Lovely Emily Deschanel, star of Fox’s Bones, was invited by CNN to post an editorial regarding Michael Vick’s guilty plea in the dogfighting scandal that has horrified most of the country.
The news network identified Deschanel as an animal rights activist who also speaks on behalf of the Humane Society. The actress activist lit into the football star from the opening sentence, declaring herself “sickened” by his “disgusting” actions. But more importantly, she raised the broader sociological issues wrapped up in the case. Quoting a Chicago Police Department statistic, Deschanel reported that 65% of people arrested for “animal crimes” there had a prior arrest record that included battery.
That people participating in a barbaric activity like dogfighting are extremists who have also fought is not surprising. What is surprising is that it took an actress to say what the pundits, sportswriters, NFL and Vick himself have not said:
Vick’s involvement in dogfighting is not a celebrity crime like the terrible 20-somethings doing hours of jail time. It’s a snapshot into a grisly activity that may be more prevalent in our Starbucks society than we care to admit.
Thanks, Emily.
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