OF DOGS AND MEN
Hal Pepinsky, pepinsky@indiana.edu, pepinsky.blogspot.com
September 20, 2010
Today as I listened to “Fresh Air” on rehab for pit bulls, I heard someone remark that pit bulls were just the latest in a succession of dangerous canine breeds, Dobermans and Chihuahuas in previous decades.
Now in the wake of the pit bull fighting scandal, there is an entire movement devoted to showing that pit bulls are inherently equal, and treatable even if severely socially deprived, as warm and companionable as other dogs.
Many of us in criminology move in the same direction—that a young man of color is inherently as socializable as any other human race.
I find it curious that in this age of criminological targeting of young men of color as the most violent breed of humanity in my part of the world, dogs have just as tough a time proving that they don’t fit the profile of lashing out at innocent human targets for their own violent purposes, also known as “terrorism.” On the bright side, experience teaches us that with pit bulls as with humans, we become safely lovable as we become safely loved, breeding and racism be damned. Love and peace--hal
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I am the proud owner of a pit and firmly believe that a majority of the community would give my dog a chance at proving she can be socialized and giving her compassion long before they would try the same with the man of color. This is just my belief, but I feel that it says a lot about a community that would give the dog a chance before the human.
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