Michael Vick: Athlete. Celebrity. Bully?

2009-12-15T06:46:00.000-08:00

So Michael Vick is back in the NFL. And he'll be on BET with his very own reality show.

It's supposed to be a somber look at a man trying to alter his public perception. He's a changed man after all, right?

Um... can animal abusers change? Studies show that unless this pathological behavior is caught early, many animal abusers end up progressing to bigger prey, like humans. Or even bigger prey — like football players. Nyuck, nyuck... sorry, I couldn’t resist that one.

I digress.

More sobering stats:

· Animal abusers are five times more likely to commit violent crimes against people than those who don't abuse animals.

· Animal abusers are four times more likely to commit property crimes than are individuals without a history of animal abuse.

· Most serial killers killed or tortured animals as children:

o Albert DeSalvo — aka the "Boston Strangler" — trapped dogs and cats in crates to shoot arrows through the boxes.

o Carroll Edward Cole, executed for five of the 35 murders he was accused of, said his first act of violence as a child was strangling a puppy.

o Jeffrey Dahmer impaled frogs, cats and dogs' heads on sticks.

· The American Psychiatric Association considers animal cruelty one of the diagnostic criteria of conduct disorder.

· According to a New South Wales newspaper, a police study in Australia revealed that "100 percent of sexual homicide offenders examined had a history of animal cruelty."

So, no, animal abusers most likely do not change. As if any thinking person needed to be convinced.

I just wish I had cable so I could watch how this BET experiment unfolds.

Has Vick changed or will he just change perceptions?

Why Tagie and Her Client are My Heroes

2009-06-16T17:12:00.000-07:00

So I'm meeting Tagie, my interior decorator friend, who I haven't seen since I was trying to get pregnant with the ex a zillion years ago and we have a lot to catch up on. Frankly, my life with diapers and a husband won't be on the docket. Miscarriages and divorce take care of that.

But kids come up.

Turns out she and her client were driving to get some fabric samples and had to make their way by a Jr. High School when they noticed three girls beating the crap out of a younger student, also a girl. One of them had the victim by the hair and punched her repeatedly in the face while the other two kicked her body.

Tagie made sure to emphasize this was no bitch slapping.

There was blood and hair and venom galore.

Apparently no one stopped to aid the poor thing. So, instead of driving by and delivering a lesson in civility via Doppler Effect —

....Hey! You three girls STOP it, that's not nice...

— they did one better. They stopped and tackled the bullies. The principal was called, cops summoned, and bullies placed in handcuffs. As Tagie's seemingly mellow client screamed at the bullies, "If you were my daughters I'd kick your asses!" (big grin from me) the girls shot "whatev, bitch" looks back at her.

According to a survey put out by one New Jersey school district, studies show:

> 77% of students in the U.S. are bullied mentally, verbally, and physically.

(I'd like to know how/if they separate the types of abuse.)

> 282,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools each month.

> Every 7 minutes a child is bullied. Intervention rates are as follows:

Adult, 4%

Peer, 11%

None, 85%

And this survey is from 2001. I imagine those numbers have only increased.

So maybe the next time Mose (my friend Laurel's kid) asks why I don't have children, I should just skip why and say, "Are you kidding? You better learn to box, kid."

Interesting link:

Kids Against Bullying

And, because brilliant minds think alike, they, too, have an anti-bullying oath. Of course mine is more colorful.

Just1Pepsi

Michael Vick: Athlete. Celebrity. Bully?

Why Tagie and Her Client are My Heroes