The Sacramento Bee, Calif., Martin Mcneal Column: Vick Case Illustrates Big Divide

Aug 28, 05:35 AM

Current Headlines: By Martin McNeal, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

Aug. 28--Just Sunday, the thought of what is and has been going on in the mind of Michael Vick for the past three months came to my mind. Additionally, though, the thought of how racially divided the United States of America actually remains in 2007 also pops up when listening to sports' talking heads.

The Vick case and the Barry Bonds home run chase have provided great insight on just how differently some black Americans and white Americans view life.

We all, in many ways, are products of our environments and experiences. Those often vastly different experiences sometimes leave us blind to how they shape us in one way or another. If the Bonds and Vick situations have revealed nothing else, it is that there is much work and communication to be done to exchange and share our experiences so we can better understand each other.

I don't need a poll to recognize that people often see the exact same situations completely differently. And we all seem amazed that we do. But that's just one rub. News flash: Not all black people share the same viewpoints, nor do all white.

Particularly during controversial, high-profile situations such as those involving Bonds and Vick, media folk are propped up to speak as if they represent different sectors of society en masse.

It's not like that. Sure, there are a great many black Americans who believe media coverage of the Bonds and Vick cases has been unfair at times. I would guess some white Americans share that view.

We have to keep in mind these two cases might be the most bizarre and unusual in sports history. Vick will be sentenced Dec. 10 after pleading guilty Monday to a federal conspiracy dogfighting charge and providing money to assist gambling on the dogfights.

I can't speak on what it was like growing up in a white household or even having spent a lot of time in one, other than hanging out with Donna Reed, Opie, Andy and Aunt Bee and the "My Three Sons" crib. (For all you youngsters, those were prime-time television characters and shows during the 1960s.) However, I've spent much time in black households in New York City and all along the Eastern corridor of the United States. Racial injustice, dealing with "The Man" and how "The Man" dealt with us and other minorities often was a prime topic of conversation.

I read and hear people talking about using "the race card." In what kind of deck of cards do you find that one? My decks had only 52 and a big and little joker.

There is no race card, people. But when people speak on things such as the Vick and Bonds matters, they convey their perspective of how race plays a role. You may either agree or disagree, but forget that race-card garbage.

And when I hear it said by prominent talk show hosts and callers that Vick should not be allowed to play again in the NFL, it occurs to me that these people forget playing in the NFL is just a job. That's all. So, now Vick can't get a job if someone wants to hire him? How these folks get off thinking they are justified in making this assessment is beyond me.

The man reportedly used dogs to make money for approximately six years. If he gets off with two years in prison, he's getting off easily to me. What I hope for Vick is that he one day says something akin to, "Man, torturing and killing those dogs was terrible, and it's hard for me to sleep at night." Then I'll have a feeling he understands the pain he has caused.

As for all these moralists going after Michael Vick: When will they turn some attention to all the Americans, men and women, dying at war representing -- not defending -- our country, and make the people responsible for sending and keeping them in that situation explain exactly how that is all good?

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