Reply #85: Before I heard

[H2O Man]

from this young man, I had a very, very low opinion of Michael Vick. I have a strong dislike for people who abuse/kill other people or animals.

Ecclesiastes 3:18-21 speaks to the foolish belief that humans are of superior value to other animals. In my culture, for example, dogs are recognized as "Dog People." This summer, two of my little nephews were visiting our home, and the older one -- about 7 years old -- killed a frog at my pond. I explained to him that this is unacceptable, that the pond is the home of the Frog People. This concept confused him. His father (my wife's brother) is a right-wing banker, who fancies himself as a christian, though I doubt he has read Ecclesiastes. I didn't blame the little boy for his cruelty; his parents have not taught him right.

Michael Vick was not a little kid, when he tortured those dogs. And I do not care if he was raised in a sub-culture that enjoys torturing animals. He was 100% responsible for his brutal, inhumanr behaviors.

Yet another aspect of my culture is that even very bad people can change. That change requires conscious thinking, for one cannot possible advance their level of consciousness, unconsciously. The things that I learned about Vick were things that he spoke about when he was not under the spotlight of media attention. Anyone can lie in front of a camera: even a creep like Richard Nixon did. But I am convinced now that Michael Vick has made the conscious effort to change.