest for the trees. Forest fr the trees.
R. Kelly is a pedophile and our community is too quick to dismiss bad male behavior and list all girls as Fast and Grown…don’t worry…yo dont have to worry about me support “Kells” in any way.
His ass needs to be locked up somewhere…immediately.
The system sucks, for everyone. And I’ll go ahead and add……ESPECIALLY for black people.
Our – *ahem* – best bet is to just stay the hell outta the system altogether. Thats the point that I would rather argue. I think that’s what Vivrant is getting at.
We need to stop the “injustice” before it starts. Stop doing things and involving yourself in illegal matters that could get you caught up (if you can help it). And in Vicks case……he CERTAINLY could have helped it.
Is 2 years in prison too much for dog fighting? I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not. Depends on who you ask.
Is 2 years in prison too much for a person innocent of the crime they were convicted? I think we ALL can agree – HELL YES! Thats the injustice I’m more concerned with. Sure the punishment should match the crime, but how bout you just don’t commit the crime? Then you don’t even have to worry about it (at least, you shouldn’t have to).
Yes, B. That’s what I’ve been trying to get at indeed. I’m just trying to look at this from a different perspective…calling on these celebs to get their shit together and stop thinking they are above the law because they’ve “made it.” They will snatch your ass right back down and be happy about it.
Now today I read that Vick has written a letter to the judge pleading for leniency. The judge will likely respond with two words, “N****r please.” I really hate that he has to beg for his freedom like that. Conjures up too many bad images.
He will likely have to spend the max time in jail (with early release for good behavior) thinking about how he made his mother sob in that courtroom for nothing. I do think he will come out a changed man.
LOL @ the judge’s response. I might’ve laughed a lil too hard.
Yeah, changed he will be. No doubt about that!
You KNOW that’s what the judge said under his breath…or out loud!
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