Emily gets applauded and roasted…
Wow, did she ever touch a nerve! As fans of hers, you guys probably know already that Emily Deschanel is a vegan and an animal rights activist. Is it any wonder, then, that she had something to say about the whole Micheal Vick dog fighting thing? In an editorial she wrote that’s posted on CNN, she addresses the issue of dog fighting and the mistreatment of the animals. Her editorial is well written, and I can almost hear her voice speaking while I read.
However, you know what they say about opinions… and boy did she ruffle some feathers with this article! I am not a vegan, but I am against cruelty to animals. I’m not against hunting - as long as the hunters are humane and not wasteful. I’m also not against men/women participating in figting-related sports such as boxing, wrestling, etc. - mainly because they know exactly what they’re getting into when they agree to participate. But these are all issuses that are addressed in the 50-some comments people wrote in about her editorial.
I’m not here to start a riot, but I do have to say that the thing that makes me saddest about this whole thing is that we are devoting so much media attention to an animal rights issue - which in itself isn’t wrong - that I wonder how many “people-rights” issues we miss because they get swept under the rug. Where is our public outrage when a sports star is abusive to their spouse or children? What punishment does the population call for when a public figure is caught driving drunk, or worse, hurts someone in a DUI accident? Dog fighting is cruel and should be punished, but are we missing the bigger picture of the degredation of society?
I applaud Emily for taking a stand on an issue that is so close to her heart, but I do wish she (or someone else) would bring to attention that while this is an awful thing that’s happened, we need to be aware that people do much worse things to people.
September 17th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
I agree wholeheartedly with you. What Michael Vick participated in was deplorable, but I would love it if people were as outraged and taking action on issues that has to do with the lack of healthcare and lack of resources for people. In a society that will spend money on clothes for pets, but will not give money to food banks or someone on the street, it shows that there needs to be balanced attention on these issues.