How to Fight the Stereotype

How Discrimination Occurs

For a person who defines "pit bull" in a stereotypical manner—as an "evil, bloodthirsty beast" or an "unpredictable wild animal," or a "more powerful, more dangerous dog"—banning or killing pit bulls just for being pit bulls doesn't stir any feelings of guilt or immorality. For this person, the pit bull has become dehumanized (decanine-ized?), cast as an abnormal abomination that is getting what it "deserves" for being "evil."

Similarly, pit bull owners have been dehumanized. On Internet message boards, in news articles, and in political speeches, pit bull owners are routinely disparaged as nothing more than criminals, drug dealers, "trailer trash," liars, lunatics, or social deviants. Consequently, pit bull owners find themselves struggling against both legal discrimination and social discrimination—and the majority group (non-pit bull owners) isn't bothered by this discrimination, and may even endorse it, or worse, fight for it.

Such discrimination is only possible because of the dehumanization of pit bull owners and the decanine-ization of pit bulls. By making both the owners and the dogs seem abnormal, frightening, and even dangerous, society easily "endorses inhuman policies" like breed-specific legislation and other forms of discrimination.

How to Stop Discrimination

To reduce hate, fear, and prejudice toward pit bull owners and their dogs, normalization of these groups must occur. That is, action must be taken to remove the elements that make pit bull owners and their dogs seem "alien" to society.

Normalization takes a concerted and careful effort on the part of all pit bull owners and supporters; pit bulls themselves can act as unwitting ambassadors for normalization when they are well-trained and correctly managed, but only the dog's owner can turn his or her dog into an ambassador.

To normalize, it is necessary to reframe the pit bull as a normal—perhaps even boring—dog, and to reframe pit bull owners as normal, polite, socially beneficial and desirable individuals.

What Doesn't Work

Portraying pit bulls as "the best of the best"

Some pit bull owners and supporters have been attempting normalization for some time using a slightly different strategy; they often try to portray pit bulls as directly opposite the pit bull stereotype. That is, pit bulls are actually uniformly angelic, totally human-friendly, heroic, and far better than other types of dogs. One often hears statements such as, "My dog wouldn't hurt a flea," and "Cocker Spaniels bite more than pit bulls."

Unfortunately, this strategy does not work. First, the "perfect angel" image is discredited by media reports of pit bull attacks—and the interviews in which the oblivious dog owner exclaims, "But my dog's never done this before!" Never mind that this sort of statement is common with all dog owners whose dog has attacked, regardless of the dog's breed. People remember that "angelic" pit bulls have injured people.

Second, although other breeds may or may not be responsible for more bites or attacks than pit bulls, detractors inevitably assert that pit bull bites do more damage than other breeds. Although there is insufficient evidence to prove either position—we do not have the statistics to prove that other breeds are more likely to bite, nor do we have data showing that pit bull bites do more damage than other breeds—the average pit bull owner often fails to effectively counter the detractor's argument. In fact, some owners have actually stated, despite evidence to the contrary, that pit bulls have stronger jaws and will do more damage than other breeds.

This is an unfortunate side effect of the "exact opposite stereotype" strategy; by portraying the pit bull as "the best" dog in the world, it leads (or traps) a person into concluding that pit bulls must also be "the best" biters.

Comparing breed-specific legislation to the Holocaust

Although there are parallels between the legally sanctioned eradication of an entire type of dog based on physical appearance, and the genocide of an entire race of people, this comparison is, for the most part, considered insensitive to the human beings who died during the Holocaust. As soon as this argument comes into play, the speaker is usually bombarded by charges of callous disrespect for human life and an implication that they feel that animal life is more valuable than human life. In this way, the speaker is portrayed as inhuman, and the rest of his or her argument is discounted.

Comparing the right to own pit bulls to the right to own a gun

These are two subjects that should never come up at the same time. The reason is simple: guns are weapons designed for killing. Nothing positive occurs when one draws a parallel between the ownership of a pit bull and the ownership of a killing implement. If you must get into a debate about what the Constitution of the United States does and does not permit in terms of dog ownership and due process rights, leave guns out of it at all costs!

What Does Work

Be an outstanding responsible dog owner. And by this I don't mean be a "good" dog owner or an "okay" dog owner. Do everything in your power to be the best dog owner you can possibly be. The fact that you own a pit bull is an automatic handicap. You will have to work harder to overcome that handicap than you would with a more socially acceptable breed of dog. With many breeds, people think that misbehavior is "cute" or tolerable. With pit bulls, the same behavior is considered "vicious" and "deadly". No, it's not fair, but that's the way it is. Don't let your dog behave in a way that other people might interpret as dangerous. Keep your dog under control at all costs. Make sure you have done plenty of socializing and training, and seek help from a professional if necessary. If your pit bull goes out in public, he needs to have perfect manners.

Mistakes happen. I have to temper the first rule with an acknowledgement that everyone screws up sometimes. It doesn't make you a bad person, but you have to accept responsibility for the consequences of your mistake. And learn from it. There's no reason for the same mistake to happen twice!

Be an upstanding citizen and a good neighbor. Remember, "those people"—the people that Bob Fitzgerald and others like him want to banish—are law breakers, social misfits, and thugs. Don't prove them right! Follow the laws, keep your lawn tidy, make friends with your neighbors, show interest in your local government, go to neighborhood meetings, and speak with maturity and wisdom. I know, I know, I sound like an after-school special, but I dare you to prove me wrong. No one can act like a thug, a slob, or a jerk and still leave complete strangers and lawmakers with a good impression. You have to do your part to separate yourself from "those people."

VOTE. VOTE. VOTE. The only way politicians get into office is because someone votes them in. And the only way politicians get out of office is because someone votes them out. With breed-specific legislation and breed bans on the agenda in cities and states across the country, you can not afford not to vote. There are many resources out there to help you decide how to vote, and when you do vote, be sure you know where the candidates stand when it comes to your four legged family member. If you're not careful, you will be voting for someone who wants to kill them. Non-voters, you're not off the hook - by not voting, you're still "voting" for BSL. The only way to keep pro-BSL politicians out of office is to vote against them.

Work toward public safety. Many people believe that pit bull owners are not concerned about public safety because we own a so-called "dangerous" dog breed. That could not be further from the truth, and we need to prove it. Be supportive of legislators and citizens who want better or stronger non-breed-specific dangerous dog laws. If you're a good teacher, offer to teach classes on dog safety at schools. Take every opportunity to educate others about appropriate behavior around dogs. If you and your dog are in a situation that you feel might be unsafe for you, your dog, or other people, don't ignore that feeling or lie to yourself. Take yourself and your dog out of that situation quickly. It's okay to say "Please don't do that around my dog" or "I need to put my dog away first". Some dogs (regardless of breed) are not good with certain types of people, children, or other dogs; don't put your dog in a situation where he feels the need to bite. Always think about safety first.

Be outspoken against dog fighting and irresponsible ownership. Again, you need to make a clear distinction between a responsible pit bull owner and "those people". You are not tolerant of misbehavior by other pit bull owners and you are not accepting of violence or abuse. Throw your support behind legislators who want to impose stricter (but non-breed-specific and reasonable) dog ownership laws, voice your disgust for irresponsible owners, and join the battle against dog fighting.

Happypitbull.com is copyright © 2000-2009 by J. Thomas.