Shame is Good

Accordin' to AHM there used to be a time humans would actually be ashamed of doin' somethin' wrong. I know she's got the Shame Factor down pat in our house. Whenever one of us pups messes up—like spreadin' the garbage across the kitchen floor—she'll stand there, give us The Look, and sigh "Aren't you ashamed of yourselves?" Damned if we aren't. And the next time we raid the trash can we're reeeeal careful to pick and choose instead of just dumpin' the whole shebang on the tile. (Note: do not try this with fe-lyings 'cause they have no shame.)

Anyway, I figure it's time Shame made a comeback. Personally I'd like to hear Billy Clinton say he's ashamed for messin' up Monica's favorite navy blue dress, but I'll settle for this.

"Michael Vick's prison cell at the U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan., is only about 16 miles away from where the Kansas City T-Bones play independent league baseball, in the Northern League. That proximity has led the T-Bones to schedule a May 28 Michael Vick "Welcome to the Neighborhood" night at their CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

"In conjunction with about 10 nearby animal shelters, the T-Bones will have a warning-track parade of dogs that are up for adoption. The team says it's trying to increase awareness of animal abuse with the tie to Vick. The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback is imprisoned for dogfighting offenses, to which he pleaded guilty.

[…]


"But here's the touchy part: The T-Bones will wear black-and-white striped jerseys, prison style. The visiting Gary SouthShore RailCats will wear bright orange jumpsuit jerseys, similar to the ones DUI offenders wear while picking up roadside trash."

Ya' gotta' love the creative costumin'. 'Course it's got the usual suspects hissin' 'n spittin'.

"One Kansas City animal-protection advocate is upset about the promotion. "I think it's making a joke of it all," says Kristy Winfrey, who writes The Animal Advocate blog and volunteers at the Parkville Animal Shelter and Spay Neuter K.C. "I think once people get there, it's going to look ridiculous to them."

I'm guessin' she didn't get an invite. 'Course I had to check out her blog. As expected the blog header features (you guessed it) fe-lyings. Worse, those fe-lyings are wearin' costumes. (Can you say ri-dic-u-lous?) Worst, she advocates "…anti-breeding and spaying and neutering of all animals." Well, since humans are animals too, I might go along with that last bit provided cat-lady Kristy Winfrey and her entire extended family (includin' Oprah) do it first.

Onward and downward.

"The NAACP has similar concerns. "It's personally troubling for me," national spokesman Richard McIntire says. "It sounds like they're willing to uplift one cause at the expense of another individual's human dignity. "I don't know when it became sporting to kick a man when he's down. … His actions were deplorable and are not condoned, but in this case it's a shame when others choose to make folly of another's misfortune."

There's some mighty bad wordin' in that quote—such as "I don't know when it became sporting to kick a man when he's down." Considerin' it's probably what Vick and his cronies did repeatedly to canines, I think the litter clump is fair game.

And if a bunch of ball players are willin' to look foolish for a good cause, and make someone like Michael Vick feel one scintilla of Shame, I say Play Ball!

posted by Harrison at 10:48 PM