OK. Let's start with the backstory. So I was scrolling through Buzzfeed tonight, because it's Saturday night and I don't feel like going out, and I happened across an article entitled Woman Charged For Allegedly Ordering Her Pit Bulls To Attack A Man In The Bronx. The story went onto describe how said woman set her two dogs loose on a man after an "exchange of words. I'll link the article at the bottom but it's really not important to my point. Read the title of the article. Attached to it is far more than the mere facts of a news report. I'd really like to focus your attention on two words. Just two. Pit Bulls. Pit Bulls. As you read the title, you already are forming an opinion about the dogs and the woman and the attack that happened, before you've even read the article. Bear in mind, this is a news article. Yes, the news slants a story a certain way, but it shouldn't. It's a news article and therefore fact, and should be treated without bias. That's beside the point though. The point is, these dogs couldn't help their breed. They couldn't help the stamp of terror and aggression that society has placed on them. They attacked someone after their owner told them to. There was absolutely no reason for the Buzzfeed reporter to mention in the entire news article, especially not the title, that the dogs were pit bulls. Saying that the dogs are pit bulls takes emphasis off the basis of the story, that a women ordered her domesticated animals to attack another human, and puts emphasis onto a breed of dog that has an unfortunate stereotype of being naturally aggressive. A stereotype that's reinforced by stories like this. The reporter could easily have used one word to describe the pit bulls. "Dogs." How hard would that have been? Easier than typing "pit bulls." Would it have detracted from the news report? Not even a little bit.
In my freshman year of college, one of my RA's gave me what I can only describe as some of the best social advice I've ever gotten. "If mentioning someone's race isn't important to whatever you're saying, why mention it at all?" Not mentioning an unimportant physical characteristic is the best way to combat intolerance in a world that's trying to break free from stereotypes and unnecessary hate.
Dogs. Not pit bulls.
A.
For your viewing pleasure.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/bronx-pit-bull-attack#.psKJM1gaQk
