Thinking like the KKK

What's the difference between the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Ku Klux Klan? Less than what appears at first blush, if you consider the SCLC's plans to honor Michael Vick, as described in this article. Michael Vick has done nothing recently that deserves special recognition.

Does the SCLC, the same organization led by Martin Luther King, not subscribe to the concept, so eloquently stated by Dr. King, that we judge a man by the content of his character and not the color of his skin? Yet the SCLC, in choosing to honor Vick, rejects that concept for which so many fought, and for which some died.

No doubt, the SCLC would not bestow honors on Michael Vick but for the fact that he is an African-American. What particularly infuriates me is that I question whether the SCLC would bestow honors on Vick at all if had not been indicted for dog-fighting activities allegedly occurring on his property. This is not the basis for deciding who is worthy of respect.

Let me be perfectly clear: if the SCLC were simply criticizing Michael Vick detractors for having convicted him before he's had his day in court, I'm right there with them. I might even be in agreement about any criticism of the NFL's decision to restrict Vick from attending Falcons training camp. But having said that, one must look at the facts critically. It is a fact that evidence of dog-fighting activities was found on Vick's property. It is a fact that one of his acquaintances has already pleaded out and implicated Vick. It is a fact that dog-fighting is a brutal "sport" that appeals to the basest of human instinct.

One should consider what it means to "honor" someone. The dictionary definition of honor is to confer distinction; to holdin high respect. Moreover, one should remember what the SCLC supposedly stands for. According to its website, its focus is "To promote spiritual principles within our membership and local communities; to educate youth and adults in the areas of personal responsibility, leadership potential, and community service; to ensure economic justice and civil rights in the areas of discrimination and affirmative action; and to eradicate environmental classism and racism wherever it exists."

Help me out here: where exactly does honoring Michael fit within the professed focus of the SCLC? What aspect of dog fighting (assuming it was occurring) is Christian? There are simply too many individuals worthy of honor by the SCLC to select one who is tainted by the allegations such as those contained in the indictment. If Michael Vick should ultimately be found innocent, after having comported himself with aplomb and dignity, then by all means, honor him then. At least there will be a basis for doing so. But while he remains under a cloud of suspicion, supported by evidence of wrongdoing, now is not the time to sully the name of the SCLC or dilute the values for which it professes to stand.

The KKK's standard operating procedure is to judge people solely by the color of the skin. I'd expect better from the SCLC.