I once made a cake and instead of putting in sugar, I put in flour. I use a spell checker to be sure I don’t make spelling mistakes. And, I have 20 dogs in kennels in the back that I use for a dog fighting ring that I finance, and sometimes, when a dog doesn’t perform well, we kill it in cruel ways.
So, I’m willing to believe that the first two events–the recipe disaster and the spelling error–are indeed mistakes. I did not mean to do them, and if I had taken just a few minutes to slow down, I probably could have avoided them. But, I don’t believe that the last one–financing a dog fighting operation, something that is against the law in Virginia–counts as a mistake. Yet, that’s how many people are characterizing Michael Vick’s recent actions. I saw that one of his supporters had a sign that read, “Everyone makes mistakes.” If we take a pretty liberal definition of mistake as an “error of judgment,” then I suppose we could call it that. But, that’s being pretty nice.
Or. maybe the mistake was to declare your innocence for the past five months, stringing along the media and the justice system until your lawyers determined they just couldn’t get you off, even if you are a famous athlete. In that case, it’s a mistake of arrogance. Thinking you are above the law.
I just have a problem with calling it all a mistake. Makes it sound like we can just take out the pencil eraser and make it go away. This guy willfully broke the law and in a cruel, disgusting way. He should have to spend his jail time at an animal shelter, serving the very species that he felt he was so far above. Maybe a year or two of picking up poop will do some good for his conscience.
