This article disturbs me. Makes it sound like Vick has a bad rap because of the company he keeps.
He is a thug just like them.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/118378

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Parts of this article were very uncomfortable to read, but it's good news that so many organizations, including the federal authorities and the NFL, are not dropping this and going forward to get to the bottom of it all.

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I agree with the previous poster. He is still responsible for his cousins??? actions and should be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law

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Petition signed:
http://network.bestfriends.org/petitions/detail.aspx?pn=4&gu=stopbsl

And will send more comments to the Falcons tomorrow, as well as thanking the Federal Authorities for intervening.

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Wow! I was the 38th person to sign this petition at about 9:00AM today. Now, at 9:00PM (eastern), 5146 people (and climbing) have signed the petition! Over 5100 people have signed this petition in 12 hours!!!

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I have just sent this out to no less than 5000 people - let's see this petition climb to the heavens - we need to see some serious action on the part of the league and this *** man **** !

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We need to have more people like Hulk Hogan take a stand against animal cruelty. For some reason our culture seems to make gods out of sports people and entertainment people, and except for a few like Oprah they do nothing. So maybe if they speak out people will listen. (Sad commentary isn't it)

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This is great!!!! Please sign the petition!!!

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If he is guilty, he should no longer be allowed to play for the NFL EVER!!!!! And he should have ALL of his property seized and the funds generated should be given to organizations to prevent cruelty to all animals!!!! Even having a website encouraging the promotion of breeding and fighting dogs should put this idiot on the sidelines forever!! What a LOSER!!!!!!

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This story is a great example of what happens when light makes its way into previously dark corners. So much can happen for good when there is exposure to the light!

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How sad it is that we need to sign petitions for something that is ILLEGAL ! :( HOW SAD IT IS to see that this sorry excuse for a human being hasn't been brought to book for what he does - and that he apparently still has the backing of the league :( - if he doesn't they are sure taking their time dealing with him. HOW SAD IT IS that because kids look up to these sport idols - that this man has allowed to put his sadistic and cruel ways into the minds of his followers - and he certainly isn't alone - there must be many more of his friends out there that need to be caught, brought to book and SHAMED publically !

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I like your ideas southerndogmom, especially about the penalty affecting their livlihoods. I think I read somewhere about Vick losing an endorsement contract. I wonder if there's any way to find out what other corps. he advertises for, and pressure them.
And I agree they probably won't do any prison time. Those prisoner/dog programs look really good. I notice that participation in the dog training is a privilege the prisoner must earn by good behavior. I doubt that the sort of people engaged in dogfighting could earn by merit the privilege of the comfort of a dog's presence.

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Perhaps we all need to also urge Nike to drop Vick.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/falcons/stories/2007/06/19/0620falnot.html

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Game on. I will be contacting Nike expressing my concern about Vick posing as a spokesperson. It may seem like David and Goliath but don't ever under estimate the power of the consumer. Thx.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/20/sports/football/20nfl.html

this is a link to the NY Times, they mention that the HSUS has asked Nike to drop Vick. I'm going to check the HSUS website & see if they have a public movement going.....

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It makes me sick to think dog fighting continues to go on. I want to see every person involved in this activity prosecuted to the maximum degree. I already won't support pro sports because of the athletes that are nothing more than gang bangers
living in expensive houses. Everyone needs to see what these "celebrities" really are.

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The Spring 07 issue of All Animals, published by the HSUS, contains an article on Targeting Animal Fighting Laws and Operations. It mentions that Amazon.com Inc. has been sued by the HSUS to stop selling cock fighting magazines and dog fighting videos. I think we all need to send messages to amazon.com telling them this is not acceptable and they will lose our business if they don't stop.

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I've always loved Amazon and have spent thousands of dollars with them and their affiliates. Now I'm sickened to think that I was contributing to a company that promotes animal fighting. I took advantage of the HSUS email opportunity to Jeff Bezos to ask for his response to these charges, and to let him know he won't be seeing any more of my money until this is cleared up to my satisfaction. He can look for me at Barnes and Noble.

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Please go to this site and sign the petition to tell Toys r Us we don't want them to sell toys encouraging dog fighting.
http://www.petitiononline.com/2812/petition.html

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Watching TV last night I was dismayed to see Michael Vick as the new spokeman for Subway. I have written to Subway to express my shock that they would choose someone with such a despicable moral character as their spokesman and informed them that I will not be eating at Subway again as long as he is their spokeman. I am only one person, but maybe if we could get everyone on board we can send a message that this inhumane treatment of animals is not going to be accepted or tolerated by our society any longer.

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"We have received your message and share your concerns of news reports, and until we have facts related to the investigation, we are unable to respond further." this was the unsigned message I received fromFalcons Fans Feedback to my msg:

"Dear Sirs, I am writing to request your organization show that it does not suport the cruel, illegal activity of dogfighting, in which your quarterback Michael Vince has admittend engaging.

In flaunting the law, engaging in illegal gambling, and forcing animals into pain, death and abandonment, Mr. Vick has incurred the outrage of all decent people. He may be an athelete, but he is not above the law or moral and ethical standards. He certainly does not qualify as "role model" as he styles himself.
In additon to facing criminal charges, I ask that the Falcons require Mr. Vick publicly apologize, promise to never engage in illegal acts of cruelty, and donate a consideribel amount to pit bull welfare/rescue groups.
Perhpas then he can redeem himself and help persuade the public that the Falcons are worthy of their support"

We need to keep up the pressure. feedback@fans.atlantafalcons.com thank you everybody

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Is this the mentality of our NFL Players? May the truth be exposed and the correct action taken against this cruelty!!

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This was on my brain all weekend.

I'm under no illusions that Vick or any of his partners in crime will do any jail time. Fining them would be meaningless since they have so much money they could probably finance Best Friends sanctuaries in every state.

Should anything come of this in terms of action and consequence, I would like one of two things. (Yeah, I know this is wishful thinking on my part).

First, I would like to see it affect their livelihoods. We live in a twisted society in which children worship celebrities and athletes. Because of that status as public figures, they should be held to a higher standard by their employers. This type of behavior sounds like a perfect reason to not renew a contract or to cancel a contract. In the case of Vick, he's not exactly the only talented person on the planet.

Second, I would really like to have any punishment include a long-term activity which would be life-changing for these individuals. I can only imagine that this type of objectification of companion animals is a learned behavior regardless of socioeconomic background. Dog = bush = rock. This cognitive process must be changed. Dog =
living, breathing being who feels pain and joy and happiness and fear and contentment and dispair.

I've seen programs on educational channels about prisoners who help to train service dogs by living with them 24/7, training them, disciplining them, loving them. Perhaps that would be the best combo of all - Vick and his cohorts do prison time and learn the true nature of a dog while performing a community service.

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There always have been -- and probably always will be -- people who:

A) are greedy for money
B) are greedy for power
C) want to get money the quick/easy way
D) have no respect for living creatures, human or animal (or, of course, themselves)

The fact of the matter is, such people exist and always will exist in this world (call them "evil", if you like). It will be an ongoing battle today and in future generations for those of us who love life and the beauty of animals to stay vigilant and do our best to protect the defenseless.

We have to continue to encourage legal authorities to do what is right and stop those who are found to be involved in dogfighting.

We need to constantly keep this issue (that dogfighting is cruel and illegal) at the forefront so that others are educated about the damage dogfighting can do and the fact that it is often associated with other illegal activities.

We should aim to strengthen the laws against dogfighting as much as possible so that criminals will see that our society takes it seriously.

Whenever we have the opportunity, we should condemn the abuse and exploitation of animals for profit. Everyone in society will know that there are many of us united to protect animals. We insist that dogfighting and other animal cruelty is unacceptable in a civilized world and it will never be tolerated. Abusers and criminals who illegally and cruelly exploit animals, people who are caught/tried/convicted, will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

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Good. The Feds are in.

The Virginia prosecutor handling this has done everything he can do to HOLD UP the investigation and protect Vick

Earlier, he refused to allow these search warrants to be executed, for example.

So the Feds handled it.

This is why dog fighting is flourishing- because some local court officials and some local law enforcement are in the game of protecting it and not prosecuting

You can thank lobbies like the breeder lobbies for pressuring these authority figures to take a "hands off" approach to animal abuse, cruelty, and crime

There is an extremist breeder lobby in Virginia that actively lobbies for PRO-abuse interests

Look to these kinds of lobbying groups in your state, and examine their connections to authority figures (although some of them keep them hidden!). The interest is protecting PROFIT- the concept that animals are property, and property owners can do whatever they want to their property. ANYTHING.

So they want no rules, no regulations, no arrests or investigations, no anti-cruelty laws that might impinge on "profit". from their property.

These lobbying groups include some breed clubs, federations of breed clubs or dog owners, "responsible dog owner" groups (the code is the "owner" part, to refer to the property concept,) "dog law" or "pet law" groups, AKC legislative liasions, etc

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I'm glad this is starting to be taken very seriously (i.e., federal involement) because every time I see Mr. Poindexter's name mentioned, I can't help but wonder how deeply he is involved and how much he has to lose.

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How sad and how sick.
What can we do to get out of our culture of violence and oppression and exploitation?
The problem is so huge. Cruelty to animals and a disregard for others are just symptons.

I'm glad if this article is an eye-opener for anyone, but at the same time disbelieving that anyone did not already realize the extent of the problem.
Dog fighting (and cock fighting) is not new to our urban areas. Unfortunately it's old news.
Also the whole image thing.... a tough dog means a tough person.... being a desirable image in some environments. Also old news and just a symptom of a sickness in our culture.

The article says that dog fighting is an "activity that cuts across geographic, socio-economic and cultureal lines." What about gender lines?
It's almost never mentioned that the vast majority of violence against animals, women and children is committed by males. I think it is relevant.
How are we raising our sons??

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My motto over the past 3 yrs. has been "Why have laws?" They are rarely, rarely enforced.

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I would like to throw Vick in a mesh bag and suspend him over a fighting dog and use him as bait. See how he likes it. What a horrifing thing these poor animals go through!

Oh, I think Poindexter is dragging his feet cause he has a lot to loose. Would not surprise me if he has not been to a fight or two of his own.

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I've signed the petition and sent a link to the story/petition to my list, too.

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What a horrific subject, yet we can't close our eyes. We are the only voices these dogs have. And we are the majority, let's not ever forget that.
I understand it's easy to feel discouraged. I walked unwillingly into a dogfight once, a scene out of hell, and called the police only to hear "are people hurt?" and no one came to help. I saw a copcar drive by slowly, they did not stop. Now I know they are either afraid or get kickbacks. I informed the SPCA and never got an answer. Since the dogfighters told me they're "only training guard dogs" I realized there might not even be anything the SPCA could have done, these creeps probably had in the eyes of the law a legitimate business.
But that's where we all come in, as voters and the majority. Let's not get discouraged and insist on better laws and insist on budgets that allow inspections of breeding facilities, a humane task force etc. We can crush the scum that lives off fighting dogs.
On another note, be aware of pet thefts in your neighbourhoods, most are used for dog bait. Be aware of the gardeners you hire, there are incidences in California where the gardeners had crates in their pick-ups and stole small dogs.
Thanks, Best Friends, for taking on the challenge.

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I forgot to add, please don't shop at Amazon.com. They refuse to pull dogfighting and cockfighting material from their website, even though it is illegal. You can read more on it on the Humane Society website (www.hsus.org)

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oh one more thing..im from that area and you can believe he knew what was going on...its out in the boonies..

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Thank you everyone for your incredible support in this group effort to end involvement in dog fighting by professional athletes! The number one action we can take right now is to ask everyone we know to join us in signing the petition at http://network.bestfriends.org/petitions/detail.aspx?pn=4&gu=stopbsl. Only 6,000 signatures away from our goal!

Doggedly yours,
Celeste Crimi
No More Homeless Pets
Best Friends Animal Society

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: (
QMD333, although I agree with you, by calling Vick a "nerd" you're just insulting a totally unrelated group of people. Nerds rock. Without them we wouldn't have most of the technology, science, and literature that we have today. Michale Vick does not have the honor of being a Nerd. Vick is, however, definitely ignorant, definitely cowardly, and definitely a piece of trash. He's like something that's made in great abundance because it's easy to make, easy to use, and cheap. This substance isn't biodegradable or recyclable. It's extremely bad for the environment and society, yet people continue to enjoy using it even though, deep down, they know it's bad for the planet. Michael Vick is Styrofoam. He's held in very high regard despite the fact that he's a complete drain on society, and he's pretty much impossible to get rid of. Just like Styrofoam...

I think what makes me the most sickened by this whole affair, is that it doesn't surprise me at all to find out that a professional athlete can be this cruel. I remember them from school. They were always mean to everybody, and they held themselves in much higher regard than even the adult authorities. I think that something that we should do as a society is encourage our young athletes to be kind, so they don't grow up to be like this. Mothers and fathers, I encourage you to use sports as a reward for good behavior instead as something that the child gets to do simply because he is talented. Football and basketball, etc. should be something a child gets to do after schoolwork is learned and after chores are done and after community work is done. Please, encourage your local sports teams to volunteer at animal shelters and retirement homes, so that the children may learn empathy and not turn out like Michael Vick! Sports should be a reward for being a productive member of society.

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How do we find out what other corp. sponsors Michael Vick may have? The NFL site does have a team page with player profiles but I didn't see anything about his sponsors. But there has to be a way to find out where his bread and butter comes from....in addition to the NFL. I read an article yesterday about how public pressure needs to be put on the advertisers of NFL to act accordingly. All paws crossed here that Vick gets what he deserves. Dog fighting can not be tolerated.

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re: Nike, I can't find a corporate contact office, does anyone have an idea how to find their mailing/or email address?

HSUS didn't have any add'l info on their site....

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hey all mr vick has a myspace profile..email him!

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https://community.hsus.org/campaign/US_2007_dogfighting_nfl/forward

still looking for a way to tell Nike I'm boycotting their stuff !

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This story is long over due and I hope Michael Vick gets what he deserves. I am at a loss for words for what these animals must suffer at the hands of greed.

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I am completely and utterly horrified at the actions of this supposed role model and sorry excuse for an athlete. I want to know why the two players for the Redskins have not been reprimanded as well. Frankly if these men have so little testosterone that they have to have dogs fight for them, they probably don't belong in the NFL either! REAL MEN DON'T FIGHT DOGS! PERIOD!! And for that matter their coaches, fellow players, law enforcement and any other person who considers himself a man does not tolerate it either.

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Michael Vick is a piece of trash. He should be banned from the NFL, and thrown into jail.
Real men treat animals with love and respect. Michael Vick is a boy, he is a coward, and he is a poor excuse for a "role model".
Cruelty isnt cool.....only an ignorant nerd would be cruel to their fellow living beings.
Michael Vick is one such nerd.

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If anyone believes Vick visited his VA property a few times and had no idea what was going on is stupid. I guess Vick thinks we are all stupid..well, he is the stupid one.

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I really like the Styrofoam analogy. I think you nailed it.

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With all the brawn and brain, I don't understand how they cannot see so clearly that what they do on the field is 'their choice'. The dogfighting that is so cruel to the dogs is that they do not have a choice; they do as they are kicked and beaten and starved to learn to do. How much money does ANYONE have to make before it's enough. I used to love to watch Roy Jones Jr box until I learned he fought his dogs--then I lived for the day that he got his ass kicked and realized he wasn't as bad as he thought he was. More importantly, because of what 'you big boys' are doing, these dogs are being labeled and are paying a price for your egos. I loved football; but I've lost respect for the players. More and more of this is coming out of the closet. May it come back on you; when you end up living as a cripple because of the fun you're having now... think of the dogs you made do what gave you pleasure--when they would have preferred just being loved and taken care of. You make me sick!! We all have to answer for what we do--you'll know when it's your turn.

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A message from the dogs who are raised and forced to fight ............ http://www.maria-daines.com/music-18.html

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A message from the one and only HULK HOGAN on ANIMAL FIGHTING ( need real player ) http://www.hsus.org/hulkhogan

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tonka, I got this from the article I provided below..

It may be too early to tell if Vick's problems will hurt contracts with several big-brand companies, including Nike, Air Tran Airways, EA Sports, Coca-Cola, Powerade, Kraft, Rawlings and Hasbro. The most lucrative contract is reportedly with Nike. Vick's agent, Joel Segal, did not return phone calls this week.

I heard Air Tran has already dropped him.

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"It may seem like David and Goliath but don't ever under estimate the power of the consumer. "

I think that it's about time to show both our government and the big corporations that run this country that it's really the consumer and the average American who's supposed to be in charge. We can change the world through boycott and protest; it's what America was founded on : )

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"It's not cool to be cruel" is an excellent idea and I hope it starts to make a difference. We have been writing about Michael Vick and also Amazon at our Blog, http://blog.petrealtynetwork.com as well and encourage as many people as possible to make their voices heard.

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I think what should be done with high profile athletes like Michael Vick should be to make him do commumity service @ Best Friends for at least a month & pay a heavy fine to go to Best Friends & other sanctuaries. This may sound corny but that is my thought.

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Please tell your friends to sign our petition today! As of now, we only need 325 more signatures to reach our goal of 20,000!!

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Only 153 away from the goal!!

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Since Nike isn't budging, the next best thing would be to work through petitioning those retail companies that they sell the Vick products to. This would include writing letters or calling to ask them to remove the products and citing the facts surrounding the Vick dog fighting case. Mention you won't buy shoes from their store until those products are removed. If some of the retail stores were to refuse buying the Vick Nike products, perhaps that's one step toward hitting Nike in the wallet and convincing them that Vick is a bad business decision.

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This issue is discussed in the June 4 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine. It's encouraging to see them take a focus on this situation.

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I emailed Amazon.com regarding the magazines they sell advertising cockfighting. They basically blew me off. I notified them that I would no longer utilize their site until they choose to do otherwise.

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You will find that virtually every bookseller carries literature that gives instructions on fighting animals. Please check with any company before you order from them, and write to ask them to cease carrying books and magazines that promote animal cruelty.

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Im doing a bill project on dog fighting to make it a ferderal law instead of a local/state law...if anybody could just send me a message or email me at alsdogs5@yahoo.com on any info on dog fighting stuff, that would be great! Thanks, Ally

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hey guys your right its sooo not cool to be cruel! its just wrong to abuse dogs for personal gain, its not right to do even not for your gain ! no one should do it and i am fully against it. i am a busy person and have 2 dogs of my own but cpuld never hurt them ever!! they are my life. i am up on this web because of me work as a hero to our community and i take in dogs in need of care with all organizations such as Golden Endings,The Franklin County Dog Shelter, and paws but could never do it without my friends and one very important one named kaylen and she helps me ,amanda, to deal withdogs and all troubles and dogs are just like peopl they cant be abused. i have said it before and will say it again it is wrong to abuse dogs!!!!never do it yourself and since dogs cant speek for themselves i will and i say its cruel to abuse. if you are reading this and have people around start a chan ITS NOT COOL TO BE CRUEL, ITS NOT COOL TO BE CRUEL, ITS NOT COOL..........

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I dont believe 23 months are enough punishment for this "man". And with some money and connections...it will be less than 23 months. This is what the law is telling kids who want to play sports: Make a lot of money playing something you like...do whatever you want...hurt animals...and even people...and you will get away with it because you are cool and rich. I dont want my kids to get that message.

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