Yep, must be about race

Thanks to Gary for getting me all worked on a Friday afternoon!

From this article:

The difference between those sporting Michael Vick jerseys and those urging his swift conviction on dogfighting charges is glaring: Vick's supporters are mostly black; his critics are mostly white.

The racial divide emerged early in the case against the Atlanta Falcons quarterback, apparent at rallies filled with cheering — and overwhelmingly black — Vick supporters and at anti-Vick protests that are noticeably white.

Vick's opponents say the evidence against him is overwhelming. For many black supporters, that judgment evokes uncomfortable questions about race and guilt in America.

...

Hardy suspects that Vick — famous, rich and black — is just the fall guy behind bigger issues.

"A hundred-million-dollar black man?" he huffed. "They can't stand it."

His view is reflected from the Newport News region where Vick was raised to Atlanta, where a rally supporting the former Virginia Tech standout drew several hundred fans, but barely 50 whites, said Gerald Rose, with Atlanta-based New Order National Human Rights Organization.

Rose said the outcry stems from what he said is Vick's premature conviction in the media — not support for dogfighting. But he said the case also awakens anger over a perceived smear campaign targeting famous black men from Kobe Bryant to Michael Jackson.

...

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, leader of the most vocal Vick protests, says the issue isn't racial.

"We're reacting very strongly to this case because Michael Vick is someone who's a hero ... If this were Peyton Manning or Brett Favre, we'd be out there," spokesman Dan Shannon said.

...

At his Richmond clothing store, Brown said he'll continue stocking Vick merchandise, though others have pulled it from shelves. He likened black support for Vick's cause to the support for O.J. Simpson's acquittal.

"Black people didn't care about O.J.," he said. "But we felt like we finally won."

I don't know where to begin! Let's start with that last quote - they WON when OJ basically got away with murder? At this point, does anyone really think he didn't do it. I'm not going to go too far on this point, but if you write a supposedly fictional book about how you did it, then you did it.

Ok, so the rest of it. There is this huge indictment, several witnesses, and another defendant who has agreed to testify against Vick. And we are supposed to support him because he hasn't been officially convicted? WHATEVA!!!

And we are RACIST if we think Vick is total SCUM because of his actions? WHATEVA!!

This is totally RIDICULOUS!!! I'm talking to both blacks and whites here - WHO CARES HOW SUCCESSFULL HE IS?? HE BROKE THE LAW!!!!! LOCK HIM UP!!!

This has nothing to do with the color of his skin. Sadly, it looks like that's all it's going to end up being about though.