Does Michael Vick Deserve to be Honored?

This hate did not appear when someone said, “I think we should honor Michael Vick this year.” The hate was already there. Vick’s honorary announcement only triggered it and brought it to light. You can try to justify it by saying, “What he did was horrible and no one like that deserves to be honored.” You can even try to say, “It is one thing to forgive someone but to honor them is another thing and should not be done.,” –these are some of the things people have said to justify starting a petition to take away his moment. But that does not justify the hate in your heart. 

There are two issues here that I will point out. I am sure there are more, but I will point out two.

1. You Judge People That Sin Differently Than You

He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone. No matter how hard we try to manipulate our actions, past, and choices to make light of what we have done compared to others, sin is sin. Sure, we can sit here and debate about which sin is worse, but at the end of the day, it all falls under one umbrella labeled sin. 

Maybe you did something “small” like you stole a piece of bubble gum from the store or you ate a few grapes without purchasing the bag. It is still wrong. Maybe you cheated on your partner, stole money from grandma, manipulated and used people, and so on. It is all wrong. 

Yes, your consequences are not held to the same degree as killing animals, but it is still wrong. It is nothing you should be proud of. And even if you have not done anything that people would label as “horrible,” I am sure you most likely know someone who has. 

People are very selective when it comes to celebrating someone who once did horrible things but turned their lives around. How many of you have close family members, perhaps a son or daughter, who have made choices they are not proud of but you love them and continue to celebrate them? How many of you have relatives who were addicts that went clean? Do you not celebrate their sobriety? 

The fact of the matter here is, Michael Vick is not your close relative, and he is not someone you care about. He is a celebrity you know absolutely nothing about other than what is on the internet. And we all know how easy it is to judge someone based on what is shown through the media. 

We do not know the guilt and shame he may have had to overcome. We do not know how long it may have taken him to forgive himself. As I said before, we all have done things we are not proud of. Sometimes our mistakes leave us consumed with guilt, leading us into realms of darkness. We do not know what mental battles Vick had to face because of his choices. So perhaps remember the mental battles you had to face when you made terrible choices before you decide to judge someone that sins differently than you.

2. Celebrities Are People

I think a lot of people forget celebrities are people. But it is your heart and mind that puts them on a higher pedestal. People think just because Vick is in the limelight he is not allowed to make mistakes and be forgiven. Truth be told, he does not need your forgiveness. We only like and dislike celebrities based on what we see on T.V., the internet, and so on. Some things we see are valid and some are not. There are plenty of celebrities who are loved and adored. But if you go and read reviews from the people that have actually worked for these celebrities on platforms such as Glassdoor, they paint a very different picture of those same celebrities we love and adore. My purpose is not to call out any of those celebrities, but it is to make you think before you act. 

We do not know what goes on behind closed doors. We do not know the hard work and mental battles people, including celebrities, go through to become a better person. A lot of us strip away everything that makes celebrities, such as Vick, who they are, human. 

When you shared the petition, did you think about how it could possibly affect him mentally? Did you think about how it could affect his family? No, you did not. You chose to share it because of your own self-righteous agenda. And perhaps calling out someone else’s past mistakes makes you feel better about yours. 

Vick’s honorary does not hurt anyone. And honestly, this may hurt your feelings, but what he did in the past did not cause a lot of damage. We currently have a president in office who has not made the best decisions, and he has not said the greatest things to people. His actions could potentially cause generational consequences. 

Families have been ripped apart under his administration. The after-effects of the mental hurt and pain have to be dealt with. Those children will grow up and have to deal with that, but a lot of people will rally behind people like our president and not think about the consequences that will follow. Dogs died, yes, it is sad. It was horrible but what generational consequences do we face because of what happened in Vick’s home?

I think we need to focus on other things rather than what goes on in a celebrity’s life. Does Michael Vick deserve to be honored? That is not for you or me to determine, but someone close enough to him saw the hard work and effort he put into becoming a better person and decided he should be honored. Moral of this story, and I say this with love, Mind Your Business and speak out on things that actually have a negative impact. If it does not spread love, then do not share it. If you do not want to spread love, then check your heart.

Love,
Jaz ❤️❤️❤️