Michael Vick And Moving On

As much as I've disliked the fact that the Eagles were the team to give Michael Vick his second chance after he got out of jail for his dog-fighting activities, and as much as I've had a nagging bit of discomfort as this season has progressed -- with Vick taking over the starting quarterback job and excelling, culminating in that utterly ridiculous performance on Monday night in Washington -- I'm starting to let that discomfort go.

There are always people who want to endlessly debate everything. In Vick's case it goes like this: should he have spent more time in jail? Was he punished too severely, either by the NFL or the justice system, compared to people like Donte Stallworth and Ben Roethlisberger? Is he really sincere in reforming his life? Is he going to become the same douchebag he was before, as soon as he gets his new big-money contract after the season (which he will, from the Eagles or someone else)?

That's fine, but, just like so much else in this country, there isn't a real discussion of an issue. There are just people screaming stupidity, like the caller to WIP calling Vick "sub-human" that I mentioned the other day.

Today I saw a post that was in my Twitter feed from someone named Sophia Bush.
The post was retweeted by @visitphilly, the Twitter account for the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation:

The link referred to the Eagles' plans to add wind turbines, solar panels and a power plant that runs on biodiesel and natural gas to Lincoln Financial Field, making it "the greenest stadium in the world" as it will completely generate all the power used in the stadium.

I had no idea who Sophia Bush was, so I looked at her Twitter account, which didn't help. (Wikipedia later informed me that she's on the TV show "One Tree Hill.") But while I was there, I also found this followup (which @visitphilly did not retweet):

Fine. But when is enough enough? He didn't kill or maim any human beings, but Vick committed some serious crimes. But he went to jail for over a year and a half, lost many millions in forfeited salary and bonuses, had to file for bankruptcy, and became an object of laughter and scorn. He says he's sorry and is doing things to make amends. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is happy with how he turned his life around and let him back into the league. The Eagles gave him the second chance to play and he's more than made the most of it this season.

I'm not saying I think everyone should forgive and forget. I can't do either. But at the same time, I don't care if he earns a living in the NFL. It's ridiculous to say he shouldn't be able to make money by doing what he does best. It's not like giving a child molester a job in a day-care center after getting out of jail. I'm still uneasy about him being an Eagle, and that probably won't go away, but as long as he doesn't break any more laws I think people should worry about other issues.

After all, he's just a football player. I can't help but wonder: at some point shouldn't people move on from what he did in the past and focus that same venom on what those in government, industry, the media, etc. are doing right now? They're doing so much more damage to our society, our kids, our economy, our civil rights and the like than anything Michael Vick ever did, and they're getting away with it.