12/21/24
August 26, 2011
ESPN: What if Mike Vick Was White?: In an article from ESPN the Magazine today, the great folks at the sports entertainment giant addressed the question that has been plaguing us all since Michael Vick was first indicted on multiple charges of animal cruelty in 2007.
Doesn't help matters that the whited up Vick rendering looks like a law enforcement composite sketch.
posted by beaverboard at 11:17 AM on August 26, 2011
72 percent percent of black children are born to unwed mothers compared with 29 percent of white children
I'm sure a thousand things can be read into and offered up to explain that statistic, and I don't want to be the one who starts to do so. I just wanted to say that the disparity in those numbers is simply mind boggling to me. It's still amazing that in 2011, cultural norms remain so different.
posted by tahoemoj at 11:36 AM on August 26, 2011
Just stumbled upon this while searching for injury info: What if Peyton Manning were black?
So what I'm learning is that it's really hard to digitally alter someone's race and have them still look normal. I had assumed it was as easy as fiddling with a slider in the 'Edit Player' menu.
posted by tron7 at 12:13 PM on August 26, 2011
Well, they're both some ugly mugs if you swap races.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 02:38 PM on August 26, 2011
Nevermind. Not worth getting into a debate over someone so worthless.
posted by Drood at 11:35 PM on August 26, 2011
What if Michael Jackson would have been black? Oh, wait a minute.......I'm confused.
Yeah, stupid story.
posted by dyams at 06:40 AM on August 27, 2011
Yeah, stupid story.
Actually no. The story is very well written but the headline doesn't do it any justice. Then again, the headline was picked by the suits at ESPN and the author of the story had nothing to do with the selection of it.
So yeah, stupid headline.
posted by BornIcon at 09:33 AM on August 27, 2011
Still not a fan of the story itself. He only touches on a very few, general aspects of not only race, but with the role of upbringing, family, etc. This same argument could be made for me, asking if I'd be doing what I presently do for a living if my parents had stayed together and also been rich. Or, would a white basketball talent be recruited by more schools and be more sought after if he was black? Those type of worthless scenarios are so plentiful they're ridiculous.
posted by dyams at 10:41 AM on August 27, 2011
What if Michael Vick was made out of barbecue spare ribs?
posted by rcade at 11:53 AM on August 27, 2011
Probably wouldn't have gotten too close to dogs then.
posted by yerfatma at 12:46 PM on August 27, 2011
So yeah, stupid headline.
Did it's job.
What if Michael Vick was made out of barbecue spare ribs?
It took a google search for me to determine why I was reading this as Harry Caray.
posted by tron7 at 05:59 PM on August 28, 2011
The piece is more thoughtful than the headline and graphic would suggest.
One thing I do question is where the writer says "I'm not saying that a black QB who stands in the pocket ain't playing black" and then lists a bunch of superlatives he associates with Vick because of race.
If negative stereotypes about black athletes are so wrong, are positive ones any better?
I think Jimmy the Greek can answer that for us: