Whoppi Goldberg's opinion on Micheal Vick: does saying dogfighting is acceptable in the south make racism ok?

Question

I mean, come on! Dogfighting is WRONG - just because it is 'part of his culture' doesn't make it any more ok than racism, sexism, etc. In fact, it is way worse - Abusing animals isn't like words that hurt, it is physical pain perpetuated against a living thing we, as humans, have domesticated to the point that WE should be a caretaker, provider and nuturer to them - & have no right to torture and abuse them. What do you think she was thinking? I am so disapointed in her now.

Answer 1

She was talking about culture. It's like rooster fighting in Mexico. It is their culture. They have no "evil" mores concerning the subject. You do realize that people in India think we are barbaric for eating cows? It is culture. That was her point about Vick. He doesn't feel guilty because it was never part of his moral system to feel badly about this. It was common as he grew up. That doesn't make it right, but it explains why he doesn't feel guilty. Mores are cultural norms. This was just a normal part of his culture. That doesn't make it right or good, but it's the way it is. It explains it.

Answer 2

a similar question regarding this replaced into asked on yet another communicate board. i will save it sluggish and concept and replica and paste the reaction that i've got supply: I stay interior the South additionally and he or she's superb. dogs combating is a situation and something that has been prevented and ignored. human beings tend to seem any opposite direction, while they should no longer. it is unhappy that extremely of being outraged, she tried to downplay the excellent situation via curiously making gentle of it. "he's from the South the place dogs combating isn't that unusual." that's a bloody, inhumane 'game' that needs to be highlighted for what that's. Too many serial killers, toddler molesters, spouse beaters, grew up torturing animals earlier they moved directly to better and greater advantageous 'careers'. i'm happy the Vick replaced into caught and doubtless this might instruct a lesson to those which additionally are in touch in this horrid scientific care of God's living creatures. There are not any excuses!

Answer 3

I have been a Southerner all my life, and I can vouch for the fact that we do participate in a lot of activities that are not shared world wide. But there are a lot of activities that we DO NOT participate in that people who have never been or much less lived in the south, claim to know what we do for entertainment and fun. When the South is mentioned in any sense, (books, movies, etc) it is portrayed as a place where there are either men sitting on a porch with a piece of hay in their mouth playing the banjo, or with women sitting on the porch of an Antebellum home with their umbrellas and hand held fans, gossiping and drinking sweet tea. While some areas of the south may do this, you don't see or hear anything about dog OR cock fighting. If I were being perfectly candid, I would have to admit that during the darkest, leanest years of the Civil War, some of the southern ancestors may have had to kill a dog or any animal for that matter to survive. Not to entertain. Just because we are Southerners, does not mean that we kill innocent dogs for fun. When someone is involved in dog fighting, whether they know about it, attend it, gamble on it, finance it or kill the dogs that don't fight well (all of what Michael Vick admitting to
doing) has nothing and I repeat NOTHING to do with what region of the world you were raised in. It has been said in Michael Vick's case that it is one of two things. Where he is from or what color his skin is. Well if that is the case, why wasn't Martin Luther King, Ray Charles, BB King, Warrick Dunn, Ludacris, Usher, Jermain Dupre, Robin Roberts, Gladys Knight and the list goes on and on, all the successful black southerners being INDICTED AND PLEAD GUILTY to dogfighting. That is the race angle. The southern angle, why has no one heard of Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ted Turner, Jimmie Carter, Jeff Foxworthy, Alan Jackson and that list can go on and on to. Because it is neither. It is a plain and simple case, he did it, he is guilty, he will pay for his crime. No one can say he did this because he was raised in the South OR because he is black and successful.

Answer 4

No way no how is dog fighting right, it is barbaric, cruel, inhumane, and pure and simple wrong. Does not say much for his culture, and it is an ignorant statement. If their culture needs violence let it be against each other and not an innocent animal. Let them get in a ring and fight. I have no idea what she was thinking I never liked her any way but now I like her even less. Things like that are so aggravating and so are people like that. Maybe Whoppi and Mike Vick should be the first to fight against one another to the death.

Answer 5

As some who has lived in the South their whole life, I'm disappointed that she said it's a "Southern culture" thing. I, by no means, find dogfighting or any animal fighting acceptable and no one I know in the South does find it alright!
I mean, I know in the poverty stricken areas there are some dogfighting (but this is in EVERY state, not just in the southern states). Of course, everyone pulls the "they arne't educated card"- that is just ridiculous. I know they don't have good school systems because it is a poverty stricken area, but they should have common sense and know it's against the law!
I'm also offended because Whoopi made it sound like the entire South does not have good school systems- I went to one of the best school systems in the United States and it's in the SOUTH. So thanks Whoopi, you are the stupid, uneducated one.

Answer 6

Well, if we use her logic, then yes, it's all ok.

But you know what - I just sent an email to the View stating just that. And I demanded that she be fired for her statements.

I wish everyone else would do the same.

Here's the link

http://abc.go.com/daytime/theview/ask


I love: I grew up in the South and I did work in West Virginia and no, dog fighting is not part of the culture, and even those that do it, know that it is wrong. So don't say it's part of the culture. The KKK is part of the culture for some folks in the south too, does that mean we let them do whatever it is that they want to do and say, oops, no big deal?

Answer 7

To anyone that thinks dog frighting is a sport like boxing. Their wrong the human boxer has a choice to fight or not, the dog has no choice in the matter: their thrown together they have no choice. And if one does not fight the humans kill it anyway. When was the last time someone killed a boxer for not winning or frighting. Those days went the way of Roman Empire as should dog frights. I hunt, fish, and had a pit bull for a pet as I was growing up, he was my best friend and to this day I know right were he is buried. In spirit I visit him from time to time, that is what a dream is! He never fraught any thing except for woodchucks in his life until he gave his life for mothers when someone try-ed to brake into the house while she was alone.

Answer 8

I doesn't surprise me at all. Black people can't possibly be racist can they? I think it done and finished Micheal Vick's going to be banned from professional sports forever, not only that he'll probably end up penniless and a convicted felon to boot. With any luck Micheal Vick will end up just another faceless poor dumb you know what.

By the way during the time of the Renaissance dog fighting was primarily a sport of the upper classes but it had wide appeal to the commoner too. Don't make it right but that the way is was.

Answer 9

That's what I was wondering! When you start saying Vick engages in dogfighting because it's a Southern thing (which it's not - my husband is Southern and his family does not accept dogfighting or do it), then it follows that it's okay for any white American to be racist since it was tradition (as in, it occurred and was accepted for a long period of time). Obviously not!!

I'm disappointed in her too. If you want to bet and watch fights, then get involved with boxing. Any sort of animal fighting involved forcing animals to fight, which is wrong.

Answer 10

You could ALMOST cut him some slack if he was a deep south guy who lived in the back woods and was clueless about what is legal and what isn't....but he was FAR from that. Saying that it was "part of his culture" because he is black and from the South could only have been said by another black person. If any white person sadi that is would be RACIST!!!!
He knew it was wrong, he just didn't expect to get caught and whe he did, he thought he could beat it because he was "famous".
The fact that Whoopi would even TRY to justify what he did makes me ill.

Maybe all the blacks should start paying RESTITUTION to all the dogs in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!