Comment on Michael Vick and the disconnect between black and white on animal/human issues

This was true, so I had to post it:

Sam Smith Says: September 28, 2007 at 1:13 am e The people you’re quoting - I’m one of them and I know the others - are appalled by dogfighting, whether it’s by a white or a black. Period. We’re also committed heart and soul to the eradication of racism, and to put our writing, taken wholly out of context, into a situation where it can be inferred that we’re somehow more concerned with a black man killing a dog than a white man killing a black, is indefensible. You’ve read Russ, you’ve read Jim (who was railing about Jena months before anybody else could be bothered to care) and you’ve read me.

Are there whites out there who deserve this? Sure. But to put our words into service of that argument is … I don’t know. You’re above that.

You’re right Sam: I AM above that. I’m putting into practice something I read about a Chinese proverb:

Let us draw closer to the fire, so we can see what is being said.

Of course I do not intend to take your stand, or anyone else affiliated with Scholars and Rogues out of context. If you think whole heartedly that I should take it down completely, I will. It was an attempt to try to communicate how some of the racial barriers in our society are inferred, drawn and interpreted, in addition to how we all in some respects are products of our environment.

I am against racism, and I need all the help I can get, but I also think color blindness does not mean blindness.

I’m at your disposal.

skepticalbrotha Says:
September 28, 2007 at 2:29 am

Sam,

I think I understand what newg is trying to say. For example, Mary Winkler, the preacher’s wife who shot her husband to death, served a short sentence of less than a year for the murder of her husband, a human being. What Michael Vick is facing for torturing and murdering fight dogs is much greater.

There are many women in similar situations doing serious time for the murder of spouses and boyfriends who abused them regularly, why should Winkler get off relatively scot free? It makes little sense-unless the dynamic of race and white privilege is seriously grappled with.

Sam Smith Says:
September 28, 2007 at 3:10 am

1: Thank you to newg for acknowledging my complaint. We’re on the same side in this.

2: skepticalbrotha: I get fully the point he’s driving at. The issue is that my words, and those of my colleagues, were being used in a way made it seem like we condone our society’s refusal to take racism seriously. Nothing could be further from the truth. Am I disgusted by Mike Vick? You bet your sweet ass, and I hope the subhuman fuck rots in jail.

BUT, this is also true of everybody else who trades in dogfighting. I’ll be just as nasty about Peyton Manning if they bust him on the same charges - and you can hold me to it. I’m a serious animal lover, and this is a subject I feel REALLY committed on (as I’m sure you’ve guessed).

But does this mean that I’m not concerned about what has been done to black Americans throughout our history (up to and including the present day, where the Jena 6 case makes clear how far we have left to go)? No. To the hypothetical black child newg mentions in his original post I’d say “sadly, there are places in this country where the life of a black person is seen as less than that of a white.”

Take my hand, brothers, and do not let go until this is no longer true.

thenewg Says:
September 28, 2007 at 3:14 am

Sam is correct skeptical.

One of the things I have found is that it is so hard to communicate what it is like from the other side. I know how easy it is for those whose eyes have not been opened as wide as ours to see reality from a perspective that perpetuates hate. What I did was wrong.

Sam Smith Says:
September 28, 2007 at 4:01 pm

What’s important is that we know we’re on the same side in this. There’s a song on Solomon Burke’s fantastic 2002 CD called “None of Us Are Free.” The lyric says that none of us are free so long as one of us is in chains.

I have no interest in being part of a system that accepts inequity. I’m a big fan of a level playing field. I try to do what I can to move us in that direction, if only a little, and respect others who do the same.

Frankie Says:
September 28, 2007 at 7:49 pm

Nike steroid dopers are a dime a dozen.

Lance Phamrstrong
Baroid Bonds
Jason Giambi
Marion Jones
Tim Montgomery
CJ Hunter
Justin Gatlin
Kelli White
Regina Jacobs
Michelle Collins
Tori Edwards
LaTasha Jenkins
Mike Vick
Kobe Bryant