Quote:
Originally Posted by Southpaw
I don't care what Portis says. I'm pretty sure he's allowed to say whatever he wants in the United States of America where the Bill of Rights allows him that freedom. Does that mean that if a future "role model" makes a similar comment my future children will start promoting dog fights? If it does, that would be more a reflection on me as a parent than the person that said it. I try to blame my problems on what a celebrity says, or what's on TV, or any of the random garbage that the media tries to pass off as "news.
And you're correct. My attitude is the reason crime rates go up. That's a logical statement...
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You're absolutely right, he can say whatever he wants. And the First Amendment allows us to talk about how incredibly stupid it is for him to make the statements that he made.
My problem is specifically with the "mind your own business" attitude. The precise reason society doesn't "mind its own business" when it comes to the commission of crimes is that doing so results in anarchy. To defend Vick by saying there is nothing wrong with what he's doing if he's on his own property committing felonies is absurd. To justify the behavior as somehow ok because you don't agree with the law and because the boys in your hood growing up all used to do it is even more ridiculous. That logic would have us letting criminals off the hook or "justifying" their behavior soley based on their life experiences. Not only would that be a completely inequitable result (presumably, I'd somehow be more culpable than Vick because I didn't grow up in a slum that had a bunch of degenerates promoting dog fighting), but it is also the very attitude that perpetuates continued commission of the same crimes from one generation to the next. If you can't see that connection, then I'm at a loss. I really don't know how to make it any clearer to you.