TNR's Isaac Chotiner, on that bizarre ESPN.com story by Wright Thompson about Atlanta residents' reactions to the Michael Vick situation:
The whole piece has this same he said/she said tone to it as if there is no objective reality to the situation. And the underlying assumption, that people wouldn't care about the case so much if it were a white athlete being accused of the crimes, is both questionable and backed by absolutely no evidence. Even more troubling, Thompson appears completely unbothered by support for Vick because that support has a "cause", i.e. past racism. Causes are certainly worth noting, yes, but everything has a cause, and thus this sort of thinking only gets you so far. And having groups like the NAACP at least tacitly supporting Vick and doing nothing to tamp down conspiracy theories doesn't seem like the best use of anyone's time.Vick, of course, is entitled to the presumption of innocence, and he deserves, and will get, his day in court. But to suggest, as Thompson does in the piece, that Vick is somehow an heir to Atlanta's rich civil rights tradition- because he wants to avoid jail time for the very heinous crime of which he is accused- is nothing short of absurd. Posted by Stephen Silver at August 7, 2007 04:45 PM
"Vick, of course, is entitled to the presumption of innocence..."
Oh, no offense, Steve, but this is such a tired canard. Defendants are entitled to the presumption of innocence from the court and jury, not the general public. The rest of us not actually part of a trial are allowed to simply rely on common sense, and don't need proof beyond a reasonable doubt to grasp the obvious.
Posted by: Dave J at August 8, 2007 12:01 AM