Simone gets some company
Yesterday Simone the greyhound and her human, Vicki, were the only signs of protest outside the NFL’s offices at 280 Park Avenue. Today she will get a great deal of company. PETA - generally a little extreme for my tastes - is holding a protest, including Al Sharpton - who is just NOT my kind of guy, but even a broken clock is right twice a day, as they say - and Russell Simmons, whose energy and enthusiasm I really admire even when he pursues causes I disagree with. I’ll take some pictures if I have a chance to get down there.
One significant aspect to the protest is that it includes two of New York’s most prominent African-American leaders. There has been a bit of a racial undercurrent to the Vick case to the extent that he and the other defendants, as well as other athletes who have been found to be involved in dogfighting, are all African-American. I find it very encouraging, with respect to both the outlook for this case, and more broadly for the society we live in, that revulsion at unvarnished sadism transcends racial identity.
July 20th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
I don’t know much about Russell Simmons politics (isn’t he a rap guy?) - but I’ve seen and heard enough of Al Sharpton. I have to say it comes as no surprise to me that he’s using this occasion to basically say, “See… I don’t think all black folks are innocent!” How long will it take Jesse Jackson to realize he’s missing the same opportunity to improve his public image in the face of Mike Vick’s… er, hobby?