As the details unfold in the Hernandez case, I've been wondering if being charged with murdering a person is viewed as worst than murdering an animal(s). Given that it's football purgatory and TKP is a great forum for this discussion, what do you all think?
Obviously I'm asking this seriously and in no way am trying to be disrespectful to either crime since they are both extremely serious, but as a society which is worse?
Personally, I think more people would say what Vick did is worse than what Hernandez is accused of doing.
Thoughts?
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Hernandez, no question. What Vick did was horrible, but Hernandez is accused of murdering a fellow human being (not to mention a friend). I love animals, but there's no doubt that killing a person is worse, IMHO.
hernandez. next question.
Killing another human being is much worse than killing an animal. As TechHokie13 said, I love dogs, but killing another person for talking to people you don't like is ridiculous.
Oh I agree that killing another person is much worse, but I have a feeling that if there was a poll there would be a pretty split opinion. I guess I was more wondering what people thought the general public would think.
I agree with you somewhat here. Vick was such a more well-known individual, having been among the best college players for 2 years and then set the NFL on fire with his style of play, so his case was much more high-profile, even if he was "only" killing dogs instead of people. In that respect I think a lot of people would say Vick just because they've never heard of Hernandez.
And then I'm sure people would also make the argument that he didn't just kill the dogs, he essentially tortured them, making them fight to the death.
I'm not saying I agree with either of these points, because, to me, human life is more precious than animal's lives. I was even making the point back then that it seemed he was getting a harsher sentence than some football players that had killed people, and when Stallworth had his drunk-driving manslaughter incident and only served 24 days I thought that was ridiculous.
In regards to the Stallworth thing - while he may have been drunk (blew a 0.12), the death was not his fault; the man ran in front of his car trying to catch a bus. Could have happened to even a sober person. It didn't get much publicity because Stallworth was cooperative and people realized that he really didn't deserve to have the books thrown at him.
If there was a public poll, the majority would probably say Vick because hipsters and women are ultra sensitive to that stuff and they would flood the ballots. And I'm not intending to be sexist, that's just reality.
He had time to flash his lights and honk his horn, he's not completely innocent in this. But you're right, it was partly on the guy for walking out in front of him.
Killing a human being is definitely worse. That being said, people get killed every day so there is a desensitization there. I think that in terms of public opinion, people would be more aware of Vick's offense than Hernandez's.
Yeah, i agree Hernandez is worse but people today are so used to murder crimes, which is sad. Vick carries the shock and awe factor of a terrible and also not commonly publicized crime
Vick, I think, currently. He killed lots of dogs. Dogs are warm and cuddly. And he did it for illicit money making ends. And all the facts are out and all the facts were highly publicized.
Soon, though, it will be Hernandez. If it goes the way of Ray Lewis, though, it will be an afterthought. How about these?
Vick vs. Ray Lewis ("not guilty"...)
Vick vs. Roethlisburger (never prosecuted...)
Vick vs. Lawrence Taylor (lots of stuff here)
what about
Hernandez vs. PacMan (leaves destruction in his wake...)
Hernandez vs. OJ (if we knew then what we know now...)
Does it matter? They are both awful offenses.
Most people will say Hernandez but when it really comes down to their deep thoughts on the matter I would assume the majority will still hate Vick more. Both are horrific situations and shouldn't be taken lightly but the Vick hate that still exists is so annoying.
To be fair, he was accused of and admitted to some pretty awful things.
Thank you - there's a whole lot of apologist talk on here. If he was a qb for any other team, we'd be tearing Vick apart too. I know he did his time, but that doesn't mean we have to love him again...
I disagree. I normally don't care if an athlete gets in trouble as long as they aren't harming other people. I might make fun of Vick, Plaxico, Pac-Man, etc. But I don't care one way or another about their crimes. It's just funny how stupid all of these guys are.
I think a lot of it has to do with innocence. Vick raised and tortured/killed dogs for profit. The dogs didn't have any say in the matter - they were just the ones unfortunate enough to be bred/purchased by him.
People look at individuals killed in situations like the Hernandez case and say "That guy knew who Hernandez was, he knew he was bad news, and he continued to hang out with him." I'm not sure wether that's fair or not - although I'm sure the guy who was killed certainly didn't have a clean conscience.
I fully admit that killing a person is a far worse offense than killing a whole mess of dogs. That's why Hernandez will go to jail for a very long time, whereas Vick got out quickly enough to resume his NFL career. Having said that, I can understand why a lot of people find Vick's offense(s) more stomach-turning.
Hernandez's crime is much worse but the public's reaction will not be as bad as it was for Vick. People will say, Hernandez killed a guy, went to jail, he is no longer a topic of discussion. Vick on the other hand harmed dogs, which people love more than strangers (people will pull over to help a dog before they would for another person). The public perception is Vick is a monster while Hernandez is a criminal. In 5 years, Hernandez's crime will be forgotten among the masses, Vick will always have a spot in infamy for dog fighting. Sad but true.
When it comes to public perception and reaction, I think this hits the nail on the head. When I went to the ODU/VT game in 08(i think) in Norfolk, people were chanting about Vick at a basketball game. Patriots cut Hernandez before he was arrested and have essentially washed their hands of him and by the time he has served his sentence you'll hear minimal about it again. Vick will never live down what he did because as NickVT10 said, he is a "monster."
I think Hernandez. Vick (for the most part) had a clean past. Hernandez, on the other hand, had a history of violence and poor decision makers. He almost got kicked out of the UF (which is almost impossible) and dropped like a stone in the draft...BECAUSE OF SUSPICION OF BEING IN A GANG! (seriously). [which makes me wonder about what gangs in CT would be like...maple syrup gangsters! :)]
Vick has done a tremendous job of rehabilitating his image, and since incarceration, has been a model citizen, someone who has truly learned from their mistakes (or so it appears). Since reentering society, he has been nothing but transparent and genuine (so it appears). Hernandez has not even addressed the media (to my knowledge), but then again, he was just charged.
Hernandez...how is this even a question?
The question isn't so much how you feel personally about it, it's how do you think the public will feel about it. If nothing else seeing all the comments and thoughts about it shows some of the oddness in our society. We all KNOW killing a fellow human being is worse than killing an animal, but how do people perceive it?
Hmm, I need more facts. At the end of the day killing a human is much much worse than killing a dog. However, once we get details of how the victim was killed this could change the dynamics a bit. Vick strangled, drowned, electrocuted...If the Hernandez victim was quick and clean then who knows. As for me, it's Hernandez no question. I didn't care about the Vick case that much. They were not my dogs and he is for my entertainment only, but I'm not an a alumni so I imagine you guys that are feel differently about him since you're connected that way. I know it pisses me off when 1 veteran goes crazy and kills some folks and blames PTSD and all of a sudden we're all linked to him and considered ticking time bombs ready to go off.
Apparently it was "execution style"
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/9426203/case-details-aired-arraig...
Hernandez brings a movie quote to mind that I couldn't find a gif for....Tommy Lee Jones in the Fugutive...."This guy is dirty, Cosmo..."
Great question......Match, meet gas tank:
I think in the court of public opinion Michael Vick will STILL have the worse public perception issue in the mind of society at large, even if/when Hernandez is found guilty of shooting the fellow......and I think it's a poor reflection of our world.
Not being a Vick apologist, but there is a cultural aspect here to dog-fighting (as I just drove by the dog track at DelRay Beach, Fla) that is encouraged, accepted, while it is obviously considered wrong in our society; 'anyone that would hurt an animal is evil,' but yet some view animals as tools to be used at our own discretion....
But I find it simply duplicitous to villify Vick while giving someone like Hernandez less consideration, but I am sure that is what will happen.
I was talking with a fellow Hokie about Vick with the Eagles, and a lady said 'Oh, that Michael Vick is horrible....I'm an animal lover.' To which I replied, 'I'm a PEOPLE lover.......'
Townhall had an article on Vick in the context of the Gosnell Murder trial last month. It mentions that despite all of his attempts to apologize, make ammends, etc. he had to cancel a book tour because of threats that he and the book stores recieved.
http://townhall.com/columnists/harryrjacksonjr/2013/05/25/a-tale-of-two-...
as far as the fame/infamy thing goes, i was gonna post that hernandez is much more famous today than he was a few days ago, but then a coworker gave me second thoughts.
my coworker: "hey that guy who got arrested, he's a running back right?"
me: "naw he played tight end"
coworker: "oh he's a tight end, but wasnt he real real short?"
me: "umm i'm not sure how tall he is but. . . oh wait you mean danny woodhead?"
coworker: "yeah woodhead that's it, you sure it wasnt him?"
me, loling: "pretty sure"
and the internet being the internet apparently hernandezing is a thing now:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikehayes/hernandezing-is-the-stupid-new-meme-ab...
More allegations came out today against Hernandez, and I think the question just became no contest. Hernandez has allegedly played a crucial part of two drive-by shootings last year. While what Vick did was reprehensible and inhumane, but what Hernandez's story is piling up to be is unprecedented for an NFL star.
And it looks like my All-Time Prison Team is about to pick up another tight end.