138. Second chance should be limited

I am all for second chances. Personally, I have been given a number of second chances, and, likewise, I have afforded the same opportunity to others. Fundamental to my liberal attitudes is that life is hard for many people. Not only is it difficult, it is inherently unfair-opportunities are readily available for those born into wealthy white families in America, while for others, such as those born into poverty, the socio-economic and political burden is more difficult to overcome. It is not impossible, but it does take more work with less room for error.

Michael Vick has been freed from prison and has recently signed what is potentially a multi-million dollar deal to play for the Philadelphia Eagles. Many, from the sports world to animal right supporters, have commented on this opportunity. Some feel that he has paid his dues and that he deserves the opportunity to make a living again. Others, many dog lovers for example, think that he does not deserve another opportunity.

Vick has been working the media-admitting his mistake, committing to remorse and speaking out against dogfighting. He has also been working with some animal rights organizations, which see this as an opportunity to educate the public.

Although I think I should forgive him for his disgraceful acts, and embrace his recovery, as well as the chance to use his celebrity status to combat dogfighting, I cannot. I have nothing but hate for this man and the things him, and his posse, did to so many dogs.

What bothers me the most is that here is a guy that had everything. He was a professional athlete-he had money and fame. He could go anywhere and do anything. He could have houses, cars, women, travel the world-anything he wanted. The world was his playground. And out of everything he could be doing, he chose dogfighting as his form of entertainment.

To engage in the activity of dogfighting, with so much to lose, hints at an insatiable lust for this form of animal cruelty. It is not just something he did-it is "in his blood." No amount of remorse will convince me that he has changed his attitudes toward the "sport." I do not think he can be reformed any more than a child molester can be. He cannot, or could not, help himself. As my bother noted, Vick is not sorry about what he did, he is sorry that he got caught.

The signing with the Eagles, says a lot about our obsession with professional sports. Vick is not the first scumbag that fans have supported because he or she can hit a baseball or throw a football better than the average Joe. I cannot believe that any dog lover would pay to see him play more than any mother would pay to see a child molester. Make no mistake; this is not about the "City of Brotherly Love" offering second chances, the Eagles and the fans that will support them care more about winning than the integrity of the organization. If Vick was even an average talent-no team would touch him. It is only that he is a truly remarkable athlete that an organization would sell its soul.

In the "real world," the slightest blemish in one's career is often difficult to overcome. Get fired, have a lapse in employment, declare bankruptcy or be convicted for even a petty crime, and one will have to sit uncomfortably in the interviewee chair-wondering how to explain what happened. Equally uncomfortable is the knowledge that there is probably a line of applicants, just as talented, with no such obstacle to overcome. Full background checks are now commonplace for many jobs.

In the end, I do support second chances-just not the chance to make millions of dollars. And not to have a job in which thousands of little kids will be running around with their Vick jersey on-wanting to be "just like him." I would give Vick a second chance, the chance at the perspective that most of us have. Let him work in a factory or at a fast food restaurant. Let him see how the rest of us live-those of us that have not engaged in such reprehensible criminal behavior.

137. What does racism really mean?

Use a word too often, or too indiscriminately, and it loses its meaning. Seems like everyone these days is being accused of being a racist, or racial profiling-so much that I am not sure what it really means anymore. Highlighted by the Supreme Court nomination of Sonia Sotomayor and polarized by the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr., accusations of racism are being thrown around the political arena like an old rag doll. It continued last week when conservative talk show Glenn Beck host called President Barack Obama a racist, commenting, "I'm not saying he doesn't like white people, I'm saying he has a problem...this guy is, I believe, a racist."

Perhaps this quote exemplifies the confusion-"I am not saying he doesn't like white people, but. . . I believe he is a racist." He then went on to say that Obama has a "deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture." Huh?

Again, because the word is used so erratically, I think we have lost sight of what it really means to be a racist? Perhaps we have also lost our discretion in using the word-it used to be a serious charge to make, for both the person making the accusation and the person being accused.

In terms of dictionary definitions, the Macquarie Dictionary best summarizes my interpretation of racism: "the belief that human races have distinctive characteristics which determine their respective cultures, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule or dominate others." However, it is more than just the attitude that one's race is superior, it is acting on that attitude-often with anger and hate. It is also accomplished through socio-economics, denying opportunity to other races-usually to maintain the socio-economic status of one's own race.

However, even this perspective can get sticky. Imagine a private business owner whose only daughter just got married has a high-level finance position opening at his company. Further imagine that the only two candidates are his new son-in-law, who just graduated with a Bachelor's degree in finance from Ohio State, and another recent graduate, an African-American male with a MBA from Harvard. It is obvious who is the better candidate, but the question is, if he hires his son-in-law, is he a racist? The answer is probably not. The answer is that he wants to commit this opportunity to his new son-in-law, the man responsible for caring for his daughter. The truth is that he probably would have chosen his new son-in-law over any other candidate-regardless of gender, race or age.

Much has also been written about reverse discrimination in light of affirmative action programs-an area in which Sotomyer has been questioned. Here, the Supreme Court has ruled that in situations like college admissions, race can be a factor-to support a diverse educational environment. However, it cannot be an overwhelming factor, such that all minorities are accepted on the basis of race. Other situations though, such as the cases involving promotions, have brought different results.

Either way, whether you are the African-American that did not get the job, or the Caucasian that did not get accepted to college, it is difficult to understand. Both of these candidates will have to come to terms that these opportunities did not go to the most qualified person. Here, as anyone who has not been chosen for an opportunity knows, it is an uncomfortable feeling wondering why? Is it because of my race, age, gender, sexual-orientation or religious belief? Or is simply a situation where the opportunity is based on "who you know."

Perhaps the most discouraging use of the word ‘racism' is the emotional application to someone who does not deserve it. In the Gates case, there does seem to be an overreaction that included calling the cop a racist. Furthermore, it is discouraging how many African-American leaders, including President Obama, rushed to his defense. Is it true that there is some racial profiling in our police forces? Absolutely, the statistics are very concerning. Is this an example of it? I am not so sure. Furthermore, as African-American author Dr. Boyce Watkins wrote, this might have more to do with wealth and ego than race relations. The sad truth, on a couple of levels, is that had Gates been a poor African-American-nobody would ever have heard of this.

Racism is undoubtedly political, used both as a political ploy and a political philosophy. It is interesting that it has been Republicans such as Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich are using the word more and more-usually in regards to reverse discrimination. Among those that would find this ironic is Bill Maher who said, "Being a Republican doesn't make one a racist, but if one is a racist, he or she is probably a Republican." That might be a low blow, but there is certainly a very conservative segment of the Republican Party that still maintains a racist mentality-not only in regards to African-Americans but also immigration.

In the future, let's hope that before Beck, or anyone else for that matter, uses that term again, they really consider both what they are saying about someone's character, and what it means to people that really have been the victim of racism-people who have been beaten and killed simply based on their skin color. When Beck was reminded that most of Obama's top advisors were Caucasian, Beck about-faced with a "he was a racist before he wasn't" take. However, even if Obama hired his friends and family-who can blame him? Heck, maybe the Harvard MBA is still available.

136. Instead of watching television, exercise your mind

Have you ever just been sitting around the house, tired of the same old shows on television and thought, "Man, I would love to take a course on Thermodynamics and Kinetics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)"? If chemistry is not your thing, then maybe a course in Atomistic Computer Modeling of Materials is more to your liking. Still no go? Then maybe a class in the Philosophy of Film, Chinese, or Introduction to Algorithms appeals to you.

In fact, if you were considering a break from the television, or if you just wanted the chance to conveniently embrace continuing education, you could select from thousands of courses: Free! Not only MIT, but several other colleges now allow you to access their classes over the Internet, without cost. The courses differ, but not only do Internet "students" get the audio/video lectures, they also get a syllabus, class transcripts, lecture notes, reading assignments, exercises and practice exams. Again, not all classes offer all of the above, but enough material is shared that one can genuinely experience the course as is it offered by the university to its students.

MIT's program is called, "OpenCourseWare," though there are many universities, such as U.C. Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, and Tufts University that are available to choose from. Although no academic credit is given for the courses, and nothing is graded, one interested in a quality education, for the sake of learning, has the opportunity that other self-taught students, like Albert Einstein and Alexander Graham Bell, could only dream of.

Surprisingly, these courses have been around for some time now; MIT's program began with 50 pilot classes in 2002 and officially launched the program in October of 2003 with 500 classes. Today, it offers about 1900 full-length courses, many with video hosted by YouTube and iTunes U. Today, MIT's OpenCourseWare gets an amazing 2 million visits per month.

I often enjoy the lectures offered by The Teaching Company, which also offers professionally-produced audio and video lectures from the countries best college professors. These lectures are expensive to purchase but are readily available in many libraries. Their promotion includes the idea that even spending an hour a day listening to their lectures would result in a course being completed in just weeks. The audio lectures are great for long car rides.

Science has long encouraged lifetime learning, and, although not conclusive, the latest research has suggested that exercising your brain might help prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer's. However, even without the perceived physiological benefits, it can be fun to learn new things-at your time, place and convenience.

For some, it might be difficult to consider putting in the effort and not getting the college credit for it. These courses are not really something that belongs on a résumé. Rather, these courses offer the opportunity to take classes completely out of interest, and you do not have to take each class required in pursuit of a formal degree. And while these courses, if applicable to one's profession, do not garner official recognition, it is not to say that they will not help in the performance of one's job.

It is amazing what the Internet has brought to us; this is just another of its dynamics with the potential to change the world. For me, I'll pass on the Thermodynamics and Kinetics class, but I saw several others that caught my attention. However, and perhaps more importantly, I can't wait to see what the Internet brings us next!

135. Animal cruelty is unconscionable

Leaving for vacation and not sure what to do with the dogs? There is, of course, the option of taking them to a kennel, asking family and friends to dog sit, or maybe even giving the neighbor kid a few bucks to watch over them. The other possibility, the one only a heartless, soulless Columbus firefighter would choose, is to take them in the basement, tie them to a pole, and fire eleven bullets into them.
 
Have a leisurely garden with those precious flowers that a pesky fawn insists on nibbling at? Again, one could choose to put a small fence up around it, feed the fawn, or get over it and plant something that deer will not eat. The other possibility, the one only a selfish, wretched, evil person would choose, is to grab a shovel, beat the fawn to death and then put it out for the other deer to see.
 
Running late and forced to stop for that annoying parade of Canadian geese? One could patiently wait, offer a couple toots of the horn, or even get out of the car to get them to pick up the pace (as my wife has done). The other possibility, the one only an impatient, cruel Oak Point motorist would choose, is to run one over a goose to what, “teach them a lesson”?
 
Have dozens of farm animals that you cannot afford to care for any longer? One could certainly ask the community for help, offer the animals to a shelter, or voluntarily surrender them to officials. The other option, the one only a wicked, brutal ignorant Grafton farmer would choose, is to do nothing but stand there and watch them starve to death.
 
The headlines have been horrific and for the people that care about animals, it is difficult to tolerate. Similar to my previous column about chained dogs, it is nearly unfathomable that so many people can act so cruelly to largely loving defenseless animals. I do not understand the pleasure that some people feel in watching an animal suffer or die. Is it a feeling of domination? Of superiority or power? Perhaps it is a psychological transference to compensate for shortcomings in their otherwise pathetic lives.
 
I do not often offer such harsh tones, but I have no respect for people that engage in the cowardice of harming an animal.
 
These headlines coincidently came to focus as Pamplona, Spain engaged in their miserable, archaic tradition of the “running with the bulls,” which draws national attention each year. The event leads bulls past a cheering crowd and “brave” runners into the bullring to meet the matadors and their almost certain death. The event is described this way by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals:
 
Each year, more than 40,000 bulls are barbarically slaughtered in Spain’s bullrings. Most foreign visitors who witness a bullfight never wish to see one again. They are repulsed, disgusted and saddened by the cruelty of the spectacle.
 
At best, the term “bullfighting” is a misnomer, as there is usually little competition between a nimble sword-wielding matador and a confused, maimed, psychologically tormented and physically debilitated bull.
 
This absurd event has now seen fifteen people killed since 1924. I am sorry to say, and quite honestly, I am willing to accept as many deaths as it will take to end the event—because, as we know, our conscience is only measured in human deaths.
 
Columbus Fire Chief Ned Pettus Jr. has recommended that the firefighter who killed his dogs be fired.  The firefighter, who volunteered to take anger management courses, pleaded guilty to animal cruelty and was sentenced to 90 days in jail. Despite bragging about what he had done, his lawyer now says that he is “extremely remorseful.” The most ridiculous part of the agreement is that he is prohibited from having a pet for five years. It should be forever.