....am I condoning the abuse of women by anyone, but.... I believe the universal outrage about the dogfighting stems from the fact that animals are helpless and depend on their humans for all of their needs. Animal abuse strikes a chord with people because animals, to a large extent, can't fight back and can't speak up about the abuse.

Sports figures are forgiven for all sorts of abuse and violence perpetrated against other human beings no matter the gender. Charles Barkley once threw a man through a plate glass window and expressed his one regret to the judge: "I regret we weren't on a higher floor."

Please people, its not a contest to compare which violent act is worse. People were reporting animal abuse at the Vick property for years and then finally they got some results.

When people speak out in the defense of animals it has nothing to do with how they feel about abused wives, child abuse, or rape or sports figures who act violent. It is based on how they feel about animal abuse. Stop trying to rate which violent act is worse and start working towards a kinder and gentler world.

Betsy B

Shazzer4400 makes some good points. I’d like to add that animal behavior is nearly entirely a reflection of how the animal was treated. By which I mean a dog doesn’t choose to be vicious—it’s trained and/or abused to be that way.

Also, animals can’t lie. This isn’t a case of he said/he barked. There is but one perspective, one truth. Res ipsa loquitur, or “the thing speaks for itself.” The same cannot be said of man or woman.

But perhaps the most disturbing reason is that we think, sometimes, the woman (or man) was asking for it. Shouldn’t have been there, wearing that, at that hour, with those people, doing those things. We question the judgments and intentions of human beings because human beings are capable of such higher thought.

All this being said, I still find it disgusting that such outrage has been generated over this athlete’s admittedly horrible animal cruelty than over other athlete’s acts of domestic abuse, rape and murder.

The sad fact in this case may be that domestic abuse, and even rape, by athletes may be common enough as a news story that Vick stands out not because his actions were worse than what's gone on before, but because they were more unusual. That is, the public reads regularly about athletes as domestic abusers and doesn't have much to say about it, but rarely reads about an athlete who callously kills dogs, and treats it as the worse crime imaginable. The writers quoted who call Vick's actions equal to or worse than spousal assault are, I think, guilty of bad and exaggerated rhetoric as much as anything else, due to the weird nature of the crime.

Being the staunch Barry Bonds defender she is...

and children and animals are "innocent". Most people who have ever dealt with even seriously abused adults have their moments of you can't help someone who is in love with their problems, whatever they are.

He actually killed the dogs, that may be part of it. Perhaps if he hadn't we'd be hearing about how vicious the dogs were and how he was just "training" them.

It's like rape cases where the defendant says she consented. A disturbing number of people will dismiss it as a he said/she said thing (ignoring any medical evidence of vaginal tears etc.). Unless he kills her, in which case most people will agree that it was rape (not everyone and not in all cases, of course. Anyone else remember Jennifer Levin? No? Ok, nm).

So freaking what!

Some people EAT dogs!

And millions of americans eat cows, pigs, lambs, chickens etc etc.

In several asian countries, cock-fighting is a big sport--televised nationally.

So what is the big fricking deal about killing a few dogs.

Sheesh..

I know which one I like more...

particularly when he nuzzles his nose up against me...

ain't Asia.

One thing that no one mentioned is the fact that every quote about wife abuse came from a teammate, owner, or manager and that every quote regarding animal torture came from someone who was not affiliated with the abuser/torturer. Maybe this says more about the way owners and teammates view the actions of fellow players and less about views on specific incididences.

I'm sure that citizens, Senators, and founders of animal rights organizations are disgusted by wife abuse as much as they are by animal abuse. I bet it's pretty difficult to get a player or owner to say something negative about a teammate while he or she is still on the team.

The quiz is very poorly made.

How hypocrital Salon is: Your own editor Joan Walsh wrote the most idiotic article just last week gushing over Barry Bonds, the fucker who eats steroids and who beat his first wife until she got the guts to divorce the bastard. Guess what the judge asked Bonds after the proceedings? "Can I have your autograph?"

Salon, do you even read your own articles????????

Anonymous 1:24, it is extremely difficult to get a conviction on molestation of children. It is extremely difficult to get abused children taken away from their "owners" (parents). The first case of of child abuse prosecuted in the United States was prosecuted under animal cruelty acts because their were no adequate child abuse statutes.

If an animal is abused and this is proven, the animal will be taken away from the owner. If a child is abused and this is proven, the child will generally be put in foster care to be reunited with his or her parents -- sooner rather than later, by law. It is much more difficult to terminate an owner's -- I mean parent's -- rights than it is to protect an animal.

That said, people can be very weird. They will sometimes neglect a child to the point of ruining it and spoil a dog to the point of ruining it. I think this is because dogs cannot speak, so that people can project many positive emotions upon them. For instance a dog will never say, "But I don't like the Cheerios. I want the Frosted Flakes! -- and then burst into tears.

Besides, if a dog really annoys us we can just take it to the pound and give our neighbors some bullshit reason as to why it is gone. They might notice if gave our children away. We would invite social censure.

As to whether or not some men value dogs more than women, I think we are already seeing evidence to that effect.

Sooner there will people jumping in to say they value cats more than men. Once again, Broadsheet will rack up the responses.

Ah, well. Another day; another article.

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