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Thursday, May 15, 2014

Malcolm Gladwell's Stigma

Revised: May 17, 2014; 15:38 GMT
Revised: May 22, 2014; 22:42 GMT
Revised: Nov 09, 2015; 14:15 GMT
Revised: June 30, 2016; 18:08 GMT

Troublemakers; What pit bulls can teach us about profiling
by Malcolm Gladwell 1

On February 6, 2006, when Troublemakers appeared in The New Yorker, a firestorm of controversy erupted.2  The timing of the article could not have been more propitious (with no pun intended). The Hurricane Katrina rescue effort, launched five months earlier by HSUS, delivered pit bulls to every corner of the country and to the hearths of many homes. People who had never before thought about pit bulls were suddenly talking about them, and adopting them.

Malcolm Gladwell is a brilliant cultural observer, author, and pit bull advocate; moreover, he is blessed with an exquisite sense of timing. In Troublemakers Gladwell, like many others before and after him, claims that pit bulls are not human-aggressive. Like nearly all of his fellow advocates Gladwell fails to acknowledge that pit bulls have killed more humans than all other breeds combined, and he doesn't bother to explain the apparent discrepancy. For pit bull advocates these deaths are the secret that must not be acknowledged.

But Gladwell's primary argument is far more subtle, and far more seductive: that pit bulls are stigmatized by profiling, just as some humans apparently are. The stigma associated with pit bull ownership had been discussed earlier in the decade, but Gladwell was the right messenger and his New Yorker article brought pit bull advocacy to a receptive audience. In a city that never tires of talking about race, dogs, sex, and psychoses, Gladwell introduced a topic that merged all of these elements.

In Troublemakers Gladwell does not explain whether pit bulls themselves suffer from feeling stigmatized; how could Gladwell know this? We must assume that Gladwell means the human companions of pit bulls feel "stigmatized" by their association with their pit bulls.

Gladwell's 2006 New Yorker article reflects the cultural stresses in the first years of the millennium. Race and gender studies had entered the university curriculum in the previous decades. Lesbian Gay Bisexual & Transgender Studies were established at Yale University in 2001 (LGBT). Indiana created the first gender studies Ph.D. program in 2005. Diversity and Identity Studies was launched at Ohio State in 2006. Programs expanded to include Queer studies at Colorado (LGBTQ). Gladwell, with his finger on the pulse of the moment, was aware of these shifts in the cultural zeitgeist. These new academic disciplines became known collectively as Identity Studies, and Gladwell's Troublemakers is most accurately read as a reflection of the burgeoning influence of this emerging field of study. A review of recent dissertations included in the Cultural Bibliography reveals just how closely aligned pit bull politics are with the politics of identity studies.3, 4, 5

What is the adequate response to Gladwell's claim that pit bulls (and their owners) are stigmatized?

When an individual volunteers to become stigmatized, as pit bull owners clearly have, there are probably personal reasons for adopting a pit bull, and thereby adopting the stigma.

It may be decades before we fully understand the cultural madness of pit bull advocacy in its current form. Troublemakers has not not advanced our inquiry. Gladwell's article is over-the-top political correctness which has become advocacy gospel.

* * * * *
Notes:
1 Troublemakers; What pit bulls can teach us about profiling, by Malcolm Gladwell (New Yorker, Feb 6, 2006). Gladwell is also the author of Blink, The Tipping Point, and most recently, David and Goliath. An earlier version of this post previously appeared as part of The Tipping Point, published March 22, 2014.
2 Malcolm Gladwell on why his bestseller "Blink" was a load of hooey, by Steve Sailor
3 Gladwell was also a participant in the recent Emory University course The Dividing Lines: Pit bulls, Identity, and Community. See Emory at Risk.
4 See also Harlan Weaver, the current scholar at the Animals & Society Institute. According to his personal statement, Mr Weaver's post-doctoral project ("'Dangerous' Dogs and the Fuzzy Sciences of Animal Profiling") combines animal shelter fieldwork, science and technology studies, animal studies, critical race theories, queer theories, and feminist studies.
5  SRUV is indebted to Canadian journalist Barbara Kay for this observation.

Statistics:
Statistics quoted on SRUV are from the nation's authoritative source for current dog attack statistics, the 32+ year, continuously updated Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada.
View or download the current PDF

Dog Bite Studies Index
   Dogsbite.org

Today's pit bull attacks
   Google News

This page may also include information from Dogsbite & Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

Definitions:
SRUV uses the definition of "pit bull" as found in the Omaha Municipal Code Section 6-163. As pit bulls are increasingly crossed with exotic mastiffs, Catahoula Leopard Dogs and other breeds, the vernacular definition of "pit bull" must be made even more inclusive.

Sources cited by news media sometimes refer to "Animal Advocates" or sometimes "Experts." In many cases these words are used to refer to single-purpose pit bull advocates who have never advocated for any other breeds or species of animals. Media would be more accurate to refer to these pit bull advocates as advocates of fighting breeds.

Similarly, in many cases pit bull advocates refer to themselves as "dog lovers" or "canine advocates" and media often accepts this usage. The majority of these pit bull advocates are single-purpose advocates of fighting breeds.





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Saturday, May 10, 2014

Maryland Legislative Timeline

& Timeline of Pit Bull Attacks


Thi list includes a few of the recent Maryland pit bull attacks
and a legislative timeline for the period April 2012 -- April 2014


(L = Legislative entry)

* * * * *

(NOTE: SRUV ceased logging Maryland pit bull attacks in July, 2015)

July 10, 2015; Herald-Mail, Washington County
Humane Society locates owner of pit bulls in City Park attack of Pomeranian

June 11, 2015; NBC 4 Prince George County
Dog bites on the rise in the DC area

May 7, 2015; Brooklyn Park, MD
Women taken to hospital after being attacked by dogs in Brooklyn Park

February 9, 2015; Ellicott City, MD
Howard police officer shoots, kills pit bull
Citing animal control records and statements from neighbors, police said the residence "has a long history of animal complaints, including citations for dogs running loose and acting dangerously."

January 29, 2015; Chartridge, Anne Arundel County
Pit bull kills smaller dog, bites woman in Severna Park

January 20, 2015; Delmarva
Salisbury officer fires shot at charging pit bull

January 20, 2015; Baltimore Sun
In Frederick, a tragic reminder of pit bull ruling

January 7, 2015: (Frederick County)
CANINE HOMICIDE
Frederick man fatally attacked by pit bull


2014

November 21, 2014 (Lusby, Calvert County)
Police seek owners of pit bulls that attacked girl

Oct 16, 2014
Terrier mix mauls Silver Spring pet sitter; police shoot and kill dog

October 6, 2014
Md. woman says her dog was killed by pit bulls in front of her home
Clinton neighbors say it is like having monsters outside their homes. They say it is not uncommon to carry a stick as wild pit bulls roam their streets.

July 18, 2014
Pit bull shot by police returns to Loveville area home

July 8, 2014
Maryland troopers shoot, kill 2 charging pit bulls

July 8, 2014
Trooper kills pit bull attacking woman

June 11, 2014
Pit bull attacks child
The child lost more than 60 percent of her scalp because of the dog attacks and required 80 stitches to her head and face, according to authorities, who said she also suffered lost tissue trauma on her abdomen, legs and arms.

June 6, 2014
Geyserville girl seriously attacked by a pit bull
Leah Johnson, a 6-year old Geyserville, California resident, was attacked by two pit bull while on vacation with her family in Cambridge Maryland.

May 19, 2014
Police shoot two pit bulls attacking 12-year old child in Baltimore

April 28, 2014
Two years after Court ruling, pit bulls on attack
   by Dan Rodricks, the Baltimore Sun

April 22, 2014
Two-year-old in Essex suffers serious injuries from pit bull attack

April 3, 2014 (L)
Assembly passes pit bull bill that abrogates Court's ruling that pit bulls are inherently dangerous

January 29, 2014
Pit bull adopted from Baltimore attacks new family in York, Pennsylvania
"Honestly I think [the dog] would have killed one of us if he had had the chance," his mother said.  "My older son is going to have scars all over his body." . . . The attack comes as lawmakers in Annapolis debate, again, whether pit bulls should be considered more dangerous than other dogs.

The shelter's director, Jennifer Brause, said "But we've also seen small dogs that have done some very serious biting to put people in the hospital for long periods of time."  (Editor: Ms Brause did not offer evidence in support of her claim that smaller dogs have caused serious injuries.)

January 11, 2014
Two Maryland pit bulls put down after attacking spaniel


* * * * *

2013

December 30, 2013
Woman, dog attacked by pit bulls in Glen Burnie

December 23, 2013
Owner saves Chihuahua from attack

November 1, 2013
CANINE HOMICIDE
Baltimore woman dies after pit bull attack
. . . the dog first attacked her mother about two years ago, biting her face so savagely that "whenever my mom would open her mouth, her cheek would open with it." The dog attacked again last year, biting both Douglass and one of her sons.

October 27, 2013
Dog attacks, eats other dog
"And the owner was there and we were telling the cops please kill it because he was eating the dog. But they said they couldn’t and he ate the dog.” Police said they have to follow specific protocol in this sort of Animal Control situation.

October 14, 2013
Pit bulls terrorize Maryland community
Fullerton residents say three separate dog attacks happened within three days.

September 6, 2013, Reistertown
Dog dead after being attacked by pit bull
This dog was in the neighborhood. It could have been a child, and I tried with all of my might to pull that dog off my dog, and I was beating that dog so bad. I wish it could have been me being bitten instead [of] my dog because she was only tiny. . . .

August 21, 2013, Laurel
Pit bull attacks 3 girls and 66-year old woman in Laurel

July 29, 2013; Clinton
Pit bull attacks two children
The dog’s owner, 20-year-old Drew Byron Street, was arrested Tuesday afternoon and charged with a violation of the Prince George’s County law that prohibits possession of pit bulls.

June 21, 2013; Glen Burnie
Glen Burnie Couple Severely Injured In Pit Bull Attack
Glen Burnie Couple faces eviction
Janet Miller, 57, and Ken Linc, 53, were taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where both were in serious condition. They had been house sitting a pit bull belonging to Ms Miller's daughter, and now face eviction for illegally harboring the pit bull.

June 20, 2013; Carrollton Ridge neighborhood of South Baltimore
Attack on 7-year-old boy
Neither Animal Control nor Health Dept notified of attack by unvaccinated pit bull which sends 7-yo to hospital

June 19, 2013; Gaithersburg
Pit bull kills bichon frise in Gaithersburg
...the pit bull ran over and bit her dog’s neck, not releasing it until after the 11-year-old purebred bichon frise was dead. . . . It will be released to its owner on June 30.

April 27, 2013, St. Helena Dog Park
Dog owner recounts attack at new dog park
Yellow Labrador retriever attacked by two pit bulls; pit bulls came with separate owners but joined forces in the attack on Annie

April 9, 2013
 (L)
WTOP 103.5 FM
House, Senate fail to reach agreement;  HB 78 / SB 160 tabled; legislative session ends;

April 3, 2013, 8600 block of Billingsley Road, Waldorf area of White Plains
Five yo girl attacked; flown to Children's National Medical Center in D.C. in critical condition

Mar 11, 2013, Conley Street, Dundalk
2 yo toddler bit in face by family pit bull mix

Feb 28, 2013, Marine Rd, Salisbury
Owner of five pit bulls injured, ACO injured

Feb 22, 2013; North Point Rd.
Owner mauled by her two pit bulls

* * * * * 

2012

Dec 31, 2012, Ellicott City
Chester Wortham III attacked by three pit bulls while jogging

Dec 1, 2012, Hagerstown
Three people attacked by 2 pit bulls

Dec 1, 2012, Pasadena
Boy 7 yo and aunt who curled over him in fetal position while pit bull pursued attack; child airlifted with extensive injuries

Nov 22, 2012, Pasadena
Vanessa Feeheley, 89 yo; mauled by pit bull; mangled arm

Oct 6, 2012, Germantown
Max Cardenas, 10 yo mauled by pit bull, puppy "Drake" killed

September 12, 2012 
(L)
Baltimore resident (and pit bull owner) Joseph Weigel files a federal lawsuit against Maryland and Armistead Homes Corp. The suit was joined by neighbors Joanna Profili and Jenine Gangi and amended to a class-action complaint.

August 30, 2012, E Pratt St, Baltimore City
Woman attacked in her apartment; suffers serious injuries

August 26, 2012, Great Mills
Two children attacked; "traumatic injuries"

August 21, 2012 
(L)
Court will not reconsider April decision, but issues revised ruling which eliminates “cross-breed” pit bulls from the ruling.

August 15, 2012 
(L)
General Assembly closes special session without reaching a House/Senate compromise; new legislation stalled.

July 27, 2012, Dicus Mill Road, Gambrills
27-yo man suffered injuries to his upper and lower body

July 10, 2012 
(L)
Letter from Asst. Attorney General Kathryn Rowe to Delegate Heather R. Mizeur; the Court's April 26 ruling is stayed while the court considers a Motion for Reconsideration.

June 19, 2012, Severna Park
Nine-year old child attacked

May 29, 2012 
(L)
House Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller convene a legislative Task Force to study the Court decision regarding pit bulls and propose new legislation which would abrogate the ruling.

May 4, 2012, Severna Park
Pit bull "runs out of the woods" and attacks children at Tracey Elementary School peewee lacrosse practice

April 26, 2012 
(L)
Maryland Court of Appeals establishes a "strict liability standard in respect to the owning, harboring, or control of pit bulls and cross-bred pit bulls. . . "


* * * * *
Statistics:
Statistics quoted on SRUV are from the nation's authoritative source for current dog attack statistics, the 32+ year, continuously updated Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada.
View or download the current PDF

Dog Bite Studies Index
   Dogsbite.org

Today's pit bull attacks
   Google News

This page may also include information from Dogsbite & Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

Definitions:
SRUV uses the definition of "pit bull" as found in the Omaha Municipal Code Section 6-163. As pit bulls are increasingly crossed with exotic mastiffs, Catahoula Leopard Dogs and other breeds, the vernacular definition of "pit bull" must be made even more inclusive.

Sources cited by news media sometimes refer to "Animal Advocates" or sometimes "Experts." In many cases these words are used to refer to single-purpose pit bull advocates who have never advocated for any other breeds or species of animals. Media would be more accurate to refer to these pit bull advocates as advocates of fighting breeds.

Similarly, in many cases pit bull advocates refer to themselves as "dog lovers" or "canine advocates" and media often accepts this usage. The majority of these pit bull advocates are single-purpose advocates of fighting breeds.


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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Anachronisms


The Annotated Cultural Bibliography of Pit Bull Journalism

In six sections:

Argumentum ad misericordiam (forthcoming)

* * * * *

In the second decade of the second millennium articles about pit bulls have become a regular feature in magazines and newspapers. Many of these non-news articles follow a story line similar to Time magazine's The Softer Side of Pit Bulls (Paul Tullis, July 22, 2013, subtitled The Great Pit Bull Makeover). Another recurring theme, usually published following a particularly noteworthy attack, concerns the controversy over Breed Specific Legislation. (See Reignite, Debate)

Each of the articles listed below was published as a feature-length newspaper article, or as a lengthy journal or magazine piece. These articles are worthy of special attention for a number of different reasons, but primarily because they defied the prevailing journalistic conventions at the time they were written.

* * * * * 

Lo, Hear the Gentle Pit Bull
   by Vicki Hearne; Harpers Magazine, June 1985
This touchstone of pit bull advocacy would be an anachronism whenever it happened to be published, for the simple reason that Hearne, revered as an animal advocate, openly glorified dogfighters and dogfighting. Dogfighting and animal advocacy are thought to be mutually exclusive, but many in the animal welfare world are willing to forgive or overlook Hearne's glorification of dogfighting. Our comments on Lo, Hear the Gentle Pit Bull are posted here.
* * * * *

A Breed Apart--and In Trouble
   by Peter Gorner; The Chicago Tribune, August 19, 1987
Mr Gorner was a distinguished science writer for the Tribune, who earlier in 1987 had been awarded a Pulitzer Prize for a series of articles on gene therapy. Readers might have expected Mr Gorner to apply his knowledge to the problem of Sudden Onset Aggression in pit bulls; instead they were treated to one of the first pit bull hagiographies. Mr Gorner took a vacation from science and indulged himself in an extended feel-good interview with a big-hearted cop, Sgt. James Brown, who ends the interview in tears over the fate of his beloved breed.
* * * * *

Scared of Pit Bulls? You'd Better Be!
   by Brian C Anderson; City Journal, April 1999
Mr Anderson currently serves as Editor of City Journal, the journal associated with the influential Manhattan Institute. Fifteen years ago Mr Anderson was a lonely voice calling into the void, warning of the effect pit bulls would have on urban street life; no, make that urban life. His voice is erudite; his warning prophetic.
* * * * *

Is this dog dangerous?
   By Cameron Lawrence; Louisville Magazine, February 2007
Consider the Pit Bull
    by James Ross Gardner; Seattle Met, January 23, 2013
Is this dog dangerous and Consider the Pit Bull are extraordinary because, among other reasons, they both appeared in glossy metropolitan magazines, unlikely venues for articles with problematic subject matter. Moreover, neither author displays a bias. Lawrence's article is intended as an analysis of Louisville's 2006 animal welfare law, which included several specific measures directed at dangerous dogs. Lawrence's article may give inordinate ink to pit bull advocates (in all fairness how can that be avoided?) but is generally fair.

In Consider the pit bull James Ross Gardner focuses on a specific pit bull attack, the September 8, 2008 mauling of 71-year-old Huong Le, to create a colorful canvas of the personalities involved with urban dangerous dogs. Misrepresentations by pit bull advocates are quoted and left unanswered. Ellen Taft, an outspoken proponent of restrictions on pit bulls, is presented as a crank who harangues against all animals. The art department of Seattle Met chose a glamorous studio shot of a pit bull (by Ysbrand Cosijn of the Netherlands) and the layout department features quotations from pit bull advocates. Despite these flaws, Mr Gardner has crafted a fine snapshot of the intractable pit bull problem in a modern city, and closes with an exquisite written portrait of the small time criminal who owned the pit bulls that mauled Huong Le.

Huong Le



* * * * *
Source:
Pit bulls 'tag-teamed' victim, 71
   by Christine Clarridge; Seattle Times, September 10, 2008






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