Vick and dogfighting

Let's talk boxing. A regulated sport. Two well trained opponents who, presumably, like what they're doing step into a ring and brutalize each other. It's not the old bare knuckle bouts, but people liked watching those, and liked fighting in them.

Dogs that dogfight like it. Dogs that don't like it suck at it. I keep hearing the term "animal abuse" thrown around with this case. I have a hard time really calling it abuse, though. A violent sport, yes. Does the occasional participant die, yes. Same in boxing, the gloved, well regulated kind. I think, and this is an offhand estimate, that about 80% of people throwing down the abuse card are referring to the actual dogfight. So, my estimate, about 80% of people are either kind of dumb or speaking in ignorance or, my personal favorite, both.

There has been a lot of animal abuse associated with dogfighting historically. This was directed at the "training" animals. A good episode or so of "Lou Grant" comes to mind. Good regulation of the sport would eliminate that. Dogfighting would be right there with boxing then. Of course, as long as it's a federal crime it will be hard to put together an authoritative commission to decide on acceptable practices.

So, I suppose, continue crying out about animal abuse. Also continue calling the mess in Darfur a genocide, even I've done that.